Hi Apple Developer, I’m working on a message-filtering application and reviewing Apple's documentation on message filtering. The documentation clearly states that MMS messages can be filtered. (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/identitylookup/sms-and-mms-message-filtering) When we refer to MMS, it includes images, short videos, and other supported multimedia formats. However, the ILMessageFilterQueryRequest only provides the message body as a String, meaning we can access text and links but not images or other media files. Could you please confirm whether Apple allows third-party applications to access multimedia content sent from unknown numbers? Looking forward to your quick response. Thanks, Rijul Singhal

I'm developing a watchOS app for Watch Ultra 2 that implements water detection using CMSubmersionManager. I would like to make it appear in the Auto-Launch settings menu, but my app is not appearing in the settings (Settings > General > Auto-Launch > When Submerged > Selected App).... What additional steps should I take to make this work? Environment Device: Watch Ultra 2 watchOS: 11.2 Xcode: 16.0 Implementation I have implemented the following as per documentation: Added the Shallow Depth and Pressure capability and Entitlement. Added the "Shallow Depth and Pressure" capability Confirmed entitlement "com.apple.developer.submerged-shallow-depth-and-pressure" was automatically added Note: I initially thought I should use "com.apple.developer.submerged-depth-and-pressure" (without "-shallow") since I'm targeting a maximum depth of 6 meters, but this resulted in compilation errors. ref: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/740083 ref: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/735296 Added NSMotionUsageDescription and WKBackgroundModes <key>NSMotionUsageDescription</key> <string>Required for water detection</string> <key>WKBackgroundModes</key> <array> <string>underwater-depth</string> </array> According to the documentation: "It also adds your app to the list of apps that the system can autolaunch when the wearer submerges the watch." What additional steps are needed to make the app appear in Auto-Launch settings? Has anyone successfully implemented this feature?

I'm encountering what appears to be a specific precedence behavior with ManagedSettingsStore.shield and would appreciate some further clarification. My current understanding is that category-level shields take precedence over individual app allowances. My test involved... Using FamilyActivityPicker to select a single target application (e.g., "Calculator," which falls under the "Utilities" category). Using FamilyActivityPicker again to select the category of that target application. I applied shields using ManagedSettingsStore (named .individual): store.shield.applicationCategories = .specific(Set([utilitiesCategoryToken])) store.shield.applications = Set([calculatorApplicationToken]) Result: The calculator app remains shielded, suggesting that the category-level shield on Utilities overrides the attempt to allow the individual app. I also tried this using a single picker, but received only the category token instead of all application tokens in that category. Is this observed precedence (where store.shield.applicationCategories effectively overrides store.shield.applications for apps within the shielded category) the intended behavior? If so, are there any mechanisms available within the main app's capabilities (potentially using a Device Activity Report Extension or Shield Extension) to allow a specific ApplicationToken if its corresponding ActivityCategoryToken is part of the store.shield.applicationCategories set? Essentially, can store.shield.applications be used to create "allow exceptions" for individual apps that fall into an otherwise shielded category? Additionally, I mentioned that selecting an entire category in the picker only returns the opaque category token, not any application tokens. Is there any way in which I could return both the category and all application tokens by just selecting the category? Any insights or pointers would be greatly appreciated!

I'd like to set the recordingYear in my Spotlight File Importer extension but the property is missing from CSSearchableItemAttributeSet e.g. in the resulting in mdls I'd like to see: kMDItemRecordingYear = 2008; This would allow me to search in Finder by the recording year criteria. There is a recordingDate property and I tried setting it to Date that only has a year but it didn't work. It just resulted in this: kMDItemRecordingDate = "2008-01-01 00:00:00 +0000";

I am developing a parental control app using Apple’s Screen Time API and FamilyControls Framework. My goal is to allow parents to remotely block apps on their child’s device from their own phone. Anyone have any idea how can i do that?

An error was reported when requesting permissions on devices with iOS 16.2 16.3. It is not an emulator. Through the log records, the following Error message appears Error Domain=FamilyControls.FamilyControlsError Code=3 "(null)" Error Domain=FamilyControls.FamilyControlsError Code=4 "(null)" Error Domain=FamilyControls.FamilyControlsError Code=5 "(null)" func requestScreenTime() async -> Bool { do { try await AuthorizationCenter.shared.requestAuthorization(for: .individual) return AuthorizationCenter.shared.authorizationStatus == .approved } catch { print("\(error)") return false } }

Hi, I’m trying to get an array of strings from the user using AppIntents, but I’m encountering an issue. The shortcut ends without prompting the user for input or saving the value, though it doesn’t crash. I need to get the user to input multiple tasks in an array, but the current approach isn’t working as expected. Here’s the current method I’m using: // Short code snippet showing the current method private func collectTasks() async throws -> [String] { var collectedTasks: [String] = tasks ?? [] while true { if !collectedTasks.isEmpty { let addMore = try await $input.requestConfirmation("Would you like to add another task?") if !addMore { break } } let newTask = try await $input.requestValue("Please enter a task:") collectedTasks.append(newTask) } return collectedTasks } The Call func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { let finalTasks = try await collectTasks() // Some more Code } Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I'm currently finding it impossible to get a text filtering extension to be invoked when there's an incoming text message. There isn't a problem with the app/extension because this is the same app and code that is already developed, tested, and unchanged since I last observed it working. I know if there's any history of the incoming number being "known" then the extension won't get invoked, and I used to find this no hindrance to testing previously provided that: the incoming number isn't in contacts there's no outgoing messages to that number there's no outgoing phone calls to the number. This always used to work in the past, but not anymore. However, I've ensured the incoming text's number isn't in contacts, in fact I've deleted all the contacts. I've deleted the entire phone history, incoming and outgoing, and I've also searched in messages and made sure there's no interactions with that number. There's logging in the extension so I can see its being invoked when turned on from the settings app, but its not getting invoked when there's a message. The one difference between now and when I used to have no problem with this - the phone now has iOS 18.5 on it. Its as if in iOS 18.5 there ever was any past association with a text number, its not impossible to remove that association. Has there been some known change in 18.5 that would affect this call filtering behavior and not being able to rid of the incoming message caller as being "known" to the phone? Update I completely reset the phone and then I was able to see the the message filter extension being invoked. That's not an ideal situation though. What else needs to be done beyond what I mentioned above in order to get a phone to forget about a message's number and thus get an message filtering extension to be invoked when there's a message from that number?

After reading Apple documentation (FamilyControls, DeviceActivity, ManagedSettings, ManagedSettingsUI, ScreenTime) and testing the API, I do not find a way to get the child's device apps on the parent device in order to block them or disable them for a certain time. Is there a way of doing it? Or can it only be done locally on the child device?

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!

We are looking to setup domain-bound codes for our app and need to add the associated domain file to our website. We currently do not use Universal Links or Password AutoFill. We have looked at the documentation but are not sure of what the contents of the association file should be to enable domain-bound codes if you are not using Universal Links or Password AutoFill. Can any assistance be provided?

I've successfully started the Live Caller ID Lookup example and initialized the PIRService. I added several identities to the input.txtpb file, some with block: true and others with block: false. Here is the file but modified phone digits: identities { key: "+40790123123" value { name: "Blocking 1" cache_expiry_minutes: 7 block: true } } identities { key: "+972526111111" value { name: "Blocking 2" cache_expiry_minutes: 7 block: true } } identities { key: "+123" value { name: "Adam" cache_expiry_minutes: 8 block: false category: IDENTITY_CATEGORY_PERSON } } identities { key: "+972526111112" value { name: "Identified Business Name 1" cache_expiry_minutes: 1 block: false category: IDENTITY_CATEGORY_BUSINESS } } identities { key: "+972526111113" value { name: "Identified Business Name 2" cache_expiry_minutes: 1 block: false category: IDENTITY_CATEGORY_BUSINESS } } The main issue is that only the number marked as +40790123123 was actually blocked, while "Blocking 2" appeared as identified contacts with their assigned name displayed. Notably, the only blocked number was a foreign number with a different country code than the number being called. The other numbers belonged to the same country. Can someone clarify whether this is a bug in the example project or an issue with the data file?

My sticker app was rejected when I submitted it to App Store Connect. Reason: "We were unable to locate your stickers in message app after installed your app." When I checked on an iOS18 device, this was correct. However, my stickers is visible when I dragged the half-modal(like sheetPresentationController) part. I hope what I need to do to get the stickers to display initially. My code(Xcode16.2) class StickerViewController: MSStickerBrowserViewController { var stickers = [MSSticker]() override func viewDidLoad() { super.viewDidLoad() loadStickers() } override var stickerSize: MSStickerSize { get { return .small } } func loadStickers() { var imageSetPath = "en" for index in 1...20 { var strIndex = "" strIndex = "stmp" + String(index) + imageSetPath createSticker(assetLocation: "\(strIndex)", assetDescription: "\(strIndex)") } } func createSticker(assetLocation: String, assetDescription: String) { guard let path = Bundle.main.path(forResource: assetLocation, ofType: "png") else { return } let url = URL(fileURLWithPath: path) do { let sticker = try MSSticker(contentsOfFileURL: url, localizedDescription: assetDescription) stickers.append(sticker) } catch { print(error) } } } extension StickerViewController { override func numberOfStickers(in stickerBrowserView: MSStickerBrowserView) -> Int { return stickers.count } override func stickerBrowserView(_ stickerBrowserView: MSStickerBrowserView, stickerAt index: Int) -> MSSticker { return stickers[index] } }

Hi, I have a question about On-Demand Resources, I tried to put some bundles into the Initial Install Tags and Download Only On Demand, and I uploaded the build to TestFlight, then I tried to make 2 builds, and the sample is like this: Build A: Initial Install Tags have 100 Tags. Download Only On Demand have 5 Tags. Build B: all contents of Initial Install Tags are the same as in Build A. Download Only On Demand are the same as Build A but I added 5 more tags, so the total is 10 tags, 5 tags that are the same as Build A and 5 new tags. Then I tried to download Build A for the first time which is in TestFlight, and it runs normally, Initial Install Tags are downloaded when the main app is downloaded and Download Only On Demand is downloaded when I request the tag. However, when I tried to update to Build B which is in TestFlight, why are the Initial Install Tags deleted? and why should it be downloaded via request? not when the main app is downloaded? has anyone ever experienced something like this? Thanks!

Hello, I am building an iMessage extension for my app and I am struggling to figure out how to test it. The extension allows users to send their friends an interactive widget and the recipient experience is very important to test. I tried to do it in the simulators, but simulators do not support iMessage. I have got a second iPhone and created a sandbox account, but I cannot install TestFlight with the sandbox account, as this feature is not supported. Reddit, Stackoverflow, ChatGPT and Apple Developer support also did not help. Can someone share their experience with testing recipient experience in the iMessage extension?

Hi everyone, I’m developing a screen-time and focus app that uses Apple’s Family Controls framework to block distracting apps and reward users through a gamified experience. Apple approved Family Controls (Distribution) for the main app identifier, but they did not approve the required extension target (which implements DeviceActivityMonitor, required for the framework to function). Because of this, I can’t archive or upload the app to TestFlight — and I’ve been stuck in limbo for over 2 months. This is severely delaying my launch. The app works perfectly, but I can’t release it because the extension wasn’t included in the entitlement approval. Has anyone else run into this with Family Controls? Is there any known way to escalate or fast-track approval for additional app IDs or targets? Would really appreciate any help, advice, or hacks. 🙏 Thanks, Enzer

I have a multiplatform app for Mac and iOS, for which I am implementing a share extension. This share extension has to share settings with the app itself on both platforms. I am currently trying to achieve this by adding all targets to the same App Group and using UserDefaults with the App Group as suiteName. The app consists of three targets: A multiplatform SwiftUI app, an iOS Share Extension, and a macOS Share Extension,. Settings get persisted correctly on Mac and on the iOS 26 simulator. However, on a real iOS 26 beta 3 device, the Share Extension is unable to load UserDefaults (loading anything with the App Group as a suite name returns nil). What could cause this behavior? The following log entries are generated from the Share Extension on the iOS device, but not on the iOS simulator: Couldn't read values in CFPrefsPlistSource<0x1030d3c80> (Domain: MY_APP_GROUP, User: kCFPreferencesAnyUser, ByHost: Yes, Container: (null), Contents Need Refresh: Yes): Using kCFPreferencesAnyUser with a container is only allowed for System Containers, detaching from cfprefsd 59638328 Plugin query method called (501) Invalidation handler invoked, clearing connection (501) personaAttributesForPersonaType for type:0 failed with error Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 "The connection to service named com.apple.mobile.usermanagerd.xpc was invalidated from this process." UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=The connection to service named com.apple.mobile.usermanagerd.xpc was invalidated from this process.} LaunchServices: store (null) or url (null) was nil: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-54 "process may not map database" UserInfo={_LSLine=72, _LSFunction=_LSServer_GetServerStoreForConnectionWithCompletionHandler, _LSFile=LSDReadService.mm, NSDebugDescription=process may not map database} Attempt to map database failed: permission was denied. This attempt will not be retried. Failed to initialize client context with error Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-54 "process may not map database" UserInfo={_LSLine=72, _LSFunction=_LSServer_GetServerStoreForConnectionWithCompletionHandler, _LSFile=LSDReadService.mm, NSDebugDescription=process may not map database} [C:1-3] Error received: Invalidated by remote connection.

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

Hello, I'm working on implementing Live Caller ID Lookup, but I noticed that https://github.com/apple/live-caller-id-lookup-example redirects to https://github.com/apple/pir-service-example. Could you please clarify why this redirection occurs?

where can we find documentation on the following fields included in payloads? They're not listed alongside the other fields in the documentation linked below: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/weatherkitrestapi/hourweatherconditions precipitationIntensity snowfallAmount Or if we can get the data type, unit used, and description here that would be great