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Expo App Pre-Flight Checks: What to Verify Before App Store Submission

A practical Expo iOS release check goes beyond a clean build: validate project health, test real screens and flows, complete privacy and store details, and submit a tested release candidate.
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A sound pre-flight check for an Expo app covers more than whether the project builds: inspect project health, test real screens and flows on representative devices, complete privacy and store information, and install the release candidate before submitting it. The available evidence does not establish which 23 repositories were scanned, when they were checked, or what issues were found, so it cannot support claims about findings from that scan. This guide focuses on a reproducible release-readiness process instead.

What a pre-flight check can—and cannot—tell you

Pre-flight checks reduce avoidable problems; they do not certify that Apple will approve an app. A project diagnostic can reveal configuration or dependency issues, while device testing can expose layout and interaction problems. Neither replaces completing App Store Connect information or testing the actual release candidate.

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Keep the stages distinct: preparing and uploading a binary is not the same as submitting a complete app for review, and review approval is not guaranteed. Expo cautions that rules change frequently and enforcement can vary. Expo’s iOS submission guidance and App Store configuration guidance describe the relevant workflow and preparation.

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Run project diagnostics before building

Run npx expo-doctor from the project directory. Expo Doctor analyzes project configuration, dependency compatibility, configuration files, and overall project health, and reports issues with advice. Treat its output as a diagnostic, not an App Review pass guarantee. Resolve issues that apply to the project and understand any warnings you leave unresolved. See Expo’s development tools documentation.

Inspect the app on small, large, and tablet screens

A successful build does not prove that the interface works at every supported size. Expo recommends checking both small and large screens and testing tablets. Its guidance gives iPhone SE as an example of a small screen; it is an example, not a required purchase. Expo also notes that an app may render on an iPad even when ios.supportsTablet: false is configured.

On each representative screen, work through actual app flows and check that:

  • Text remains legible and important content is not cut off.
  • Fields can be reached and used when the keyboard is open.
  • Buttons and other controls are visible, tappable, and not blocked by overlays or system UI.
  • Layouts adapt as expected when the screen size or orientation changes, where the app supports that change.
  • Tablet rendering is intentional rather than an accidental stretched or phone-sized layout.

Expo’s testing-on-devices guidance covers practical device checks.

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Review privacy answers and store-facing information

Prepare the privacy policy and App Store Connect privacy-practice details as part of release readiness. Expo notes that privacy answers can depend on the libraries in the project, using expo-updates as an example of a dependency that may affect what needs to be disclosed. Review the app’s actual data practices and included libraries rather than assuming a generic answer fits.

Check that store metadata, support information, privacy-policy information, and screenshots are complete and that every submitted link works. Apple’s App Review guidance identifies broken links and incomplete information among common review issues and describes support and privacy-policy link expectations. Consult Apple’s current guidance when preparing a submission, since platform rules can change.

Test the release candidate you intend to submit

Test the built candidate—not only a development session—on devices running current software. Exercise the core user journeys, fix crashes and bugs, remove placeholder content, and verify that displayed information and links are complete. Apple states: “Submit items for review only when they’re complete and ready to be published.” Its common App Review issues guidance lists crashes, bugs, placeholder content, incomplete information, and broken links as problems to address.

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Know what upload does—and what remains

For iOS, EAS Submit uploads a signed .ipa to App Store Connect. After processing, the build can become available in TestFlight; that does not automatically release it in the App Store. You still need to complete App Store Connect metadata and screenshots, select the build, and submit it for App Review. Expo explains this distinction in its iOS submission documentation.

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  1. Check the project: run Expo Doctor and address applicable configuration or dependency issues.
  2. Check the experience: test core flows and screen behavior on small, large, and tablet displays relevant to the app.
  3. Complete release information: verify privacy disclosures, metadata, screenshots, support details, and working links.
  4. Test the candidate: install and exercise the release build, then fix incomplete or broken behavior.
  5. Submit for review: upload the binary, finish App Store Connect preparation, and explicitly submit the build to Apple.

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