Submission guidelines

It must be a real Watch app

The app needs a watchOS app on the App Store. Complications-only and widget-only apps are welcome. An iPhone app that merely shows notifications on the Watch is not a Watch app.

Link to the App Store listing itself. We read the app’s ID from the link, which is how we spot an app that is already here.

Tell the truth about independence

• “Runs without iPhone” — every core feature works with the iPhone out of range.
• “Partly independent” — it works alone, but some features need the iPhone.
• “Needs iPhone nearby” — the Watch app extends the iPhone app.

We compare your claim with the App Store listing. Visitors rely on this more than anything else on the page.

Wrist actions, not feature lists

List three to five concrete things a person can do from the wrist, in the order they would do them — “Start a 20-minute run from the complication”, not “Advanced workout tracking”.

Screenshots from the Watch

• Two to eight screenshots, captured on an Apple Watch. PNG or JPEG, up to 10 MB each. Export HEIC captures as PNG or JPEG first.
• No iPhone screenshots, no mock-ups, no marketing frames.
• A line of alt text for each one is strongly recommended, so the page works with VoiceOver. Without it, screen readers hear only the app’s name.
• The icon is square, 512 to 2048 pixels, PNG or JPEG, up to 2 MB.

An unusual screenshot shape does not block your submission — Watch sizes change with every generation — but a reviewer will look at it.

What reviewers check

• Is this actually a Watch app?
• Is the App Store link genuine, and does the page match it?
• Are the claims — independence, capabilities, what it does — supported?
• Is it spam, deceptive, or already on the site?

If we ask for changes, the reason appears on your dashboard and in an email, with a link to the part of the form that fixes it.

One listing per app

An app has one page, which you keep up to date by posting updates. Submitting the same App Store listing again is refused. To launch an app again, wait 90 days from the close of its last launch.

No vote campaigns

Asking people to upvote is fine: anyone with an account can, and their upvote counts once their email is confirmed. Buying votes, trading them, or coordinating rings of accounts is not: we remove those votes before ranks freeze, and may remove the launch or the listing.