Guideline 4.2 Minimum Functionality: How to Fix It

What this rejection means

The reviewer found nothing the app does that your website doesn’t already do in Safari. Wrapped web apps get this when they show the same pages, keep desktop navigation, load the live site, or send people out to the browser.

Why reviewers send it

An App Store app is supposed to be worth installing. When the reviewer can do everything in Safari — same pages, same navigation, links that open the browser — the wrapper adds nothing, and that is exactly what 4.2 rejects. It is the usual reason wrapped Lovable, Bolt and Base44 apps are rejected.

The message App Review sends

Guideline 4.2 - Design - Minimum Functionality

We found that the usefulness of your app is limited by the minimal functionality it currently provides. Your app provides a limited user experience as it is not sufficiently different from a mobile browsing experience.

The exact wording changes from one review to the next; the guideline number is what to look for.

How to fix it

Add one or two things a browser can’t do well, in the main flow: push notifications, camera capture, the share sheet, haptics, offline data.
Make it feel like an app: bottom tabs, safe areas around the notch, no hover-only menus, no website footer or “open in browser” banner.
Keep sign-in and payments inside the app instead of bouncing to Safari.
Bundle the web build in the app rather than loading your live site with server.url.
In the reply, tell the reviewer where each new feature is.

Before you resubmit, run the Guideline 4.2 self-audit: six questions on what reviewers look for in a wrapped web app.

Fix it with Lovable, Bolt or Cursor

If the app was built with an AI builder, paste this into it, then check the result on a phone:

Make the app feel native on iPhone: bottom tab navigation, safe-area padding, no website header, footer or “open in browser” links. Add [push notifications / camera capture / the share sheet] with the matching Capacitor plugin where it fits the main flow.

What to reply in App Store Connect

Replace the [brackets] with what you actually changed:

Guideline 4.2 — We have added features that make [App name] more than a website: [feature 1, e.g. push reminders] and [feature 2, e.g. camera capture]. You can find them under [tab or screen]. Navigation now uses native tab bars, and [what] works offline.

Got a different message?

Paste the whole rejection into the rejection explainer. It recognises this one and 26 others, in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

Guideline 4.2 Minimum Functionality rejection