HealthLog/docs/apple-store-connect-checklist.md

file, purpose, audience, estimated_read_time, last_updated

file	purpose	audience	estimated_read_time	last_updated
docs/apple-store-connect-checklist.md	Step-by-step ASC submission checklist for HealthLog iOS — covering medical-device declaration, privacy nutrition labels, and ASC metadata	the maintainer, before submitting to App Store	15 min	2026-05-15

App Store Connect Submission Checklist — HealthLog iOS

TL;DR

Three submission gates that need the maintainer's hand at ASC:

1. Regulated-Medical-Device declaration (Guideline 1.4 + 5.1.1(ix))
2. Privacy Nutrition Labels matching the iOS Privacy Manifest (Guideline 5.1.2)
3. Standard metadata (name, description, screenshots, categories, age rating)

Plus pre-submit final checks.

Section 1 — Regulated-Medical-Device declaration

Where: App Store Connect → App Information → "Health & Fitness" → "Medical device" toggle

Decision: HealthLog is NOT a medical device under EU MDR 2017/745 / FDA 21 CFR 880 / Apple's interpretation.

Recommended wording in the declaration form:

HealthLog is a personal health-data logging and visualization app. It displays user-entered observations + integrates with Apple HealthKit, Withings, and manual entry. It does not diagnose, treat, prescribe, or recommend dosing. The AI Coach surfaces are explicit-refusal-gated (GROUND RULES 9 + 15) against any medical-device-class output. The drug-level estimation chart is display-only behind a versioned MDR-acknowledgment dialog citing EU 2017/745 + MDCG 2021-24. For medical advice, users must consult licensed clinicians.

What to check:

• Check "No" on the medical-device toggle
• Add the description above to the medical-device-justification field if Apple shows one
• Cross-reference the in-app /privacy page (https:///privacy) §7 MDR-boundary

Why this matters: health apps get rejected on first submission most commonly for unclear medical-device classification. The above wording mirrors the in-app disclaimer + the per-feature gating; consistency between the form and the app is what Apple looks for.

Section 2 — Privacy Nutrition Labels

Where: App Store Connect → App Privacy → "Edit" the privacy choices.

Cross-reference: every data category here MUST match what the iOS Privacy Manifest (in the iOS repo) declares. The iOS client's v0.3.0 release extended the manifest to: Email + OtherUserContent + SensitiveInfo + DeviceID + UserID + AccountManagement-purpose.

Data categories to declare

For each category below: Linked to user, used for App Functionality + Account Management. Optional purposes: never enable Analytics, Tracking, Advertising, or Third-Party Tracking.

Health & Fitness

• Health: yes (all HKQuantityType + HKCategoryType the iOS app reads — see /privacy page §2)
• Fitness: yes (steps, distance, active energy, workouts)
• Purpose: App Functionality
• Linked to user: yes

Contact Info

• Email Address: yes (for account login + GDPR data-subject correspondence)
• Purpose: App Functionality + Account Management
• Linked to user: yes

Sensitive Info

• Blood pressure, glucose, medications, drug-related observations: yes
• Purpose: App Functionality
• Linked to user: yes

User Content

• Emails or Text Messages: NO (the AI Coach is in-app conversation, but iOS does not send emails)
• Photos or Videos: NO
• Audio Data: NO (HealthKit audio-exposure is environmental dB; not the user's voice)
• Customer Support: yes (open-source GitHub Issues; mention in policy)
• Other User Content: yes (Coach conversation context + medication notes + side-effect free-text)
• Purpose: App Functionality
• Linked to user: yes

Identifiers

• User ID: yes (server-side user UUID)
• Device ID: yes (X-Device-Id Keychain-stored UUID, APNs push token)
• Purpose: App Functionality + Account Management
• Linked to user: yes

Other Data Types

• Other Data Types: yes (general medical observations not fitting above)
• Purpose: App Functionality
• Linked to user: yes

Data types to NOT declare (because not collected)

• Browsing History
• Search History
• Location (Precise or Coarse) — workout GPS routes are opt-in per-workout; if the iOS app implements them, declare; otherwise omit
• Purchases
• Financial Info
• Diagnostics, Crash Data, Performance Data, Other Diagnostic Data — if iOS uses any analytics SDK, declare; otherwise omit. Verify against the iOS client.
• Advertising Data
• Other Usage Data

Tracking declaration

Tracking: NO. HealthLog does not link user data with data from other companies' apps and websites for advertising or share data with data brokers. The Privacy Manifest must not declare any tracking-related purposes.

Section 3 — Standard Metadata Checklist

App Information

• Name: "HealthLog"
• Subtitle: 30-char tagline (suggestion: "Personal health-data log + Coach")
• Primary category: Health & Fitness
• Secondary category: Medical (if Apple accepts non-medical-device classification for it)
• Content rights: confirm the maintainer owns the app rights
• Age rating: 17+ (because Sensitive Health Info content)

Description

• Long-form description (4000 char max): cover Insights + Coach + GLP-1 + Withings + Apple HealthKit + open-source nature + EU GDPR compliance
• What's New (version-by-version notes): v0.3.0 = "Server-sync, comprehensive Apple HealthKit support across 19 sample types, smart Insights, AI Coach, Health Score, GLP-1 tracking with Research-Mode-gated drug-level chart, interactive charts with drill-down, push notifications, deep links, and account deletion."

Screenshots

• 6.5" iPhone screenshots: cover Onboarding (welcome carousel + permissions), Dashboard (Health Score tile + tile-strip), Insights (sub-page with severity sort), Coach (refusal example to show MDR boundary), Medications (GLP-1 detail stack), Settings (Research Mode toggle + account deletion).
• 5.5" iPhone screenshots: same set (Apple's legacy size).
• iPad screenshots if supporting iPad.

URLs

• Marketing URL: https:// (or the marketing site once the landing repo's v1.4.25 is deployed)
• Privacy Policy URL: https:///privacy (ships with v1.4.25.1 hotfix)
• Support URL: https://github.com/MBombeck/HealthLog/issues

App Review Information

• Demo account credentials: the maintainer creates a read-only demo account on demo.healthlog.dev and provides credentials in the demo account fields
• Review notes: explain MDR boundary + AI Coach safety contract + Research Mode gating; reference /privacy §7 MDR-boundary. Apple reviewers DO read this and DO check the in-app behavior matches the claim.
• Sign-in required: yes (provide demo credentials)

Pricing + Availability

• Free
• Availability: select countries (maintainer decision — recommend EU + US + Canada + Australia + Japan for first launch)

Section 4 — Pre-Submit Final Check

Run through this list:

• Privacy Policy URL responds 200 (curl https:///privacy)
• iOS Privacy Manifest categories match the App Privacy declarations in §2
• Demo account works on the demo server
• iOS app's TestFlight build is on the latest commit
• The maintainer has the APNs .p8 backed up to a password manager
• The maintainer's Apple Developer Program subscription is active

Section 5 — Common First-Submission Rejection Reasons (Apple Health-App-Specific)

• Guideline 1.4.1: "Medical claims" — wording in app or screenshots implies diagnosis/treatment → fix: tone down wording, lean on the MDR-boundary disclaimer
• Guideline 5.1.1(v): "Account Deletion missing" — the iOS client added this in v0.3.0
• Guideline 5.1.2(i): "Third-Party AI consent" — DEFERRED to v0.3.1 per the iOS release notes; resubmission may flag
• Guideline 5.1.2: "Privacy Manifest mismatch" — see §2; the iOS release process needs to ensure the manifest matches

Section 6 — Post-Submit / If Rejected

• Apple's most common rejection language for health apps: "Your app's marketing language and/or in-app content implies the diagnosis or treatment of conditions..."
• Response template: cite GROUND RULES 9 + 15 + /privacy §7 + the screenshot of the in-app MDR-boundary disclaimer. Apple usually accepts a clear, written delineation.
• If rejected, do NOT escalate to App Review Board immediately — first iterate on the in-app wording (move "GLP-1" / "drug-level" to back of UI, add more explicit "This is not medical advice" copy at every Coach surface). Most rejections resolve within 1-2 iterations.

---

Source links:

• Apple Health App Guidelines: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#health-and-health-research
• Apple App Privacy Details: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/app-privacy-details/
• EU MDR 2017/745: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/745/oj
• MDCG 2021-24 (Software as a Medical Device): https://health.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-10/mdcg_2021-24_en_0.pdf