Integrations with Apple's own services — Game Center leaderboards and invites, iCloud sharing, contact-based invites — can't be used to blast unsolicited invitations or notifications to other users at scale.
Common with social or gaming apps whose "invite friends" flow auto-sends messages to a user's entire contact or Game Center friends list without individual confirmation.
"Your app sends unsolicited messages or invitations to users via Apple services, which is considered spam under guideline 4.5.3."
Guideline 4.5.3 stops apps from using Apple's own services, such as Game Center, iCloud sharing or contact-based invitations, to send unsolicited messages in bulk. Features that automatically invite a user's entire friend list or contacts without individual confirmation are what the rule targets. Social and gaming apps with growth-driven invite flows are the usual source.
Services such as Game Center and iMessage rely on trust between people who know each other. If an app could use them to blast invitations to everyone on a list, users would receive unwanted messages and the services would lose value. The rule keeps invites a deliberate act by the user and prevents developers from treating Apple's social graph as a free marketing channel.
Yes, when the user chooses the recipients.
The principle is the same: invitations should be individually initiated.
They are fine when the user controls who is included.
Platform rules change often. This page is a plain-language explanation written by AppReviewFix, not official guidance. Check the current App Store Review Guidelines for the exact wording.