Control over "\(your_app) wants to open \(another_app)" Dialog

Question

Created Jan ’26

Replies 4

Boosts 0

Participants 2

I can't find any information about why this is happening, nor can I reproduce the 'successful' state on this device. My team needs to understand this behavior, so any insight would be greatly appreciated!

The expected behavior: If I delete both apps and reinstall them, attempting to open the second app from my app should trigger the system confirmation dialog.

The specifics: I'm using the MSAL library. It navigates the user to the Microsoft Authenticator app and then returns to my app. However, even after resetting the phone and reinstalling both apps, the dialog never shows up (it just opens the app directly).

Does anyone know the logic behind how iOS handles these prompts or why it might be persistent even after a reset?

Thanks in advance!

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Answer 1

aaronvalentino OP

5d

Any update from any Apple Engineer please?

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Answer 2

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

5d

Sorry I didn’t respond earlier; I was hoping that someone else would wade in.

Can you post a screenshot of the specific alert you’re referring to.

My team needs to understand this behavior

I’d like to clarify why that’s the case. My understanding is that, when the alert does not show up, the target app still launches, right? If so, why does it matter whether the alert shows up or not?

I'm using the MSAL library.

What API is it using under the covers? I can’t really help you with third-party libraries; I need to understand what Apple API is in use.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

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Answer 3

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

2d

It’s better to reply as a reply, rather than in the comments; see Quinn’s Top Ten DevForums Tips for this and other titbits.

Regarding the Stack Overflow thread you referenced, I’m not convinced that the alert is being shown by Apple code. I think that’s related to the third-party tooling involved.

Which brings me back to your question. Without knowing which Apple API is involved, it’s hard to be sure whether this alert is coming from the OS or your third-party library. So you have a choice:

You could dig into the library yourself to see what it’s going.
Or you could discuss this with the library vendor.

Alternatively, if you can post a screenshot of the specific alert, I might be able to track it down the Apple side of this [1].

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

[1] Assuming the library isn’t trying to deliberately copy the appearance of an Apple alert, which is something I do encounter from time to time.

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Answer 4

aaronvalentino OP

1d

Thank you for the forum tips!

Sorry for the ambiguity. I will try to dig into the library myself again to see if they are implementing a custom dialog on top of our app, and also try to reproduce the alert and post the screenshot here.

Thanks again!

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