Detect App Review Mode with Environment Variables

Detecting if your app is actively being reviewed by Apple can streamline internal analytics and feature flag management. While common techniques (checking IP addresses, device types, battery levels) prove unreliable, using specific environment variables guarantees accuracy.

During Apple’s review process, two environment variables consistently appear:

• CFNETWORK_DIAGNOSTICS
• CFNETWORK_HAR_LOGGING

If either is present in the process info environment, your app is under review. Use this Swift snippet:

let underReview = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["CFNETWORK_DIAGNOSTICS"] != nil ||
                  ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["CFNETWORK_HAR_LOGGING"] != nil

Rely on these variables instead of fragile methods like IP tracking or hardware characteristics, providing definitive detection without violating Apple guidelines.

For more details, refer to Apple’s ProcessInfo documentation.