Does similar binary always mean I used a template?

No. It can also be leftover identifiers, a sibling target, or a classifier miss. Template is just the most common explanation.

Guideline4.3

Apple Guideline 4.3 Similar Binary Rejection

§ 01What this rejection usually means

Similar binary is the strongest of the three 4.3 phrasings. Apple’s systems, or a reviewer, believe the package looks like another submission — a template, a white-label, a sibling app, or leftover targets from an older project.

§ 02What Apple’s wording tells you

App Review

We noticed your app shares a similar binary, metadata, and/or concept with apps submitted to the App Store.

App Review

Your app shares a similar binary with other apps already submitted.

Prioritize the project, not the store page. Icon and description can wait. Bundle IDs, extensions, entitlements, shared frameworks, and vendor SDKs come first.

§ 03Common causes

Purchased or GitHub template used by other developers with light rebranding.
A second target in the same Xcode project, or a copy-pasted project folder.
Old Firebase GoogleService-Info.plist, reversed client IDs, or Facebook App IDs.
Shared App Groups, Keychain access groups, or URL schemes from a previous product.
An earlier app on the same account that you deleted but whose binary fingerprint still sits in review history.

§ 04How to diagnose your case

Confirm whether Apple wrote “binary” specifically, or the generic binary/metadata/concept sentence.
Ask if this codebase ever shipped under another name, team, or bundle ID.
Search the repo for old names before you write the reply.
If you truly wrote it from scratch and the account is clean, treat it as a possible false positive and prepare evidence.

§ 05What to inspect in your project

Target → General → Bundle Identifier
Extension bundle IDs and App Clip IDs
Signing & Capabilities: App Groups, Keychain, Associated Domains, Push
Info.plist URL Types and schemes
GoogleService-Info.plist, REVERSED_CLIENT_ID, FacebookAppID
grep for old bundle IDs and product names
Shared SPM / CocoaPods packages that still contain vendor sample code

§ 06What not to do

Do not create a new bundle ID as the first response.
Do not resubmit the same archive.
Do not move the project to a friend’s developer account.
Do not only change the display name.

§ 07How to fix it

Remove leftover identifiers and unused targets.
Replace vendor sample assets, storyboards, and helper classes you never rewrote.
If two of your apps share a core, document the difference or merge the listings.
Write a reply that states: original source, one product, what you inspected, what is unique.

§ 08How to verify the fix

Archive a clean build and confirm no old scheme or plist is copied into the bundle.
Install on a device and check the URL schemes that actually register.
Have a second person search the repo for the old product name.

§ 09What evidence to prepare

Product website and design history with dates
Repo creation date or commit history you are willing to describe (not dump)
List of identifiers you audited
Screenshot of the account showing a single related app
Feature list that is not the template’s default

§ 10Suggested reply to App Review

Resolution Center · Reply

Hello App Review,

This submission is an original app developed by our team. We have not submitted other apps with this binary, and we did not start from a commercial template.

We audited bundle identifiers, extension IDs, App Groups, Keychain groups, URL schemes, Associated Domains, and third-party config files. We also searched the project for leftover names from earlier prototypes.

The app is a single product: [one-sentence purpose]. It is distinct from other apps in [two concrete differences].

If you are matching us to a specific prior submission, please tell us which one so we can address it directly.

Thank you.

§ 11Should you appeal?

Appeal only after a reply that explained uniqueness was ignored or rejected with the same boilerplate, and you have evidence the match is wrong. Do not appeal as the first action.

§ 12Questions people ask next

Does similar binary always mean I used a template?: No. It can also be leftover identifiers, a sibling target, or a classifier miss. Template is just the most common explanation.