Why App Review wants your phone number in international format

Why is App Review asking for my phone number in international format now

Apple is asking for the number in international format because the App Review contact field now expects a + sign and country code, not a local-only number. The review team uses that contact information if they need to reach you during review. Apple documents this directly in App Store Connect help and App Store review details.

The part people get wrong is simple: they paste a normal local number and expect Apple to infer the country. Apple does not rely on guessing here. The field is designed to accept a number like +852... or +1..., and Apple says the field does not accept numbers-only entry. If the format is wrong, the submission can stall on a detail that looks minor.

This is about review operations, not public marketing. The contact phone number lives in the App Review Information section, which Apple uses for the review process. It is different from the app’s public support information and different from the App Store customer-facing contact details. Apple also says review details are not displayed on the App Store.

The format requirement also matches Apple’s broader contact rules. Apple’s review and store management pages use international-format phone numbers for developer contact and compliance data, and they treat accurate contact information as part of keeping the review and distribution process workable. In practice, that means your review contact should be a real number someone can answer, with the correct country code and no extra local trunk prefix that breaks the format.

What to enter depends on the number you actually want App Review to call. If your team is in the United States, the format starts with +1. If your support line is in another country, use that country code instead. Keep the number stable for the submission, because review can use the contact field if something in the build needs clarification. Apple’s help page specifically says the review team may need additional information.

If your app needs sign-in, Apple separates that from the phone field. You still provide the contact number, and you also provide demo account information and review notes when needed. The inconvenient part is that review problems often come from missing combinations, not a single missing value. A valid phone number does not fix a missing demo login, and a demo login does not fix a malformed contact field.

A practical example: if your business number is (415) 555-0123, the review form should use the international version, such as +14155550123, if that is the actual number tied to the review contact. If the person who can answer App Review is different from the public support contact, use the right person for review and keep the support details correct elsewhere. Apple explicitly allows review-specific contact data in App Store Connect.

When this goes wrong, the failure usually looks boring from the outside. The app is ready, the build is uploaded, and review is waiting on a contact field that never validates. That is why teams should check the App Review Information section before shipping a submission, especially after changing countries, support lines, or team ownership. The formatting rule is small, but it is one of the fields Apple actually checks.

If you want to keep the rest of the submission clean, use the review notes to tell Apple exactly what to test, especially if login, region, hardware, or streaming access matters. Apple says the notes field is where you put extra information that helps during review. That is where you reduce back-and-forth, while the international phone format keeps the contact channel valid.

For teams already juggling App Store Connect metadata, the useful habit is to treat App Review contact information like an operational field, not a formality. Use the correct country code, keep the number reachable during review hours, and make sure the review contact is the person who can answer questions fast. If you also need public support handling, keep that separate and current on the app’s support URL and store metadata.

If you are comparing stores or submission processes, the difference is that Apple’s App Review asks for this number inside review metadata, while other platforms often route contact data through broader developer identity settings. For Apple, the immediate reason is always the same: the review team needs a reliable way to contact you, and the form enforces a format they can use globally.

DevConnect is separate from Apple’s process, but the same discipline helps there too: keep the contact path real, current, and easy to verify. In App Store Connect, the field is not decorative. It is part of whether review can finish without a callback or a rejection for incomplete metadata.

FAQ

What format should I use? Use a full international number with a plus sign and country code. Apple’s help says the field does not accept numbers-only entry.

Is this the public support number for the App Store? No. This is the App Review contact number in App Store Connect review metadata. Apple treats review contact information separately from public app support information.

Do I still need demo account details? Yes, if your app requires sign-in for review. Apple asks for demo account details and review notes separately from the phone number.

Why did my submission stop on this field all of a sudden? Apple has tightened the validation on review contact data, so a local-format number that used to slip through can now fail validation. The fix is to enter the full international format and recheck the review section before resubmitting.

Can I use a different number for review than for customers? Yes. Apple’s App Review Information is for the review process, and Apple also lets you manage support contact information separately for apps.