---
title: "App Store Guideline 2.5.1: Software Requirements and HealthKit"
canonical: "https://aifitnessapi.com/compliance/app-store-guideline-2-5-1-healthkit-software-requirements"
cluster: "Compliance"
primary_query: "app store guideline 2.5.1 healthkit"
last_reviewed: "2026-10-03"
description: "Guideline 2.5.1 for HealthKit apps: use HealthKit for health and fitness, show it in the app and listing, drop unused capabilities. With a checklist."
publisher: "AIFitnessAPI — independent, not sponsored"
cite_as: "\"App Store Guideline 2.5.1: Software Requirements and HealthKit\", AIFitnessAPI, https://aifitnessapi.com/compliance/app-store-guideline-2-5-1-healthkit-software-requirements"
---

# App Store Guideline 2.5.1: Software Requirements and HealthKit

> App Store Review Guideline 2.5.1, under Software Requirements, says apps may use only public APIs, must run on the currently shipping OS, and should use frameworks for their intended purposes and mention the integration in the app description. It names HealthKit directly: HealthKit should be used for health and fitness purposes and integrate with the Health app, and Apple's HealthKit documentation adds that the use must be clear in both marketing text and the user interface. Quoted from the guidelines as last updated June 8, 2026, checked October 3, 2026; this is general guidance, not legal advice.

- Canonical: https://aifitnessapi.com/compliance/app-store-guideline-2-5-1-healthkit-software-requirements
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- Publisher: AIFitnessAPI (https://aifitnessapi.com) — independent, not sponsored
- Cite as: "App Store Guideline 2.5.1: Software Requirements and HealthKit", AIFitnessAPI, https://aifitnessapi.com/compliance/app-store-guideline-2-5-1-healthkit-software-requirements

---

## The guideline text

Quoted verbatim from Apple's [App Review Guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#2.5.1), which the page states were last updated June 8, 2026. We checked the text on October 3, 2026. Apple revises the guidelines and sometimes renumbers sub-items, so compare this against the live page before you cite it in a reply to App Review.

> **2.5 Software Requirements**
>
> **2.5.1** Apps may only use public APIs and must run on the currently shipping OS. Learn more about public APIs. Keep your apps up-to-date and make sure you phase out any deprecated features, frameworks or technologies that will no longer be supported in future versions of an OS. Apps should use APIs and frameworks for their intended purposes and indicate that integration in their app description. For example, the HomeKit framework should provide home automation services; and HealthKit should be used for health and fitness purposes and integrate with the Health app.

## What it means for a HealthKit app

Most of guideline 2.5.1 is about any app: use only public APIs, run on the currently shipping OS, and phase out deprecated technology. HealthKit is named in two sentences:

- "Apps should use APIs and frameworks for their intended purposes and indicate that integration in their app description."
- "HealthKit should be used for health and fitness purposes and integrate with the Health app."

Apple's HealthKit documentation says the same thing more strongly. In ["Protecting user privacy"](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/healthkit/protecting-user-privacy): "your app must not access the HealthKit APIs unless the use is for health or fitness purposes and this usage is clear in both your marketing text and your user interface."

So there are three things to check:

1. **Purpose.** The HealthKit use serves health or fitness.
2. **Visible in the product.** A reviewer can see the integration in the UI.
3. **Stated in the listing.** The App Store description mentions it.

## What typically triggers it in a HealthKit app

These come from the guideline text and Apple's HealthKit documentation, not from a log of rejections.

- **The HealthKit entitlement is on but the feature isn't visible.** The capability is enabled, for example for a planned feature, but nothing a reviewer can reach uses Health data.
- **The description doesn't mention Health.** The app integrates with the Health app but the App Store description never says so.
- **Unused Clinical Health Records.** Apple's [Setting up HealthKit](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/healthkit/setting-up-healthkit) article: "Only select the Clinical Health Records checkbox if your app needs to access the user’s clinical records. App Review may reject apps that enable the Clinical Health Records capability if the app doesn’t actually use the health record data."
- **HealthKit used for something other than health or fitness,** for example reading Health data only to fill a profile that serves no health feature. That conflicts with the "intended purposes" sentence.

There's also a related setup detail that isn't a 2.5.1 rule. Apple documents that "When you enable the HealthKit capabilities on an iOS app, Xcode adds HealthKit to the list of required device capabilities, which prevents users from purchasing or installing the app on devices that don’t support HealthKit." If HealthKit is optional for your app, Apple says to delete that entry.

## Checklist before you resubmit

1. **Say in the App Store description that the app works with Apple Health.** Add a plain sentence on what the app reads from or writes to the Health app and why. Guideline 2.5.1 asks apps to indicate the integration in their app description, and Apple's HealthKit documentation asks for it in marketing text and in the UI.
2. **Make the Health integration visible in the app.** Make sure a reviewer can reach a feature that uses HealthKit data, and explain in the review notes where to find it if it's behind onboarding or a login.
3. **Remove capabilities you don't use.** If the app doesn't actually use clinical health records, untick the Clinical Health Records checkbox. Apple's setup documentation warns App Review may reject apps that enable it without using the data.
4. **Confirm the use is for health or fitness.** Check that every HealthKit read and write supports a health or fitness feature. Guideline 2.5.1 says HealthKit should be used for health and fitness purposes and integrate with the Health app.
5. **Remove deprecated and private APIs.** Guideline 2.5.1 allows only public APIs and asks you to phase out deprecated frameworks and features, so clear the deprecation warnings in your HealthKit code.
6. **Decide whether HealthKit is a required device capability.** If the app works without HealthKit, remove the healthkit entry from Required device capabilities so devices without HealthKit aren't blocked from installing it.

## Related

- For the permission sheet, usage descriptions and the read and write flow, see the [HealthKit integration guide](/integrate/healthkit).
- What you may do with HealthKit data once you have it is covered by [guideline 5.1.3](/compliance/app-store-guideline-5-1-3-health-research) and [guideline 5.1.2](/compliance/app-store-guideline-5-1-2-data-use-sharing). All of Apple's health-data rules are summarized in the [App Store health data rules overview](/compliance/app-store-health-data-rules).

## A note on limits

Apple doesn't publish required wording for the App Store description, and we couldn't verify any. The guideline asks you to "indicate that integration", nothing more specific. This page is general guidance, not legal advice.


## Sources

- [developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/) — guideline 2.5.1; last updated June 8, 2026 (checked 2026-10-03)
- [developer.apple.com/documentation/healthkit/protecting-user-privacy](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/healthkit/protecting-user-privacy) — health or fitness purpose, clear in marketing text and UI (checked 2026-10-03)
- [developer.apple.com/documentation/healthkit/setting-up-healthkit](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/healthkit/setting-up-healthkit) — Clinical Health Records capability warning; required device capabilities (checked 2026-10-03)

## FAQ

### Do I have to mention Apple Health in my App Store description?

Guideline 2.5.1 says apps should indicate their use of frameworks such as HealthKit in the app description, and Apple's HealthKit documentation says the health or fitness use must be clear in both marketing text and the user interface. Apple does not prescribe exact wording; a plain sentence on what you read or write and why is enough to state it.

[Permalink](https://aifitnessapi.com/compliance/app-store-guideline-2-5-1-healthkit-software-requirements#faq-1)

### Can I enable the HealthKit capability now for a feature I will ship later?

Guideline 2.5.1 asks that frameworks be used for their intended purposes and that the integration be visible, so a HealthKit entitlement with no reachable feature invites questions. Apple's setup documentation warns specifically that apps enabling Clinical Health Records without using that data may be rejected. Enable capabilities in the release that uses them.

[Permalink](https://aifitnessapi.com/compliance/app-store-guideline-2-5-1-healthkit-software-requirements#faq-2)

### Does enabling HealthKit limit which devices can install my app?

It can. Apple documents that enabling the HealthKit capability on an iOS app adds HealthKit to the required device capabilities, which prevents installation on devices that do not support HealthKit. If your app works without HealthKit, Apple says to delete the healthkit entry from Required device capabilities.

[Permalink](https://aifitnessapi.com/compliance/app-store-guideline-2-5-1-healthkit-software-requirements#faq-3)