Is your store's app ready for the App Store and Google Play, or is it about to be rejected for something you could have fixed in a day?
Building the app is only half the job. The app publishing policy that Apple, Google and Salla apply to every merchant app decides whether your app goes live, stays live, or gets pulled from the stores. Most rejections are not technical: they come from a product the stores do not allow, a missing warning on a product page, or a developer account that was never set up correctly. In this guide, you'll learn every policy you must meet before, during and after publishing your app.
To publish your store's app on the App Store and Google Play, you must follow both Salla's agreements and each store's own policies, pay the store subscription fees yourself, and keep your products and content within the rules. Breaking any of them can get your app rejected or permanently removed from the stores.
๐ Article overview
- Publishing policy for the App Store and Google Play
- Developer account creation policy when Salla sets it up for you
- Service cancellation and subscription renewal policy
- Charity app policy
- App update policy
- Content rules your app must follow to be approved
- Disclaimer
- Frequently asked questions
๐ Publishing policy for the App Store and Google Play
These three obligations apply to every merchant who publishes a store app through Salla:
- You must comply with Salla's own agreements and policies.
- You must comply with the agreements and policies that Google and Apple apply to apps published on their stores.
- You are responsible for the cost of the store subscriptions with Google and Apple.
๐ Developer account creation policy when Salla sets it up for you
If you would rather not create the developer accounts yourself, Salla can create them on your behalf:
- Salla creates the account at your request, and you pay the setup fee.
- The setup fee of SAR 990 does not cover the subscription fees for the Google and Apple stores. Those are separate and remain your responsibility.
- How long the setup takes depends on how quickly you send the Salla team the information they ask for.
๐ Service cancellation and subscription renewal policy
- The app service can only be cancelled and refunded if Salla is unable to serve your store's business activity.
- You must be on one of Salla's paid plans at the time you request a subscription renewal.
๐ Charity app policy
Apps for charitable organizations carry extra requirements, and Apple applies its own review on top of them:
- The merchant carries out the developer account creation steps.
- The charity must be verified with TechSoup before the developer account can be created. [Verify: the Arabic source spells this partner "tecSpoup"; TechSoup is Apple's standard nonprofit verification partner.]
- The charity must also be verified with Benevity before the developer account can be created.
- A DUNS number is required to create the developer account.
- A commercial registration issued in the charity's own name is required for the service.
- The app may still be rejected or delayed, and those decisions are made by Apple.
๐ App update policy
Some of your app's details cannot be edited once the app is live. To change any of them, you need to purchase the app update service.
๐ Content rules your app must follow to be approved
Your app is reviewed against the products and content shown in your store. Follow these rules before you submit:
1. Stores selling anything containing nicotine or alcohol, in any form, along with e-cigarettes and smoking accessories of every kind, are strictly prohibited.
2. If your store repairs or sells mobile parts or any Apple electronic product, your information pages must state clearly that the customer will lose the original manufacturer warranty, and you must explain and evidence the quality of the parts you sell.
3. If a product has a medical use, list its side effects, give a complete and accurate description of everything the product contains, and remind customers to consult a doctor before buying and using it.
4. If a product could cause physical or psychological harm of any kind, say so clearly to your customers.
5. Any product involving gambling, mystery boxes or a randomized item must state that in the product description, warn customers, and explain the method behind it.
6. Stores selling digital products (PUBG UC, Fortnite skins, Netflix subscriptions, Google Play cards and similar items) are in violation and are not accepted on the app stores.
7. Weapons products are strictly prohibited.
8. Selling pirated content, or anything that infringes intellectual property and copyright in any form, exposes you to legal action and is barred from publication on the app stores.
9. Watch the content displayed across your store:
- Do not show content featuring torture, killing or violence, whether against people or animals, and including cartoon content, in any form.
- Do not show sexual or pornographic content, or scenes involving nudity.
๐ Important notes
Approval is granted by Apple and Google, not by Salla. Meeting every rule above improves your chances but does not guarantee that a specific app will be accepted.
Disclaimer
- Salla disclaims all responsibility if the merchant breaches or violates any of the agreements and policies listed above, in every case, and in particular where the breach results in the merchant's account being suspended or the app being permanently and non-refundably removed from the Google and Apple stores.
- Failing to follow, or being careless with, any of the publishing policies exposes your app to permanent, non-refundable removal from the Google and Apple stores. If that happens, Salla is in no way responsible for any damage that results. [Verify: the Arabic disclaimer stops mid-sentence at this point, so the final clause about what the merchant is not entitled to could not be localized.]
โ Frequently asked questions
Does the SAR 990 setup fee cover my Apple and Google store subscriptions?
No. The SAR 990 fee covers Salla creating the developer accounts for you. The subscription fees charged by the Google and Apple stores are separate, and you pay them yourself.
Can I get a refund if I cancel the app service?
Cancellation with a refund is only possible if Salla is unable to serve your store's business activity. Outside that case, the service is not refundable.
Can I sell digital products such as game top-ups or subscription cards through my app?
No. Digital products such as game currency, in-game skins, streaming subscriptions and store cards are treated as a violation and are not accepted on the app stores.
How do I change app details that are locked after publishing?
Details that cannot be edited once the app is live are changed through the app update service, which you purchase separately.
What extra steps does a charity app need?
The charity needs verification with TechSoup and Benevity, a DUNS number, and a commercial registration in the charity's own name. Apple still reviews the app and may reject or delay it.
Treat these policies as a checklist before you submit, not as paperwork to read afterwards. A single unlabeled product or a prohibited category is enough to hold your release, and a removal from the stores is permanent and non-refundable.