React Native and App Store — Why Similar Apps Get Rejected
We published 8 React Native apps in two months. Five looked completely different—different colors, layouts, features. Four got rejected.
All four rejections: 4.3(a) Design: Spam.
The problem isn't what you think
First instinct: change the UI more. We redid icons, rewrote copy, changed the color scheme. Resubmitted.
Rejected again. Same reason.
Turns out Apple doesn't just look at screenshots. They analyze the binary. And when you're building multiple apps from the same React Native codebase—even with different features enabled—the structural similarity screams "copy-paste".
What Apple actually checks
After digging into rejection patterns across studios, here's what triggers 4.3 for React Native apps:
Component structure and hierarchy: If App.tsx → MainNavigator → HomeScreen → ProfileCard looks identical across apps, that's a flag. Even if ProfileCard renders different content.
Hook names and patterns: Custom hooks like useAuth(), useFetchData(), useTheme() with the same signatures across apps. Apple's tooling can detect this.
Navigation setup: React Navigation route configs that mirror each other. Same screen names, same stack structure, just different content.
Dependencies: Identical package.json with the same set of libraries at the same versions. This one's subtle but contributes to the overall "sameness" score.
What didn't work
Changing variable names manually—too error-prone and time-consuming. You miss things, break stuff.
Using different component libraries per app—adds bloat, inconsistent dev experience, doesn't solve the structural similarity problem.
Randomizing file names—doesn't change the AST (abstract syntax tree), which is what actually matters.
What actually works
I built apporig.com because I got tired of the rejection roulette. You upload a ZIP or connect a Git repo. It analyzes:
- Component tree structure
- Function and hook signatures
- Navigation patterns
- Package dependencies
Output: similarity percentages and a status for each layer:
- COPY: > 85% similar—Apple will likely reject
- RELATED: 60-85%—risky, needs review
- OK: < 60%—safe to submit
You see exactly which parts of your codebase are too similar before Apple does. For React Native specifically, it checks both JS/TS structure and the native module setup.
Practical takeaways (even without apporig)
Vary component hierarchies: Don't just swap content inside the same component tree. Restructure screens entirely. Use tabs in one app, drawer nav in another.
Rename custom hooks meaningfully: Not just
useData→useData2, but actually different abstractions.useProductCatalog,useServiceList—names that reflect different domains.Diversify dependencies: If one app uses React Query, try SWR in another. Different state management libraries create different structural patterns.
Unique screen flows: Don't copy-paste screen sequences. If one app has Onboarding → Home → Profile, make another go Dashboard → Settings → Profile.
Before every submission now, I run the check. Saved us probably 30+ hours of rejection cycles in the last quarter alone.
If you're publishing multiple RN apps, check similarity before Apple does: apporig.com/react-native-code-uniqueness
