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.

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identitylookup needed for ILMessageFilterQueryHandling?
My iOS app uses a Message Filter extension (via ILMessageFilterQueryHandling) and works only when run directly as the extension target. When installed normally (via TestFlight), the filter does not trigger at all — which I now believe is because iOS enforces the com.apple.developer.identitylookup entitlement at runtime. Anyone know anything about this? I put in a request for the entitlement last week but heard nothing back. Called Apple "technical" support and they had no idea what I was talking about. The documentation around this is EXTREMELY lacking in my opinion...
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Apr ’25
Can not replicate the Apple Review error
Hello there! So Im trying to upload an app to the App Store for iphone and Ipad, but from the revision team the same message always appears, the app crash. So I know the "it works on my computer" sounds bad but....works on my computer and my test system. Dont know what to do since I dont know how to replicate the error. This is the rely they sent me: Issue Description The app exhibited one or more bugs that would negatively impact users. Bug description: at time of review the app’s interface went blank at launch. Review device details: Device type: iPad Air (5th generation) OS version: iPadOS 18.4.1 Anyone has any idea on how can I replicate the error and maybe check the logs? Im completely blind on this one.
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Apr ’25
Does Apple Screen Time API Allow Access to App Usage Data for Custom Rewards?
Hi everyone, I'm working on an app for parents and kids where parents can define screen time goals or restrict usage of certain app categories (like social media or games). If the kid follows those rules—for example, by using their device less or avoiding restricted categories—they would earn points or rewards in the app. I’ve been exploring if the Apple Screen Time API allows developers to access this kind of data (like total screen time, app usage by category, etc.) so that I can track the kid’s behavior and reward them accordingly. Is it possible to programmatically access this data and implement such a reward system within my app? If so, what’s the best way to get started or which APIs should I look into? Thanks in advance for your help!
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69
Apr ’25
How to get the bundleIdentifier or app name from FamilyActivitySelection's applicationTokens?
I'm working with the FamilyControls and DeviceActivity frameworks in iOS (Swift). In my app, I collect selected apps using a FamilyActivitySelection, and I access the selected apps via selection.applicationTokens, which gives me a Set. I would like to get either the bundle identifier or the display name of the selected apps from these ApplicationTokens. I tried creating an Application instance using: let app = Application(token: token) print(app.bundleIdentifier) print(app.localizedDisplayName) However, both bundleIdentifier and localizedDisplayName are always nil. My questions are: Outside the extension (in the main app), how can I get the bundleIdentifier or display name from an ApplicationToken? Is there an Apple-recommended way to resolve a Token into something human-readable or usable? If not, what is the best practice to store or identify user-selected apps for later use? Environment: iOS 17, Swift 5, Using FamilyControls and DeviceActivity APIs. Thank you for any help!
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Apr ’25
Weatherkit API Historical 404 Errors Starting 3/5/25
We've been using the WeatherKit API for a few years now. Everything has been pretty stable. We'll periodically get 404 errors, but they usually disappear within a couple days. Starting March 5th we've again been getting 404 errors that slowly ramped up to March 20th and continued. We have had no code changes on our end, so something seems to have changed / broken on the server side of things. Here are some example API calls that are giving us a 404 error now https://weatherkit.apple.com/api/v1/weather/en/35.9981205/-78.8920444?dataSets=forecastDaily&dailyStart=2025-03-21T05:00:00Z&timezone=America/New_York&countryCode=US https://weatherkit.apple.com/api/v1/weather/en/41.4789363/-81.7404134?dataSets=forecastDaily&dailyStart=2025-03-21T04:56:00Z&timezone=America/New_York&countryCode=US Does anyone have any insights or information on this? Also if Apple is listening, an error more meaningful than 404 would be much much appreciated.
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Apr ’25
How to Properly Request Full Access to Contacts After User Selects Limited Access?
Hello Apple Developers, I’m developing an iOS app that requires access to the user’s contacts. I understand that starting from iOS 14, Apple introduced two levels of contact permissions: 1️⃣ Full Access – The app can read all contacts. 2️⃣ Limited Access – The app can only access contacts selected by the user. My Question: If a user initially grants Limited Access, is it allowed by Apple’s guidelines to request Full Access later? 🔹 I understand that re-requesting permission immediately after the user denies it is against Apple’s policies. 🔹 However, if the user has already granted Limited Access, and we first show an explanation modal explaining why Full Access is beneficial, can we then prompt them to change their settings via openAppSettings()? 🔹 Alternatively, can we use Permission.contacts.request() again to re-prompt the user for Full Access, or will iOS prevent the permission prompt from appearing again? How We Handle This in the App: 1️⃣ If a user selects Limited Access, we respect their choice and only access their selected contacts. 2️⃣ Later, if Full Access is necessary for an enhanced experience, we display a clear explanation modal explaining why the app needs Full Access. 3️⃣ If the user agrees, we attempt to guide them to openAppSettings(), allowing them to manually change the permission. 4️⃣ However, if Permission.contacts.request() can be used to directly request Full Access again, we would like to know if this is acceptable. We want to ensure that our implementation follows Apple’s privacy guidelines while providing the best user experience. Any official guidance or best practices on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
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Feb ’25
Can ManagedSettingsStore() block the app that configures it — and how to prevent it?
Hi everyone, I’m working with the ManagedSettingsStore API for managing Screen Time restrictions and I have a specific question: Is it possible for an app to block itself using ManagedSettingsStore() — for example, by applying an application category restriction or setting a specific block on its own bundle ID? If so, what strategies or best practices are recommended to avoid accidentally blocking the app itself while applying restrictions to other apps or categories? I haven’t found any official documentation confirming whether the system prevents self-blocking automatically or if this is something developers need to manage explicitly. Thanks for any clarification or advice you can provide!
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100
May ’25
Message Filter Extension Not Triggering on iPhone 12 Pro (iOS 16.7) but Works on iPhone 11 (iOS 16.6)
Hi Team, We’re encountering a device-specific issue with our SMS Message Filter extension. The extension works as expected on an iPhone 11 running iOS 16.6, but it does not trigger on an iPhone 12 Pro running iOS 16.7. Key Observations: The extension is implemented using ILMessageFilterExtension and calls messageFilterOffline(appGroupIdentifier:for:) from our shared library. The App Group is properly configured and accessible across the app and extension. The extension is enabled under Settings > Messages > Unknown & Spam. There are no crashes or error logs reported on the affected device. The issue is consistently reproducible — it works on one device but not the other. We’re wondering if this could be a regression or a device-specific behavior change introduced in iOS 16.7. Has anyone encountered similar inconsistencies in Message Filter extensions across different iOS versions or device models? Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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Apr ’25
How to register ContactProviderDomain
Hi there, we are implementing the new ContactProviderExtension introduced in iOS 18 and we are able to activate the extension, add data and everything. But we want to add domains to seperate contacts and currently we are getting an error "ContactProvider.ContactProviderError.domainNotRegistered". That makes sense because in the API docu we are not finding a way to register our domains. We are using ContactProviderDomain to create domains but we are not able to find any function to register. Could you please give a hint? Thank you
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Apr ’25
How to Archive iMessages via API with User Authorization Workflow?
I’m working on a solution to archive iMessages by using an API or similar mechanism. Here’s the desired workflow: The user provides their phone number to initiate the archiving process. They receive a text message with a URL link. Clicking on the link authorizes the archiving of their iMessages. Once authorized, their text messages are archived. So far, I’ve researched third-party services and APIs but haven’t found any that offer this capability directly for iMessages. Questions: Are there any APIs or frameworks (Apple or third-party) that support accessing and archiving iMessages programmatically?
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440
Jan ’25
Device Activity Report Not showing any information
All After about 20 hours straight of working on this and having scrapped it twice I am realizing I should have asked everyone here for help. I am just trying to get device activity report extension to work inside an existing app. I have been heavily using family controls, managedsettings and deviceactivity and decided it would be nice to output some of the app usage so the User (parent) can see their children's app usage. I installed the target via xcode, confirmed group names match, and think I have it embedded correctly but when I run the app and call the view within the extension to show minutes used by any apps it just shows no time has been used. In addition, when I put print statements into the extension they do not show up in console. I have confirmed the main app target->Build phases->Link binary with Libraries has: ManagedSettings.framework FamilyControls.Framework DeviceActivity.framework I have confirmed in xcode that the main app target->Build phases -> Embed Foundation Extensions has: ShieldConfiguration.appex ShieldActionExtension.appex DeviceActivityMonitor.appex I have confirmed in xcode that the main app target->Build phases-> Embed ExtensionKit Extensions has: UsageReportExtension.appex I have used the apps I am trying to show data for extensively in the last 36 hours. Here is my UsageReportExtension info.plist EXAppExtensionAttributes EXExtensionPointIdentifier com.apple.deviceactivityui.report-extension .entitlement com.apple.developer.family-controls com.apple.security.application-groups group.com.jrp.EarnYourTurnMVP2.data Here is the file in the app (timebankview.swift) calling the extension/showing the extension view(AppUsageReportView.swift) import DeviceActivity import ManagedSettings struct TimeBankView: View { @EnvironmentObject private var appState: AppState @State private var reportInterval: DateInterval = { let calendar = Calendar.current let now = Date() let yesterdayDate = calendar.date(byAdding: .day, value: -1, to: now) ?? now return DateInterval(start: yesterdayDate, end: now) }() private var reportFilter: DeviceActivityFilter { let selection = appState.screenTimeController.currentSelection return DeviceActivityFilter( segment: .daily(during: reportInterval), users: .children, devices: .all, applications: selection.applicationTokens, categories: selection.categoryTokens // webDomains: selection.webDomains // Add if needed ) } var body: some View { ZStack { Color.appTheme.background(for: appState.isParentMode) .edgesIgnoringSafeArea(.all) ScrollView { VStack(spacing: 20) { Text("Time Bank") DeviceActivityReport(.childUsageSummary, filter: reportFilter) Here is AppUsageReportView.swift import SwiftUI struct AppUsageReportView: View { let config: DetailedAppUsageConfiguration // Use the detailed config var body: some View { VStack { Text("App Usage Details") Text("Total Screen Time: \(config.totalDurationFormatted)") if config.applicationsUsed.isEmpty { Text("No specific app usage data available for the selected period/filter.") } else { Text("Apps Used:") List { ForEach(config.applicationsUsed) { appInfo in HStack { Image(systemName: "app.dashed") Text(appInfo.appName) .lineLimit(1) Text(appInfo.durationFormatted) Here is AppUsageReportScene.swift: import SwiftUI import ManagedSettings struct AppInfo: Identifiable, Hashable { let id = UUID() let appName: String let durationFormatted: String } struct DetailedAppUsageConfiguration { var totalDurationFormatted: String = "Calculating..." var applicationsUsed: [AppInfo] = [] } struct AppUsageReportScene: DeviceActivityReportScene { let context: DeviceActivityReport.Context = .childUsageSummary let content: (DetailedAppUsageConfiguration) -> AppUsageReportView func makeConfiguration(representing data: DeviceActivityResults<DeviceActivityData>) async -> DetailedAppUsageConfiguration { var config = DetailedAppUsageConfiguration() var appDurations: [String: TimeInterval] = [:] var totalAggregatedDuration: TimeInterval = 0 let formatter = DateComponentsFormatter() formatter.allowedUnits = [.hour, .minute, .second] formatter.unitsStyle = .abbreviated formatter.zeroFormattingBehavior = .pad var segmentCount = 0 var categoryCount = 0 var appCount = 0 for await activityData in data { // Check segments var tempSegmentCount = 0 for await segment in activityData.activitySegments { segmentCount += 1 tempSegmentCount += 1 totalAggregatedDuration += segment.totalActivityDuration var tempCategoryCount = 0 for await categoryActivity in segment.categories { categoryCount += 1 tempCategoryCount += 1 var tempAppCount = 0 for await appActivity in categoryActivity.applications { appCount += 1 tempAppCount += 1 let appName = appActivity.application.localizedDisplayName ?? "Unknown App" let duration = appActivity.totalActivityDuration appDurations[appName, default: 0] += duration }}} } config.totalDurationFormatted = formatter.string(from: totalAggregatedDuration) ?? "N/A" config.applicationsUsed = appDurations .filter { $0.value >= 1 .map { AppInfo(appName: $0.key, durationFormatted: formatter.string(from: $0.value) ?? "-") } .sorted { lhs, rhs in let durationLHS = appDurations[lhs.appName] ?? 0 let durationRHS = appDurations[rhs.appName] ?? 0 return durationLHS > durationRHS } if !config.applicationsUsed.isEmpty { for (index, app) in config.applicationsUsed.enumerated() { } } else { } return config }} UsageReportExtension.swift struct UsageReportExtension: DeviceActivityReportExtension { init() { print("🚀 [UsageReportExtension] Extension initialized at \(Date())") print("🔍 [UsageReportExtension] Process info: \(ProcessInfo.processInfo.processName) PID: \(ProcessInfo.processInfo.processIdentifier)") } var body: some DeviceActivityReportScene { let _ = print("📊 [UsageReportExtension] Building report scenes at \(Date())") TotalActivityReport { totalActivity in print("🕰️ [TotalActivityReport] Creating view with data: \(totalActivity)") return TotalActivityView(totalActivity: totalActivity) }}}
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Apr ’25
Using Flutter with CallKit
When using CallKit in my flutter app audio(both mic and speaker) stop working. When not using call kit to answer calls the app work fine. I am using the flutter flutter_callkit_incoming to use callkit and flutter_webrtc for the telephony. Flutter_callkit_incoming has some boilerplate code code include sections to uncomment when using webrtc and I have seen multiple fixes to suggest to make sure the to configure sharedAudioSession before the callkit is sent. Neither of this approaches seemed to have worked.
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Feb ’25
App Clip works in TestFlight but not elsewhere
My app is available in TestFlight but has been rejected in App Review with the review feedback that the app clip "just shows a blank screen". However, in the TestFlight app, the App Clip works as expected and brings up the clip. It also works correctly from Xcode testing. Any ideas on what the problem could be? It is using the default App Clip link (appclip.apple.com)
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326
Jan ’25
Error while validating the mobile app
The errors below pop up when I validate or distribute the mobile app; this error happens with the upgraded Xcode version. I have Xcode 16.2, and the minimum target deployment is 14.0. Please help me to resolve these errors. build was successful, I can launch my application from the simulator Validation failed Invalid Bundle. The bundle .app/Frameworks/hermes.framework does not support the minimum OS Version specified in the Info.plist. (ID: ee79350d-249e-4101-89fe-e41b2620f4d6) Validation failed Missing Info.plist value. A value for the key 'MinimumOSVersion' in bundle .app/Frameworks/hermes.framework is required. (ID: b0f58cd5-2c72-437b-98c9-1b2b4122c203) Validation failed Invalid MinimumOSVersion. Apps that only support 64-bit devices must specify a deployment target of 8.0 or later. MinimumOSVersion in ‘.app/Frameworks/hermes.framework' is ''. (ID: c2a6247f-21d6-438f-b52f-572425b7aa65)
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Feb ’25
Associated Domains and location of the AASA file when “service”=”Authsrv”
We are planning to use our internal IdP (PingFederate) for authentication of end users in their iOS apps using ASWebAuthenticationSession. Initial tests are successful, but the user is prompted for every login (and logouts) with a consent dialogue box: “AppName” wants to use “internal domain-name” to Sign In This allows the app and website to share information about you. Cancel Continue” Let’s say that our top-level domain is “company.no”, where our IdP is placed at “idp.company.com”. I have seen examples where the Associated domains entitlement points to the idp as a webserver for serving the JSON output AASA file. In this case that would be: authsrv: idp.company.com Anyone with experience implementing this structure with the IdP as webserver for serving the JSON output? Our problem is that trying to use the IdP as webserver for this purpose is that it is very complicated to modify the IdP’s webserver configuration. Also, this modification needs to be re-done every time we need to upgrade the IdP. My question is therefore also related to the options of which webserver to install the AASA file on. Has anyone installed the file on a generic webserver on the toplevel domain like “webserver.company.com” ?
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Apr ’25
Live caller id lookup - Which secret key is used for PIR database HE encryption on test env
Hi, I'm trying to setup PIR service for live caller id lookup (in python but based on swift example: https://github.com/apple/live-caller-id-lookup-example). The swift example provides utilities for database setup and encryption, but I can't find any specification about which key is used for database encryption and how the ios system knows about this key in order to be able to construct the PIR requests. So my question is how does the PIR service communicate the secret key to ios system or vice versa? (specific to the test environment, before onboarding)
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286
Feb ’25
Spotlight results | AppShortcut with AppEntity parameter vs CSSearchableItem.associateAppEntity
I've been exploring the Trails Sample App from this session at WWDC24. The app has a TrailEntity of type AppEntity which is leveraged in multiple places throughout the app, including: The GetTrailInfo App Intent with a trail parameter of type TrailEntity. A parameterized App Shortcut which calls the GetTrailInfo intent. The TrailDataManager's init calls updateSpotlightIndex(), which creates a CSSearchableItem for each Trail in the app, along with an associateAppEntity call linking the corresponding TrailEntity to each item that gets added to the CSSearchableIndex. If you build the app and search "trails" in Spotlight, the Trails Sample App section includes instances of TrailEntity as search results. But if you comment out the App Shortcut that takes a TrailEntity as a parameter and rebuild, there are no instances of TrailEntity in the search results. In both cases, the console prints [Spotlight] Trails indexed by Spotlight. Is this expected behavior? Why are the TrailEntity instances only appearing in Spotlight via the App Shortcut? Shouldn't the CSSearchableItem instances show up in Spotlight on their own regardless? If not, then what is the purpose of adopting Core Spotlight with App Entities? Does this add the app entities to the semantic index for "new Siri", even though they're not user facing in the Spotlight UI?
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546
Jan ’25
Universal link not working
My ASA file is located here https://staging.docyt.com/apple-appsite-association It downloads fine. It does not have .json extension and neither does it reside inside the ./well-known folder. Should it work? Because opening the link https://staging.docyt.com/reset-password is not opening the app installed via TestFlight . Installing via XCode however works fine. Please help
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Apr ’25