# Will Apple reject your app as just a website? > Free Guideline 4.2 (Minimum Functionality) self-audit for wrapped web apps: six questions, a risk score and a fix prompt. Honest: not a promise of approval. It can. Apple’s Guideline **4.2 (Minimum Functionality)** is the usual reason a wrapped web app is rejected: the app has to offer more than your website does in Safari. Answer six questions to see where your app stands, and get a prompt that fixes the weak spots. It is a self-audit, not a verdict — nobody outside App Review can promise approval. - Tool: Guideline 4.2 self-audit. Input: Answer 6 questions. Free, no signup. Runs entirely in the browser; nothing is uploaded. - Interactive version: https://capwr.app/free-tools/apple-guideline-4-2 - All free tools: https://capwr.app/free-tools - Last updated: 2026-10-14 ## What Guideline 4.2 says Apple’s [App Review Guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#minimum-functionality) ask that an app include “features, content, and UI that elevate it beyond a repackaged website”. In practice, reviewers reject apps that behave like a bookmark: the same pages as the site, desktop navigation, links that bounce to Safari, and nothing that needs to live on a phone. Rejections usually cite **4.2** or **4.2.2 (Minimum Functionality)**, sometimes together with **2.1 (App Completeness)** when the reviewer cannot sign in. ## What reviewers look for - **Something a browser cannot do.** Camera capture, the share sheet, push notifications, haptics, offline data, files on the device. - **An app-shaped interface.** Bottom tabs or a clear stack of screens, safe areas around the notch, no hover-only controls, no “open in browser” banners. - **Sign-in that stays in the app.** OAuth that ends on a web page and never comes back looks like a website. - **A listing that describes an app.** Phone screenshots and copy about what people do on the phone — not “our website, now on the App Store”. Unused plugins do not count. Listing `@capacitor/camera` in `package.json` changes nothing if no screen uses it. ## Other rejections wrapped web apps run into 4.2 is the big one, but wrapped apps often trip these too: - **Sign in with Apple (4.8)** — if the app offers Google or Facebook login, it generally has to offer an equivalent privacy-focused option as well. Sign in with Apple qualifies. - **Account deletion (5.1.1)** — if people can create an account in the app, they must be able to delete it from inside the app. - **In-app purchase (3.1.1)** — digital content and subscriptions sold in the app generally go through Apple’s In-App Purchase. Rules for external payment links vary by country. - **Demo account (2.1)** — if the app needs a login, give App Review working credentials in App Store Connect. ## How CapWrapp fits CapWrapp turns the GitHub repo into a signed app, uploads it to TestFlight, and sends the build you pick to App Review. It does not invent native features or argue 4.2 for you — the audit’s fix prompt is how you add them. Already rejected? Paste the message into the [rejection explainer](https://capwr.app/free-tools/app-store-rejection-explainer) — it has a page for [Guideline 4.2](https://capwr.app/free-tools/app-store-rejection-explainer/guideline-4-2-minimum-functionality) and every other rejection wrapped apps hit. The store forms after the binary are the [App Store submission checklist](https://capwr.app/guides/app-store-submission-checklist). Check the code side with the [Lovable](https://capwr.app/free-tools/lovable-capacitor-checker), [Bolt](https://capwr.app/free-tools/bolt-capacitor-checker) or [Base44](https://capwr.app/free-tools/base44-capacitor-checker) checker, then [open CapWrapp](https://capwr.app/login). ## FAQ ### What is Apple Guideline 4.2? It is the Minimum Functionality rule in Apple’s App Review Guidelines. An app must offer more than a repackaged website — features, content and an interface that make sense as an app. Wrapped web apps that only show the website are rejected under it. ### Will this tell me Apple will approve my app? No. Nobody outside App Review can promise that. This is a self-audit of the patterns reviewers cite in 4.2 rejections, with a fix for each one. ### Is adding Capacitor plugins enough? Only if people use them. A plugin in package.json that no screen calls changes nothing. Reviewers test the app, not the dependency list. ### My app was rejected under 4.2. What now? Read the reviewer’s note, fix the specific gaps — usually phone features, mobile navigation and the listing — then reply in App Store Connect or submit a new build. The prompt from this audit is a good starting list. ### Does Google Play have the same rule? Not word for word. Google Play’s spam and minimum functionality policy is looser, but it also rejects apps that crash, barely work, or only show a webview of a site the developer does not own. ## Related free tools - [Is your Lovable app ready for the App Store?](https://capwr.app/free-tools/lovable-capacitor-checker) — Paste package.json. See what is set up, what is missing, and get a prompt to paste back into Lovable. - [Is your Bolt app ready for the App Store?](https://capwr.app/free-tools/bolt-capacitor-checker) — Same checks as the Lovable checker, tuned for Bolt’s Vite projects and Next.js templates. - [Is your Base44 app ready for the App Store?](https://capwr.app/free-tools/base44-capacitor-checker) — Check a Base44 export: the frontend Capacitor wraps, the backend that stays hosted, and common setup mistakes. - [Can this GitHub repo become an iPhone and Android app?](https://capwr.app/free-tools/github-repo-checker) — Paste a public repo URL. The same checks as the builder checkers, read straight from GitHub. - [Capacitor appId and bundle ID validator](https://capwr.app/free-tools/capacitor-config-validator) — Check an appId against Apple and Android rules at once, plus webDir and server.url in capacitor.config. - [Do you need a Mac to publish an iPhone app?](https://capwr.app/free-tools/do-i-need-a-mac) — Three questions. What you need for TestFlight and Google Play — accounts, costs, and whether a Mac is one of them. - [Why was my app rejected by Apple or Google Play?](https://capwr.app/free-tools/app-store-rejection-explainer) — Paste the rejection. Get the guideline in plain English, the fix, a reply for App Review, and a prompt for Lovable or Cursor. - [App icon generator for iPhone and Android](https://capwr.app/free-tools/app-icon-generator) — Drop a logo or type an emoji. Get the iOS 1024 icon, Android adaptive and round icons, and both store icons — in Capacitor’s folders. - [Why did my iOS or Android build fail?](https://capwr.app/free-tools/build-error-explainer) — Paste a failed build or upload log. Get the known error, what it means, and how to fix it — signing, versions, Gradle, uploads. - [App Store and Google Play screenshot sizes](https://capwr.app/free-tools/app-store-screenshot-sizes) — Drop screenshots, see which store slots they fit, and export the missing sizes as PNGs both stores accept. - [Google Play 12 testers, 14 days: when can you publish?](https://capwr.app/free-tools/google-play-12-testers) — Enter your testers and the day the 12th joined. Get the date you can apply for production, a reminder, and draft answers. ## About CapWrapp CapWrapp turns a web app on GitHub — built with Lovable, Bolt, Base44, Cursor or by hand — into iPhone and Android apps. It adds Capacitor if the repo needs it, signs the builds, and ships them to TestFlight and Google Play from GitHub Actions, with no Mac or Xcode on your side. [Get started free](https://capwr.app/login) · [Lovable to App Store guide](https://capwr.app/guides/lovable-to-app-store)