Delve into the world of built-in app and system services available to developers. Discuss leveraging these services to enhance your app's functionality and user experience.

Posts under General subtopic

Post

Replies

Boosts

Views

Activity

Is testing of Age Range API available in xcode simulator?
From https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/803945?answerId=862153022#862153022, the testing of Age Range API was not available through xcode simulator back in Oct 2025. Is this available now? In particular: Is requestAgeRange testing available through simulator? Is requestAgeRange testing with sandbox account available through simulator? Is isEligibleForAgeFeatures available through simulator? Is isEligibleForAgeFeatures testing with sandbox account available through simulator? If the answer is "yes" to any of the above, which version of the xcode and ios version should I use? So far I didn't get any of the above working on the simulator, and I can't find any documentation on the answers above. Thank you!
0
1
138
2w
Detecting CarPlay connection when app wakes in background via geofence
Our iOS app supports CarPlay capability with the Driving task. The app is also configured to wake in the background on geofence entry or exit events, even from a terminated (killed) state. We would like to understand how to detect whether CarPlay is connected to the iPhone when the app wakes up or runs in the background. In this case, the CarPlay app is not actively running in the Car infotainment system foreground. Requirement: The app should perform a background task only when CarPlay is connected, including when launched in the background or from a killed state due to a geofence trigger. Could you please advise on the recommended way or API to determine CarPlay connection status in this background scenario? Thanks for the support!
1
0
82
2w
Potential iOS26 regression on AASA file not download on app install
Original discussion pre iOS 26 Our app uses Auth0 with HTTPS callback, we've found the issue where AASA file is not ready immediately when app is initially launched, which is the exact issue from the above link. The issue seems mostly fixed on later versions on iOS 18, however, we are seeing some indications of a regression on iOS 26. Here's some measurement over the last week. | Platform | iOS 18 | iOS 26 | |---------------|----------|--------| | Adoption rate | 55% | 45% | | Issue seen | 1 | 5 | | Recover? | Yes | No | This only 1 iOS 18 instance was able to recover after 1 second after the first try, however, all iOS 26 instances were not able to recover in couple tens of seconds and less than 1 minute, the user eventually gave up. Is there a way to force app to update AASA file? Are there some iOS setting (like using a VPN) that could potentially downgrade the AASA fetch? Related Auth0 discussion: https://community.auth0.com/t/ios-application-not- recognizing-auth0-associated-domain/134847/27
10
1
486
2w
PDFKit Sizes increases
Hey there, I have a slight problem which is also known on the web, but I couldn't find any answers... My iOS App is working with documents like pdf and images. It is made to handle invoices and upload them to an external service. The app's job is to compress those pdfs and images. Sadly the PDFKit's PDFDocument increases its size just after importing it with pdfDocument = PDFDocument(url: url) and later exporting it to an pdf file again with data = pdf.dataRepresentation() without ever modifying it. It increases by server KB after each export. Do you have any alternatives to the renderer dataRepresentation() or a general PDFKit alternative Thanks
1
1
489
2w
Testing Age Assurance in Sandbox Failed
According to Apple's documentation at https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/testing-age-assurance-in-sandbox?language=objc, the testing steps and expected responses are outlined as follows: ​Test app consent revocation​ To test the notification when a parent or guardian revokes access to your app on behalf of their child, follow these steps: Start with a Sandbox account. From the Age Assurance settings, tap ​Revoke App Consent. Enter your app’s Bundle ID (for example, com.example.bundle). Tap ​Revoke Consent​ to simulate the revocation. Confirm that the system displays ​​“Notification Triggered”​​ with the message ​​“A notification will be sent to the developer server soon.”​ I followed the steps exactly as described above, but during the fifth step, instead of seeing the prompt ​​"A notification will be sent to the developer server soon,"​​ a pop-up dialog with only a confirmation button appeared. After clicking it, there was no further response, and our server did not receive any notification (neither from the Sandbox nor the Production environment).
2
2
151
2w
AppleTV returns to homescreen overnight
Hi We have an AppleTV app that is used to continuously display information (digital signage). One of our clients reports that their AppleTV returns to the homescreen by morning. While our recommendation is to setup Mobile Device Management to lock the AppleTV into running only our app, not every client will have the IT knowledge to set this up. So we're trying to figure out possible causes for the app getting closed. We've not received any crash reports, nor does the device give any indication the app crashed. The energy saving settings are set to run continuously without sleep. The client is reporting this happens every night, so it seems unlikely to be caused by tvOS updates. Are there other things I could rule out to find the cause of this issue? Any ideas are welcome, thanks!
0
1
29
2w
iOS 26 fails to automatically switch to [system settings - personal hotspot ] directly from application ]
On iOS 18 and lower version, my application supports automatically switching to [System settings - Personal Hotspot] directly. But on iOS 26, my application will be redirected to [System settings- Apps]. Does iOS 26 disable the behavior of directly jumping to the system hotspot page? If support, could you share the API for iOS 26?
3
0
168
2w
BadDeviceToken Error in Live Activities
Hello everyone, I’m currently receiving feedback from clients in a production environment who are encountering a BadDeviceToken error with Live Activities, which is preventing their states from updating. However, for other clients, the token is working fine and everything functions as expected. I’m collaborating with the back-end developers to gather more information about this issue, but the only log message we’re seeing is: Failed to send a push, APNS reported an error: BadDeviceToken I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could provide some insight or information on how to resolve this issue.
3
0
514
2w
Issue with DeviceActivityMonitor - eventDidReachThreshold Callback Not Triggering Properly
Hello, I'm currently experiencing an issue with the DeviceActivityMonitor extension in my code, specifically with the eventDidReachThreshold callback. I'm hoping to get some insights into why this problem occurs and how to resolve it. Problem: Issue 1: The eventDidReachThreshold callback is not triggering as expected. It appears that the callback is not being invoked when the threshold is reached. Issue 2: After a few seconds, the eventDidReachThreshold callback starts to trigger multiple times. This unexpected behavior is causing problems in my code, as it results in incorrect actions being taken. iOS version: iOS16.7.2 and iOS17.1 Xcode version: 15.0.1 Swift version: 5.9 Here is my code to start the monitoring: func startMonitoring() { var startTime : DateComponents = DateComponents(hour: 0, minute: 0) let endTime : DateComponents = DateComponents(hour: 23, minute: 59) /// Creates the schedule for the activity, specifying the start and end times, and setting it to repeat. let schedule = DeviceActivitySchedule(intervalStart: startTime, intervalEnd: endTime, repeats: true, warningTime: nil) /// Defines the event that should trigger the encouragement. let event = DeviceActivityEvent(applications: socialActivitySelection.applicationTokens, categories: socialActivitySelection.categoryTokens, webDomains: socialActivitySelection.webDomainTokens, threshold: DateComponents(minute: 2)) let events: [DeviceActivityEvent.Name: DeviceActivityEvent] = [.socialScreenTimeEvent : event] do { activityCenter.stopMonitoring([.socialScreenTime]) /// Tries to start monitoring the activity using the specified schedule and events. try activityCenter.startMonitoring(.socialScreenTime, during: schedule, events: events) } catch { /// Prints an error message if the activity could not be started. print("Could not start monitoring: \(error)") } } If there are any known workarounds or potential solutions, please share them. Thank you for your help in resolving this problem.
1
2
925
2w
Universal Link always shows “Open App A?” banner instead of redirecting automatically
We have a login flow where the user authenticates in Safari, and at the end of the process the authentication server redirects back to our app using a Universal Link. On most devices, the app opens automatically without any confirmation banner. However, on several iPads, Safari always shows the “Open App A?” banner after the redirect. The user must tap Open every time. Other devices running the same iOS version do not show this issue. Expected Flow (working devices): Start authentication Safari login Authentication server redirects using a Universal Link App A opens automatically Problematic Flow (several iPads): Start authentication Safari login Authentication server redirects using a Universal Link Safari shows “Open App A?” confirmation banner User must tap Open App A starts Questions: Is this a known issue in iOS? Or is this expected behavior under certain conditions (i.e., is there a specific Safari/iOS specification that causes this banner to appear)? Is there any way to prevent Safari from showing the “Open App A?” banner and allow automatic redirection? *This issue did not occur on iOS 16, but it started appearing after updating to iOS 17. Devices : iPad 9th Gen/iPad 10th Gen
0
0
76
2w
blockedApplications api to HIDE app categories?
Is there any way to use blockedApplications to hide all apps in a category? Currently, I use blockedApplications to hide individual apps, but it doesn’t work when I select an entire category. I thought the only solution would be to use shield, which doesn’t hide the apps but creates a blocking shield. However, I found an app on the App Store called Fokus, and it’s able to select a category and block all the apps in it. Does anyone know how this could be possible?
0
0
78
2w
Texas age verification: revoked consent & notifications?
The published "Next steps for apps distributed in Texas" says "A parent or guardian in Texas can withdraw consent for any app, which will block launching of the app on the child or teen’s device." My question is: will this also block notifications sent to that app from showing up on that device? Or will notifications still be delivered to the notification center, even though the app can't be launched? (Specifically, notifications sent from a server via Firebase topic/token). If notifications are not blocked automatically, what is the expected flow for this scenario? My app sends notifications from a server like this. I could implement client-side code to say "if consent is revoked, unsubscribe from notifications", but if the OS blocks launching of the app, this client-side code would never run. Similarly, I could subscribe to the server notifications for when consent is revoked, but my app is free & accountless, so I'm not aware of any information in the server notification that I could use to identify the specific user whose notifications should be stopped. (For example my users won't have an appAccountToken because they never made a purchase). Guidance would be much appreciated. I'm trying to comply with the law but I don't know how.
0
0
180
2w
Unable to upload an app with ExtensionFoundation
I have an iOS app with ExtensionFoundation. It runs well on my local device, but when I upload on the AppStore it gets rejected with: Validation failed Invalid Info.plist value. The value of the EXExtensionPointIdentifier key, AsheKube.app.a-Shell.localWebServer, in the Info.plist of “a-Shell.app/Extensions/localWebServer.appex” is invalid. Please refer to the App Extension Programming Guide at https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/General/Conceptual/ExtensibilityPG/Action.html#/apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40014214-CH13-SW1. (ID: ae8dd1dd-8caf-4a48-9651-7a225faed4eb) The Info.plist in my Extension is: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>EXAppExtensionAttributes</key> <dict> <key>EXExtensionPointIdentifier</key> <string>com.example.example-extension</string> </dict> </dict> </plist> so the Info.plist that causes the issue has been automatically generated by Xcode. I can access it as well, and it says: { "BuildMachineOSBuild" => "25A354" "CFBundleDevelopmentRegion" => "en" "CFBundleDisplayName" => "localWebServerExtension" "CFBundleExecutable" => "localWebServer" "CFBundleIdentifier" => "AsheKube.app.a-Shell.localWebServerExtension" "CFBundleInfoDictionaryVersion" => "6.0" "CFBundleName" => "localWebServer" "CFBundlePackageType" => "XPC!" "CFBundleShortVersionString" => "1.0" "CFBundleSupportedPlatforms" => [ 0 => "iPhoneOS" ] "CFBundleVersion" => "1" "DTCompiler" => "com.apple.compilers.llvm.clang.1_0" "DTPlatformBuild" => "23A339" "DTPlatformName" => "iphoneos" "DTPlatformVersion" => "26.0" "DTSDKBuild" => "23A339" "DTSDKName" => "iphoneos26.0" "DTXcode" => "2601" "DTXcodeBuild" => "17A400" "EXAppExtensionAttributes" => { "EXExtensionPointIdentifier" => "AsheKube.app.a-Shell.localWebServer" } "MinimumOSVersion" => "26.0" "NSHumanReadableCopyright" => "Copyright © 2025 AsheKube. All rights reserved." "UIDeviceFamily" => [ 0 => 1 1 => 2 ] "UIRequiredDeviceCapabilities" => [ 0 => "arm64" ] } What should I do to be able to upload on the AppStore?
13
1
510
3w
v2 Weatherkit REST API documentation release date
Hi. The WWDC video of the v2 weatherkit api showed some examples for the REST API. However, they were very limited. The documentation for the REST API is currently for the v1 weatherkit API. When will the documentation for the v2 API be released? There are some new features of the v2 that I would really like to use, but I can't without knowing the new v2 REST API specifications. Any guidance would be much appreciated. Thanks!
8
2
1.1k
3w
requestAgeRange always returns `notAvailable`
Hi everyone. I've downloaded the the 26.2 beta 2 and installed it on a device in the settings after i create a new sandbox test account i see the options in Age Assurance. The problem is i got the popup the first time i opened the application and decided to share, but after that i always get the following error: DeclaredAgeRange.AgeRangeService.Error.notAvailable I tried testing with different bundle id and different sandbox test account but still it doesn't work. How can i test the cases without erasing the device ?
2
2
253
3w
iOS 26 fails to automatically switch to [system settings - personal hotspot ] directly from application ]
The API we used: NSURL *url = [NSURL URLWithString:@"App-Prefs:INTERNET_TETHERING"]; The link provided by Apple engineer: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/761314 I did not find any URL in the link that leads to the secondary menu of system settings. Does this suggest that iOS 26 does not support this functionality? Moreover, is it possible that versions of iOS 18 and earlier may also not support this behavior in the future?
1
0
82
3w
iOS fails to fetch AASA file for IDNs
Subject: iOS Fails to Fetch AASA File for Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) in Unicode or Punycode Format Dear Apple Developer Relations Team And Community Members, We are reporting a critical bug in the iOS Associated Domains feature that prevents Universal Links from working for apps using Internationalized Domain Names (IDN). Problem Description: The iOS operating system does not attempt to download the apple-app-site-association (AASA) file for domains containing non-ASCII characters (e.g., diacritics, Cyrillic). This failure occurs regardless of whether the domain is specified in the app's entitlements in its human-readable Unicode format (e.g., montréal.ca) or its encoded Punycode format (e.g., xn--montral-fya.ca, xn--e1afka0abm4b.xn--p1ai). Without fetching and validating this file, Universal Links are not activated, and the system fails to establish a connection between the website and our app. Steps to Reproduce: Create an app with the Associated Domains entitlement enabled. Add an IDN to the entitlement. We tested both formats: Format A (Unicode): applinks://montréal.ca Format B (Punycode): applinks://xn--montral-fya.ca Host a valid AASA file on our server at the correct, accessible well-known URLs for both domain representations: For montréal.ca: https://montréal.ca/.well-known/apple-app-site-association and https://xn--montral-fya.ca/.well-known/apple-app-site-association Install the app on a device running the latest iOS version. Monitor network traffic using a tool like Charles Proxy. Observed Result: No HTTP GET request is made to any of the AASA URLs for the domains montréal.ca (in either Unicode or Punycode format) upon app installation. The system does not initiate the domain validation process. In contrast, for a standard ASCII domain (e.g., applinks://example.com), the AASA fetch is triggered immediately and is observed in the network log. Expected Result: iOS should correctly resolve the Internationalized Domain Name (whether specified in Unicode or Punycode format in the entitlement) and perform an HTTP GET request to fetch the AASA file from the /.well-known path, identical to its behavior for ASCII domains. Evidence & Configuration: Our server is configured correctly: SSL certificates are valid, the AASA file is served with the correct application/json MIME type, and is directly accessible via a browser or curl. The AASA file's syntax has been validated and is correct. The issue is reproducible on the latest versions of iOS. Impact: This bug blocks a core platform feature for millions of users in regions that use non-Latin scripts (e.g., France, Russia, China, Arab states). It makes it impossible to use Universal Links with our primary domains, severely degrading the user experience and forcing us to seek suboptimal workarounds like registering separate ASCII domains. Request: We kindly request that you investigate and log this issue as a bug in iOS and forward it to the appropriate engineering team for a fix in an upcoming update. We are prepared to provide any additional information, demo projects, or server access to assist in diagnostics. Thank you for your attention to this serious matter.
5
0
245
3w
How can I open my app from the restricted screen like many apps in the App Store, one of which is AppLocker?
class ShieldActionExtension: ShieldActionDelegate { override func handle(action: ShieldAction, for application: ApplicationToken, completionHandler: @escaping (ShieldActionResponse) -> Void) { // Handle the action as needed. switch action { case .primaryButtonPressed: if let url = URL(string: "blockfocusapp://") { let extensionContext = NSExtensionContext() extensionContext.open(url, completionHandler: nil) } // completionHandler(.defer) case .secondaryButtonPressed: let userDefaults = UserDefaults(suiteName: "group.in.appsquare.FocusApp.shieldExt") userDefaults?.set(false, forKey: "shouldOpenMainApp") completionHandler(.defer) @unknown default: fatalError() } } override func handle(action: ShieldAction, for webDomain: WebDomainToken, completionHandler: @escaping (ShieldActionResponse) -> Void) { // Handle the action as needed. completionHandler(.close) } override func handle(action: ShieldAction, for category: ActivityCategoryToken, completionHandler: @escaping (ShieldActionResponse) -> Void) { // Handle the action as needed. completionHandler(.close) } } I want to be able to open my app from ShieldActionExtension
1
1
103
3w
How to open parent app from `ShieldActionDelegate`
Hello, I think it is quite a common use-case to open the parent app that owns the ShieldActionDelegate when the user selects an action in the Shield. There are only three options available that we can do in response to an action: ShieldActionResponse.none ShieldActionResponse.close ShieldActionResponse.defer It would be great if this new one would be added as well: ShieldActionResponse.openParentApp While finding a workaround for now, the problem is that the ShieldActionDelegate is not a normal app extension. That means, normal tricks do not work to open the parent app from here. For example, UIApplication.shared.open(url) does not work because we can’t access UIApplication from the ShieldActionDelegate unfortunately. NSExtensionContext is also not available in the ShieldActionDelegate unfortunately, so that’s also not possible. There are apps however, that managed to find a workaround, in my research I stumbled across these two: https://apps.apple.com/de/app/applocker-passcode-lock-apps/id1132845904?l=en-GB https://apps.apple.com/us/app/app-lock/id6448239603 Please find a screen recording (gif) attached. Their workaround is 100% what I’m looking for, so there MUST be a way to do so that is compliant with the App Store guidelines (after all, the apps are available on the App Store!). I had documented my feature request more than 2 years ago in this radar as well: FB10393561
8
2
1.4k
3w