Email From Apple

So today i got an email from apple saying that in order to submit my build to iTunes Connect i should give a description. Here is the needed part of the email.

It looks like your app is using the calendar capability. Due to this being used, our app review team requires a description for why it is being used. Once description are provided for the capabilities used, and you attempt to upload again, the issue should be resolved.

So which description should i provide exactly and where should i submit it?

 

well it's up to u which description u give but u do it in the resolution center

 

Are you using Admob? I think this is related to using the current Admob SDK version with Xcode 8. Downgrade to Xcode 7 and I think you should not have any issues. I think there are several forum threads that discuss what to do if using Xcode 8 with BB 2.2.7 or earlier.

 

Thanks for answer. But i am already using Xcode 7. And yes, i am using Admob. Could you tell me how can i solve this problem?

 

I've never seen similar issue when using Xcode 7, can you give the full and complete email from Apple? Might be something different than what I was thinking.

 

Hello Nihat,

Thank you for your response and the information you have provided. My name is Jesse.

I have done some digging and it looks like the reason for this import error is likely because you are using a capability that requires a description, but it was not provided.

It looks like your app is using the calendar capability. Due to this being used, our app review team requires a description for why it is being used. Once description are provided for the capabilities used, and you attempt to upload again, the issue should be resolved.

Please attempt this, and follow up with me if the issue persists with the answers to the following questions:


• Steps to reproduce the issue
• Full-window screenshots or video illustrating the issue
• Username of each user experiencing the issue
• Web browsers that you were able to reproduce the issue in
• Web browser version numbers
• Content Name
• Content Apple ID
• Xcode or Application Loader version used
• An attachment of the .ipa file
• Any significant changes to the current build compared

If you have any further questions, please feel free to reply directly to this email. I am certainly more than happy to assist. If you wish to speak with someone directly, you may use the information below to contact us by phone:

Monday through Friday
9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. central time
800-633-2152

Best regards,

Jesse
Apple Inc.

 

When you registered your app in the developer account, did you select by mistake that your app uses the calendar function?

 

Did this come about from separate rejection email? Can you provide the complete text of that original mail or rejection as well?

 

No it is not rejection. I just wrote an email. I asked the reason of why i cannot see my build even if it said in Xcode that my app submitted successfully. And as an answer they wrote this email to me.

 

This is the complete email.

 

Actually i am not sure exactly but i think no.

 

Hmm... OK, that is really odd. For some reason that only Apple knows you are stuck in some weird state that no one else is facing. (Or I am missing something completely obvious.) You can try the following:

1) Wait for Buildbox 2.2.8 (about 1 week or so). This version will use Xcode 8 and include updated Admob that fixes several issues with iTunes submissions.

2) Update the Admob SDK manually in your export and continue to use Xcode 7 or 8. Just remove the old framework and replace with a new one.

 

Ok, i will try second option as soon as possible and let you know if it works or not.

 

Open up your "PTPlayer-Info.plist" and add this:

<key>NSCalendarsUsageDescription</key>
<string>Some ad content may access calendar</string>

Then build, archive and send it to itunes connect.

That worked for me.

 

But why on Earth ads use calendar?

 

Not sure. But I had the same problem after using RevMob.

 

Its admob I think that tries to access calandars.. I just had mine rejected too and this fixed it.

This app attempts to access privacy-sensitive data without a usage description. The app's Info.plist must contain an NSCalendarsUsageDescription key with a string value explaining to the user how the app uses this data.

Once these issues have been corrected, you can then redeliver the corrected binary.

I added to the top of my info.plist but beneath the first <dir> -
<key>NSCalendarsUsageDescription</key>
<string>Some ad content may access calendar</string>

 

Just to confirm with you guys this IS from Admob's SDK. When they released the new SDK that's when this started happening ( probably about 2 months ago).
As @TMNorvic mentioned all you need to do is add the NSCalendarsUsageDescription into your plist and just put a small description in there and you are good to go.

This does not affect testing in anyway, it's only when submitting your build to Apple for review. So if you get that email because you forgot to put it in there, make sure you increment your build version number and re submit a new build.

 

My understanding is that this is incorrect. It started happening when iOS 10 was released (which is why using Xcode 8 was a problem) due to new detection factors added during submission. Google has since fixed the issue in newer versions of the Admob SDK. It is true though that adding the keys to the Info plist will fix the issue when using Xcode 8.

 

I'm just stating when it began happening to me @Andy and it was around 2 months ago when IOS 10 was released.
Cheers