Important App Store Update

This post contains information most relevant to prospective Guidebook customers. If you are an existing Guidebook customer with a branded app subscription then please refer to this post.

Dear Prospective Customers,

As someone who has expressed interest in Guidebook’s products, I thought I’d bring your attention to some important news. If you’re considering creating a mobile app, or think you or your organization may do so in the future, then I encourage you to read this short note.

Apple has updated their App Review Guidelines, the criteria Apple employees use when deciding to accept (or reject) an app into the App Store. The new section 4.2.6 states, “Apps created from a commercialized template or app generation service will be rejected.”

Guidebook and Apple have come to an agreement allowing Guidebook to continue to host apps in the App Store that are admitted to the App Store by the end of 2017. Furthermore, we will be able to update these apps (e.g. release new features, update branding elements) on an ongoing basis.

Here is the summary:

1. Now is the time to act. If you publish an app with Guidebook by the end of the year, it will be considered ‘grandfathered’ or exempt from this new section of the App Store Guidelines.
2. In order to guarantee your app is approved prior to the year’s end, we strongly encourage you to submit your app to the App Store by November 30. Of course, we will work with you to ensure this deadline is met.
3. If you’re not able to move this quickly, but are still interested in creating a mobile experience, then Guidebook will still have you covered. Come 2018, we will be offering a custom-built product offering, but it will come at an additional cost. We’ll also offer a branded offering within our flagship Guidebook App, which has won multiple awards and is used by millions.

As Guidebook’s technology powers tens of thousands of new mobile experiences each year, across many industries, and serves tens of millions of users, we regularly interface with Apple employees spanning multiple departments. We at Guidebook have been fortunate to leverage these relationships to engage in an ongoing and constructive dialogue about the future of the industry and to secure this allowance for our customers.

We are committed to delivering cutting edge mobile experiences for our customers and we hope you decide to join us!

Jeff Lewis, Founder and CEO, Guidebook