Guides › Common App Icon Mistakes That Get Apps Rejected From App Stores
Common App Icon Mistakes That Get Apps Rejected From App Stores
The recurring icon problems that trigger App Store and Play Store review rejections — and how to avoid each one.
App icon problems are a surprisingly common reason for a submission to bounce back from app store review, and most of the recurring issues are avoidable once you know what reviewers (and automated pre-checks) are actually looking for.
Missing or wrong-sized icons
The most basic failure is simply not providing every required size for the platform — a missing 1024×1024 App Store marketing icon, for instance, is an instant, mechanical rejection before a human reviewer ever looks at the app itself. Because each platform expects an exact set of filenames and dimensions, this is also the category of mistake automated generation tools are specifically built to eliminate.
Baked-in transparency where it isn't allowed
Apple's App Store marketing icon specifically must not contain transparency — an icon exported with a transparent background where a solid one is required can render with unexpected black or white fill once the store processes it, which is flagged during review.
Pre-rounded corners
Both Apple and Google apply their own corner rounding/masking to the icon you submit — supplying an icon with the corners already rounded results in a visible double-rounded edge once the platform applies its own mask on top. The fix is submitting a full square (or full-bleed) source image and letting the platform handle the final shape itself.
Full-color notification icons on Android
A full-color logo submitted as an Android notification icon either renders as a solid block or gets flagged during review, since Android specifically requires a monochrome silhouette for this icon type rather than the full-color launcher icon.
Placeholder or default icons left in place
Finally, one of the most common — and most avoidable — issues is simply forgetting to replace a framework's default placeholder icon at all before submitting. Both major app stores treat a default framework icon as a strong signal that the app isn't finished, and it's worth explicitly checking every platform folder for a real, final icon before shipping a build for review.
Ready to generate your icons? Open FLogo Generator.