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Setting up App Store Connect

App Store Connect is where your app exists as far as Apple is concerned: the record, the listing, the builds, the releases. Set it up completely before your first submission — an incomplete listing is the cheapest rejection there is.

1. Create the app record

  1. App Store Connect → Apps → + → New App.
  2. Pick the platform, a name (unique on the App Store, changeable later), your primary language, and the bundle ID — this must match your Xcode project exactly and cannot change after the first upload.
  3. Set an SKU (any internal reference; customers never see it).

2. Complete the store listing

  • Screenshots for the required device sizes — at minimum the current iPhone size class; iPad sizes too if your app runs there.
  • Description, keywords, promotional text, support URL.
  • Category, age rating questionnaire, and pricing/availability.
  • A privacy policy URL — required for every app, no exceptions.

3. Fill in the privacy nutrition label

Under App Privacy you declare what data the app collects, whether it's linked to identity, and whether it's used for tracking. This renders as the privacy "nutrition label" on your product page, and you can't submit for review without it.

Third-party SDKs count as your collection. An analytics or ads SDK you barely think about still has to appear in the label — mismatches between the label and observed traffic are a rejection Apple actively looks for.

4. Upload a build

Archive in Xcode (Product → Archive) and upload through the Organizer, or use Xcode Cloud/CI. Builds appear in App Store Connect after processing (minutes to an hour) and can then be attached to a TestFlight round or a release.