TL;DR. Guideline 2.3.7 in Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines bans trademarked terms, competitor or popular app names, pricing information, and “irrelevant phrases just to game the system” from your app name, subtitle, keyword field, screenshots, and previews. It applies to the keyword field even though users never see it. Beyond outright rejection, the guideline’s own text warns that Apple “may modify inappropriate keywords at any time” — a quieter, unannounced consequence that won’t show up as a rejection email.

Most indie developers learn about keyword-field limits from the 100-character count, not from the review guideline that actually governs what’s allowed to go in it. That guideline is 2.3.7, and it’s worth reading once, because it’s the one App Review cites when a title, subtitle, or keyword field gets flagged.

What is App Store Review Guideline 2.3.7?

Guideline 2.3.7, part of the “Accurate Metadata” section, requires you to “choose a unique app name, assign keywords that accurately describe your app, and don’t try to pack any of your metadata with trademarked terms, popular app names, pricing information, or other irrelevant phrases just to game the system.” App names are capped at 30 characters, and it explicitly extends the same rule — no prices, no off-type terms, no descriptions that don’t belong — to subtitles, screenshots, and previews.

That’s a broader scope than most developers assume. It’s not just “don’t stuff your title.” It covers every metadata field Apple reviews, and it names the specific categories of content that trigger a flag: trademarks you don’t own, other apps’ names, prices, and anything irrelevant included purely to rank.

Can I put a competitor’s app name in my keyword field or subtitle?

No. Guideline 2.3.7 explicitly bans “popular app names” and trademarked terms from your metadata, and the keyword field is metadata Apple reviews even though it’s never shown to users. Putting a well-known competitor’s name in your keywords to piggyback on their search traffic is exactly the pattern this guideline exists to stop.

This is a different activity from competitor keyword research, which is legitimate: studying what terms a competitor ranks for and building your own metadata around the same user intent. Borrowing their actual brand name as one of your own keywords is the line 2.3.7 draws. If you want the legitimate version of this work, our competitor keyword research framework covers how to find the gap without touching the guideline.

What “just to game the system” actually covers

Four categories are named directly in the guideline text:

  • Trademarked terms you don’t own — brand names, franchise names, or trademarked phrases unrelated to your app.
  • Popular app names — a competitor’s name, or any other app’s name, used to draft off their search volume.
  • Pricing information — “free,” “sale,” ”% off,” or a dollar figure in your app name, subtitle, screenshots, or previews. (Featured in-app purchases have a separate, narrower allowance under Guideline 2.3.2 — you can show what an IAP unlocks, but the general pricing ban still applies to the rest of your metadata.)
  • Irrelevant phrases — category words, superlatives, or descriptors that don’t actually describe what your app does, added purely to catch more search traffic.

None of this is exotic. It’s the exact pattern behind a title like “Habit Tracker – Best App, Free, Like Streaks” — three of the four categories in eleven words.

What actually happens if you violate it?

Two different things can happen, and only one of them looks like a rejection. App Review can catch an obvious violation before your app goes live and reject the submission, which is the outcome most developers picture. But the guideline’s own text also gives Apple a second, quieter option: “Apple may modify inappropriate keywords at any time or take other appropriate steps to prevent abuse.” That means a keyword field that passes initial review can still be edited or stripped later without a rejection notice — you won’t necessarily find out until you notice a keyword isn’t returning results anymore.

That second consequence is worth taking seriously precisely because it’s silent. A rejection tells you what to fix. A quiet keyword strip doesn’t.

Audit your metadata against 2.3.7 today

Before your next submission, go through each field and check for the four categories above:

  • Title (30 characters). No dash-stuffed keyword lists, no competitor or trademarked names.
  • Subtitle (30 characters). No other app’s name, no pricing language, no unverifiable superlative claims (“#1,” “best”).
  • Keyword field (100 characters). No trademarked terms or competitor brand names — remember, App Review reads this field even though shoppers don’t.
  • Screenshots and previews. No price call-outs, no logos or trademarks you don’t have rights to use.

If your keyword field is currently built around squeezing in as many terms as possible rather than accurate, relevant ones, our 100-character keyword field guide covers how to fill it with terms that survive review, not just terms that fit.