Apple rejected my meal planning app for linking to web payments. Here’s how I’m resubmitting.

Built Ladle, a meal planning app, using Capacitor to wrap the web app for iOS. Stripe handles payments on the web side and it works great there.

Apple rejected the build. The reason: linking to external payment methods inside the app violates App Store guidelines. You can’t point users to your own checkout flow if you’re selling digital goods.

The fix I’m trying is the Netflix model. No purchase buttons inside the app at all. No mention of pricing. No links to the website for signup. The app just works if you have an account and says nothing if you don’t.

Users who want to subscribe find their way to useladle.com outside the app and come back with an active account.

It’s a worse user experience than I’d like but it’s the path that gets the app live without building a full RevenueCat IAP integration right now.

Has anyone navigated this recently? Curious whether the Netflix model still holds up in review or whether Apple has tightened this further since the epic ruling.