π Need Help: Immediate User Block/Hide Feature for Apple App Store Requirement
Hello Fluent Community and especially Shahjahan Jewel ! ππ»
First, I want to sincerely thank your entire team for the incredible products you continuously create. Iβve been a big fan and loyal user for years nowβalmost all our licenses are lifetime because your products are simply exceptional. Itβs evident how much passion, quality, and heart you invest in your work.
A bit of context: Over two years ago, our team started building a special community platform focused on happiness, personal growth, and continuous learningβvalues deeply aligned with our company,Β Human Excellence. When we heard about Fluent Communityβs development, we immediately stopped our other project (for which we had already bought PeepSo licenses), dedicating our focus entirely to Fluent Community. It seamlessly integrates with our established ecosystem (especially FluentCRM), where we have nurtured our user base over the years.
Right now, weβre at the very final stage of publishing our mobile app on the Apple App Store, using AppMySite (WebView wrapper for WordPress). Here, I must congratulate you again: Fluent Community works incredibly well in a WebView app formatβtruly remarkable!
During recent months, my team and I have worked tirelessly to meet Appleβs App Store Review Guidelines, including advanced workarounds like allowing users to delete their own accounts. Weβve solved practically all technical challenges Apple required, except one crucial requirement:
Apple requires users to have the immediate and direct ability to block or hide other users within the platform.
Iβve thoroughly checked the documentation, GitHub discussions, and all community forumsβbut so far havenβt found a practical solution for this specific issue.
I fully understand that this feature may not yet exist in Fluent Community. But given our current situation and our excitement to launch, Iβd deeply appreciate if you or anyone in the community can provide some advice or a temporary workaroundβmaybe something as simple as letting users mutually hide each otherβto meet Appleβs requirements and finally get our much-awaited app approved.
We genuinely respect and appreciate your teamβs incredible work and continuous willingness to help your users. Any guidance or advice from you, @Shahjahan Jewel, or anyone here in the community, would mean a lot to us and help our team tremendously.
Thanks again to all of you for the fantastic support!
Interesting, I also turned my FluentCommunity into app (with webtonative) but didnβt had this issue with Apple - although there were many other restrictions because apple is so strict.
I think that it worked in our case because we have chat function via BetterMessage system which allows users to block / report users. I think you should try it out as it will most likely solve your problem! π
TjaΕ‘a PeterleΒ Hey TjaΕ‘a! π
Thanks so much for your response and sharing your experience! This is really helpful.
Just one quick question: Do you know if the BetterMessage plugin only lets users block/report other users specifically within the messaging functionality, or does it also help to block/hide users completely throughout Fluent Community (like profiles, comments, spaces, etc.)?
The core requirement from Apple is for users to have a general ability to hide or block other users within the entire community, so Iβm curious if BetterMessage covers this fully or if thereβs another recommendation you might have.
I truly appreciate your help and advice! π
David Badilla Salazar It only affects BetterMessage, of course. But realistically, the app review team likely wonβt make a big deal out of it, especially if you post a simple βHow to block usersβ guide in your community with screenshots. That way, the reviewer sees it and considers it compliant. π Good luck π
TjaΕ‘a PeterleΒ TjaΕ‘a, thank youΒ so muchΒ for jumping in and sharing your insight β this wasΒ incrediblyΒ helpful! ππΌ
The idea of creating a βHow to block usersβ post with screenshots is brilliant and so actionable β I hadnβt thought of it that way, and it makes total sense from a reviewerβs perspective. π§ π‘
Weβre currently on our second (maybe third π ) round of review with Apple, and every detail like this counts. I truly appreciate you taking the time to help β especially as someone whoβs already walked this path with BetterMessages!
Wishing you continued success with your app, and againβ¦ thank you !!! βοΈβ¨π
David Badilla Salazar you're welcome! π I know how tough it gets... we had around 5 rejections before getting approved, and when it finally happened it was such a relief πππ» So just be persistent and If you need help, feel free to reach out anytime. π
TjaΕ‘a PeterleΒ Β Hi TjaΕ‘a! π
Thank you so much for your kind words and support β honestly, your message gave me a great boost of courage and helped renew my determination. πͺ Knowing that someone else has walked this same road (and survived five rejections!) means the world. Thank you from the heart. π
Iβve already started making some important changes based on your comment β in fact, Iβm now exploring the same approach you mentioned with WebToNative. I really appreciated the lead!
If you donβt mind, Iβd love to ask you a few quick questions:
- Were you able to implement your app as a fully native install or is it mostly running as a WebView?
- Has the notification system been working well for you in this setup?
- Did you manage to implement in-app notifications for things like likes, comments or replies between members?
- And finallyβ¦ any bonus tips youβd offer to help survive Appleβs review gauntlet? π
Weβre already acting on your previous advice and starting a new path β and no matter how many reviews Apple requires, weβre moving forward. π
Thanks again for being so generous and encouraging. Really appreciate it β and if you ever need anything from my side too, just say the word. π€β¨
David Badilla SalazarΒ I think you may not need this individual user's block as FleuntCommunity already has a moderation feature as it's a admin managed private community. I also looked into the Circle web and app as well and you can't block individual users as well. I can be wrong but I think this feature is not required for the app store approval.
Shahjahan JewelΒ Hi Shahjahan! π
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond personally β I truly appreciate your support and thoughtful insights.
Yes, weβre aware that FluentCommunity already includes moderation tools and is structured as a private, admin-managed environment. In fact, thatβs one of the reasons we love it and chose to build our platform entirely on it. ππ»
That said, weβre currently on our second (possibly third) review cycle with Apple for app store approval, and their team has repeatedly pointed out the need for anΒ explicit user block or hide feature. Weβve managed to address most of their technical requirements, but this one seems to be a sticking point in their current process.
Weβve already tried a couple of workarounds (including clever moderation tactics and visibility filters), and weβll be attempting a few more creative approaches. Fingers crossed. π€
Regardless of the outcome, I just wanted to say thank you again for your leadership and for taking the time to offer your perspective. It means a lot to us. ππ»