Requesting Technical / General App Review Without Listing (Remove Warning)

[TTeam6]

Hello HubSpot Team,

I have created a HubSpot app in the Developer Dashboard and I’m seeing a warning that requires an app review: "The App hasn't been reviewed or approved by Hubspot".

However, I do not intend to list this app in the HubSpot Marketplace. My requirement is only to complete the Technical / General Review so the warning can be removed and the app can continue to be used privately.

At the moment, in my app dashboard, I only see the Listing option and do not see a clear option to request a Technical or General Review without listing.

Could someone please clarify:

• Whether it is possible to request only a Technical or General Review for a private app

• The correct steps or dashboard path to submit this review

• If there is any way to keep the app unlisted while completing the required review

Any guidance from the HubSpot team or community members would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

[MuhammadAmjad]

Hi @TTeam6,

I've built several OAuth-based integrations for platforms similar to yours, and this is a frequent point of confusion for developers. Let me clarify the architectural distinction and provide a workaround.

Understanding Public vs. Private Apps

The warning you're seeing ("The App hasn't been reviewed or approved by HubSpot") is intentional for Public Apps because HubSpot assumes any public app will eventually be listed in the marketplace. This review requirement is a security and quality control measure.

Here's the key distinction:
- Public Apps: Use OAuth 2.0, allow users to install via your platform, require marketplace review
- Private Apps: Use access tokens, work within a single HubSpot account, no review needed

Your Use Case: Multi-Tenant OAuth Integration

Since Growstack is a multi-tenant automation platform where different users connect their own HubSpot accounts, you need OAuth functionality (which requires a Public App). However, you don't want marketplace listing.

The Standard Process (That HubSpot Recommends)

1. Start the listing process in your Developer Dashboard under "Manage Listing"
2. Complete the Technical Review and General Review submissions
3. After approval, simply don't publish the listing to the marketplace
4. The warning disappears once reviewed, but the app remains unlisted

Important: The review process does NOT automatically list your app. You control when/if it goes live in the marketplace.

Alternative Approach

If you want to avoid the review process entirely, you could use HubSpot's OAuth 2.0 API directly without creating a Public App, but this loses automatic token refresh handling and the streamlined OAuth UI.

My Recommendation

Go through the review process without publishing. In my experience:
- Technical Review typically takes 3-5 business days
- General Review adds another 2-3 days
- You'll need documentation, screenshots, and a test account
- Once approved, the warning disappears for all users

This actually benefits you because it ensures you meet HubSpot's security standards for proper scope usage and data handling.

Have you started the listing process? I can walk you through the exact fields needed for a review-only submission.

[RGill2]

Hi, this is a common point of confusion. Yes, you can complete the technical and general review without listing your app publicly. The review request option appears when you start the listing flow, but you can keep the app in private mode and simply not publish it to the marketplace after the review is done. The HubSpot team usually confirms this as well.

[SamTassey]

Hello @TTeam6, 

Welcome to the Community! 

From my understanding you would would only be prompted for review if the app was created as a Public App. In this case, I believe you would need to create a new app as 'Private' like seen in the screenshot below. Our documentation on the matter might help point you in the right direction!  https://developers.hubspot.com/docs/apps/developer-platform/build-apps/overview

In the meantime, I'd like to tag in some of our experts on the matter to see if they have any tips and tricks on this @TomM2, @SteveHTM, @GRajput 

 -- Do you have any suggestions for @TTeam6?

Thank you! 

Sam, Community Manager 

[TTeam6]

Hello @SamTassey, 

We are from Growstack Inc, an automation platform. We've created a Public app in Hubspot Developers Dashboard, with some of the scopes that we required. These are used for integration nodes in our platform.

But, whenever we want to connect a new hubspot account to our platform through the app in our integration hub, we're getting the warning: "The App hasn't been reviewed or approved by Hubspot".

We want to remove that warning, so we need to review our app. But in the dashboard of the app, only the "manage listing" option is there. If the app is listed, it'll be available in hubspot marketplace. But, since our app is only for the users of our platform, we only want it to be reviewed, not listed in the marketplace.

So, we would like to ask if it is possible to just review the app without listing it... and if it's possible, can you please guide us in the process..?

Or we would like to know, if the process is different from what we know..?

Please do suggest the appropriate process.

Thank you!

Growstack Team.

[SamTassey]

Hello @TTeam6, 

Thanks for those details! I’ve touched base with our Marketplace specialists to double-check the best path forward for you. I can confirm that you should be building a 'Private App' if your intention is to not list the app in the marketplace. Public apps require review as their intention is to be publicly listed to our marketplace for others to use. With that in mind, the review or 'warning' cannot be removed, you'll want to create a new private app instead. 
 

As mentioned, you'll see the 'Private' toggle during the Legacy App creation process (reference the screenshot I sent earlier). For more technical details, this guide is a great resource: HubSpot Private Apps Overview

I hope this helps point you in the right direction! 

Sam, Community Manager