App rejected for missing account deletion: Guideline 5.1.1(v) fix

What App Store Guideline 5.1.1(v) says

Apple's Guideline 5.1.1(v) (Account Sign-In, part of Data Collection and Storage) states that if your app supports account creation, you must also offer account deletion within the app. Apple has enforced this requirement since June 30, 2022.

Apple's support guidance is specific about what counts. The deletion must be initiated in the app, it must delete the account rather than temporarily deactivate or disable it, and it should be easy to find. Apps that make deletion unnecessarily difficult do not pass review. Apps in highly regulated industries may add a customer service confirmation step under Guideline 5.1.1(ix), but apps outside those industries should not force a phone call, an email, or an outside support flow.

The official text lives on the App Store Review Guidelines page, and Apple's account deletion guidance covers the details.

Why apps get rejected under 5.1.1(v)

Common triggers:

• The app lets users sign up but has no delete option anywhere in the interface.
• The app only offers "deactivate," "disable," or "log out," none of which delete the account.
• Deletion exists but is hidden so deep in settings that the reviewer cannot find it.
• The app sends users to a website, a support email, or a phone number to delete, which is not allowed outside regulated industries.
• The flow claims to delete but only signs the user out and leaves the account and data intact.

The common thread is that the user cannot fully delete their account from inside the app in a way that is easy to reach.

How to fix it

1. Add an in-app delete entry point. Put a clear "Delete account" action in a place a user would look, such as account or profile settings, not buried several screens deep.
2. Delete, do not deactivate. The flow must remove the account and the associated personal data on your backend, not just disable login. Keep only records the law requires you to retain.
3. Confirm intent without blocking it. A confirmation step or re-authentication is fine. Forcing a call or email to finish is not, unless you are in a highly regulated industry under 5.1.1(ix).
4. Handle subscriptions clearly. If the user has an active subscription, tell them deletion does not cancel App Store billing and point them to manage or cancel it, so they are not surprised.
5. Update your privacy policy. State how deletion works and your data retention and deletion practices, which 5.1.1 also requires.
6. Test the full flow end to end and confirm the data is actually gone before resubmitting.

Remember that submitted is not approved. A working delete flow is what the guideline asks for, but Apple verifies it on resubmission.

How AppFlight helps

AppFlight builds native iOS apps in Swift and SwiftUI and wires authentication through a Supabase backend, so when an app has account creation it has the account model and backend needed to support a real deletion flow, not just a sign-out. When Apple returns a 5.1.1(v) rejection, AppFlight reads the rejection reason, works on adding or fixing the in-app account deletion flow, and resubmits the build. AppFlight does not guarantee approval. Apple reviews every app and every resubmission, and the delete flow has to genuinely remove the account and data.