Yes, Apple reviews apps on Thanksgiving. App Review runs seven days a week and there is no Thanksgiving shutdown, so a submission made on or around Thanksgiving is reviewed normally, though the pace can be slightly slower with holiday volume. The only period Apple typically flags with reduced activity or a brief submission pause is late December, around Christmas and New Year, not Thanksgiving. If you have a genuinely time-sensitive launch around Thanksgiving or Black Friday, you can request an expedited review to move up the queue. For a Thanksgiving-week launch, the safe approach is simply to submit a few days early.
Short answer
Apple reviews apps on Thanksgiving, since App Review operates every day and only late December has a flagged reduced-activity window. Per Apple's App Review page, most submissions are reviewed within about 24 hours, and that continues over holidays, though busy periods can slow it. There is no Thanksgiving submission shutdown; the one Apple typically announces is around Christmas and New Year. For an urgent, dated launch near Thanksgiving or Black Friday, you can request an expedited review to prioritize your submission. The reliable approach for a holiday-week launch is to submit a few days ahead so even a slightly slower review lands in time.
Does Apple review apps on Thanksgiving?
Yes. Apple's App Review runs seven days a week, and US Thanksgiving is not treated as a shutdown, so a submission made on Thanksgiving day, or in the days around it, is picked up and reviewed like any other. The usual target of reviewing most submissions within about a day applies, as an average rather than a promise.
The one caveat is pace. Thanksgiving falls in a busy stretch heading into the holiday shopping season, so the queue can be a little heavier and a review might take slightly longer than on a quiet weekday. That is a matter of speed, not availability, so you can submit around Thanksgiving and expect review to proceed, just without counting on the very fastest turnaround. In practice a review that usually clears within a day might take closer to two around the holiday, which is inconvenient rather than a sign of a problem.
Which holidays have shutdown dates?
The short answer is that essentially only the late-December holidays do. Around Christmas and New Year, Apple typically announces a window of reduced activity, and in some years a brief pause on certain submission actions, which is the one period where a holiday genuinely interrupts the normal flow. Thanksgiving and other national holidays are not treated this way and have no submission shutdown.
So if you are asking which holidays have shutdown dates, the practical answer is to watch for Apple's late-December announcement each year and treat every other holiday, including Thanksgiving, as a normal review day. Because the December dates vary year to year, check Apple's developer announcements for the specifics rather than assuming, but do not expect a comparable shutdown around Thanksgiving, since there is not one. This distinction matters because developers often conflate the two, delaying a Thanksgiving submission unnecessarily out of fear of a shutdown that does not apply.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday timing
Thanksgiving leads directly into Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which matters for timing even though there is no shutdown. Many developers push updates for the shopping period, so the review queue can be busier in that window, and a review may run toward the longer end of normal. Nothing is closed, but the volume can add a little time.
If your app or update is tied to a Black Friday or Cyber Monday moment, plan for that busier queue. Submit several days before the date you need it live so a slightly slower review still clears in time, rather than submitting on Thanksgiving and hoping it is approved by Friday morning. The lack of a shutdown does not mean you should cut the timing close during the busiest retail week of the year. Treat the timing risk as a queue that is fuller, not a door that is closed.
Can you request expedited review around a holiday?
Yes. If you have a genuinely time-sensitive, dated reason, such as a launch pegged to Black Friday or a critical fix for current users during the shopping period, you can request an expedited review, which asks Apple to move your submission up the queue. This is the legitimate way to accelerate a review around Thanksgiving when the timing truly matters.
Use it sparingly and honestly, though. Expedited review is meant for real urgency, not ordinary impatience, and overusing it can lead Apple to decline future requests. So reserve an expedite for a genuine, dated need around the holiday, explain the urgency clearly, and rely on submitting early for everything else, since an expedite is faster but not a guaranteed instant result, especially during a busy period. If you have already burned an expedite on a minor update, you may not have one available when a real emergency hits during the season.
Planning a Thanksgiving-week launch
For a launch during Thanksgiving week, margin is the key, just as it is for any holiday-linked release. Submit a few days ahead of the date you need the app live, so a normal or slightly slower review still lands in time, and do not depend on same-day review during the busy pre-holiday queue. There is no shutdown to work around, only a potentially heavier queue.
Getting the app approved early and holding it for release is the most reliable approach. With the app approved in advance, you can publish it yourself on the exact date you want, which removes any dependence on review timing during the holiday week. That combination, submitting early and releasing on your own schedule, makes a Thanksgiving-week launch dependable without needing an expedite. It also spares you the stress of watching the review status during a week when Apple's queue is at its heaviest.
Holiday shutdown versus normal
Seeing the holidays side by side clarifies which actually change anything. The table below compares them.
| Holiday period | Review continues? | Submission shutdown? |
|---|---|---|
| US Thanksgiving | Yes | No |
| Black Friday and Cyber Monday | Yes, busier queue | No |
| Late December, Christmas and New Year | Reduced activity | Possible brief pause |
| Other national holidays | Yes | No |
| Weekends | Yes, seven days a week | No |
Read the table to see that Thanksgiving behaves like a normal, if busier, period, and only the late-December row represents a real interruption. Everything else continues, with the only variable being pace during busy stretches.
Checklist
A short check keeps a Thanksgiving-week submission on track. The checklist below covers it.
| Check | Action | Done? |
|---|---|---|
| Submit normally | Treat Thanksgiving as a normal review day | [ ] |
| Allow busy-queue margin | Submit early before Black Friday and Cyber Monday | [ ] |
| Expedite if truly urgent | Request an expedited review for a dated, critical need | [ ] |
| Watch late December | Check Apple's announced December dates separately | [ ] |
| Submit a clean build | Scan and fix issues so review is not a rejection | [ ] |
The two that matter most are submitting early for the busy pre-holiday queue and reserving an expedite for a genuine, dated need. Thanksgiving itself needs no special handling beyond that, since there is no shutdown.
What to take away
- Yes, Apple reviews apps on Thanksgiving; App Review runs seven days a week and there is no Thanksgiving shutdown.
- Essentially only the late-December holidays have a flagged reduced-activity window and, in some years, a brief submission pause.
- Thanksgiving leads into a busier queue for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, so submit early if your launch is tied to those dates.
- You can request an expedited review for a genuinely urgent, dated need around the holiday, but use it sparingly and honestly.
- Review timing is separate from a rejection; scan your build with PTKD.com so a holiday submission does not come back for a preventable issue.
