Best way to distribute an App to select Devices

Question

Created Mar ’22

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Hello,

we are currently developing a specific App for a specific customer and it is supposed to run a handful of devices in their building. We were wondering what the best way is to distribute these Apps to them, as some prior Google Search was stating that App validity will run out after either 7 or 28 days or a year. But I can not find the exact information in the Developer Docs. Some clarification on what License/Certificate/Provisioning Profile one should use for such a case would be very helpful, thanks! :)

Ideally, we would like the App to stay valid without a limit, but we can live with sending them a new Version every year. Every 7 or 28 days however is not really an option. I have also read about the option to publish to the App Store privately and distribute links from there? How long will the App stay valid that way? Although that sounds like an overkill.

Kind Regards

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Answer 1

Claude31 OP

Mar ’22

Have you looked at the "unlisted app" option in Appstore ?

https://developer.apple.com/support/unlisted-app-distribution/

Developers with apps that aren't suited for public distribution can submit a request on Apple's website to distribute unlisted apps, which don't appear in any App Store categories, recommendations, charts, search results, or other listings. Unlisted apps can also be accessed through Apple Business Manager and Apple School Manager.

Apple says apps for specific organizations, special events, research studies, or employee sales tools and resources are good candidates for unlisted distribution. Unlisted apps are supported in all countries where the App Store is available.

Developers can submit Apple's request form for both new and existing apps. If approved, the app's distribution method will change to "Unlisted App" and will apply to any future versions of the app. Unlisted apps are available to anyone who has access to the link, and if the app is already available on the App Store, its current link will remain the same.

Unlisted apps must be ready for final distribution, and requests for apps in a beta or pre-release state will be declined, according to Apple. In other words, unlisted distribution cannot be used for TestFlight-like purposes.

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Answer 2

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

Mar ’22

iOS supports many different distribution models:

Development
Test Flight
Ad Hoc
App Store
In-House (Enterprise)
Custom Apps
Unlisted

In situations like this I generally recommend Custom Apps. It allows you to take advantage of all the App Store infrastructure while still limited who can use the app.

See Developer > Custom Apps for more.

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