Privacy policy for an iOS app: App Store requirements

Apple asks for a privacy policy in two forms. One is a link: every app in App Store Connect needs a public privacy policy URL, and the policy should also be reachable inside the app. The other is a set of structured answers, the App Privacy details, which Apple turns into the privacy label on your product page. App Review checks that both match what your app does. This guide covers each piece.

Does every iOS app need a privacy policy?

Yes. Apple requires a privacy policy URL for every app, whatever it collects. Guideline 5.1.1(i) adds that the policy must be linked both in your App Store Connect metadata and within the app, in a place users can find it. An app that collects nothing still needs a short policy that says so.

Where do I add the privacy policy URL?

In App Store Connect, open your app and go to App Privacy. Enter the Privacy Policy URL there. The same section has an optional User Privacy Choices URL, a page where people can manage their privacy choices or request deletion; adding one is worthwhile if you have such a page. Account Holders, Admins and App Managers can edit these, and the privacy answers can be changed without submitting a new build.

What must the policy say for Apple?

Guideline 5.1.1(i) asks the policy to:

• Say clearly what data the app collects, how it collects it, and every use of that data.
• Confirm that any third party that receives user data, including analytics tools, ad networks and SDKs, gives it the same or equal protection as your policy states.
• Explain how long you keep data and how you delete it, and how users can revoke consent or request deletion.

The rest of section 5.1 sets rules your policy should reflect: ask for consent before collecting data, request only what the app needs, offer alternatives when a permission is refused, and never repurpose data without new consent.

How do App Privacy details relate to the policy?

App Privacy details ask, for each data type (contact info, health and fitness, location, identifiers, usage data, diagnostics and others), whether you collect it, for which purposes, whether it is linked to the user's identity, and whether it is used to track them. Apple's definitions decide the answers:

• Collect means sending data off the device in a way you or your partners can access beyond serving the request in real time.
• Data from SDKs you include counts as yours to declare.
• Data from Apple's own frameworks and services does not need declaring, but what you take from them does.

Your policy and your label must tell the same story. If the label lists diagnostics, the policy should mention crash reports.

When do I need App Tracking Transparency?

Apple defines tracking as linking user or device data from your app with data from other companies' apps or websites for targeted advertising or advertising measurement, or sharing it with data brokers. If your app or any SDK in it does that, you must ask permission with the App Tracking Transparency prompt first, respect the answer, and not make features depend on it. Your policy should say that tracking happens only with permission and how to change the choice in Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking.

What are privacy manifests?

A privacy manifest is a file in your app or SDK that declares the data it collects and the reasons it uses certain system APIs that could be used to fingerprint a device. Apple requires reasons for these "required reason" APIs, and requires manifests and signatures for commonly used third-party SDKs. The manifest feeds into the same picture as your label, so update all three together when you add an SDK.

What does Apple require for account deletion?

Under guideline 5.1.1(v), an app that lets people create an account must also let them start deleting it from within the app. A link to a website is acceptable only if it leads straight to the deletion flow. Deleting must remove the account and its personal data, not just deactivate it. If your app uses Sign in with Apple, revoke the user's tokens when they delete their account. Your policy should describe the steps.

What about sign-in, health and kids apps?

• Sign-in. If you offer a third-party or social login, guideline 4.8 generally requires an equivalent option that collects no more than name and email, lets users keep their email private, and does not track them without consent. Sign in with Apple meets this.
• Health. Data from HealthKit and other health sources may not be used for advertising or marketing, may not be sold, and must be described accurately in the policy.
• Kids. Apps in the Kids category must not send personal data to third parties and may include third-party analytics or ads only in narrow cases. Any app that collects data from children must have a policy and follow laws such as COPPA.

Why does Apple reject apps over privacy?

• The privacy policy URL is missing, broken, or not a privacy policy.
• There is no link to the policy inside the app.
• The App Privacy details do not match the policy or the app's behavior.
• Permission prompts (purpose strings) are vague about why the data is needed.
• The app tracks users without the App Tracking Transparency prompt.
• Account creation exists without in-app deletion.

How do I get a compliant policy quickly?

The app privacy policy generator asks about your app's accounts, permissions, SDKs, ads and tracking, purchases and audience, and writes a policy that covers guideline 5.1.1, including the tracking and deletion wording. Fill in App Privacy details with the same answers. For the overview of both stores, see the app privacy policy guide, and for Android, the Google Play requirements. If you sell auto-renewing subscriptions, you will also want terms of use.