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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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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318
Jan ’25
API to check Core Spotlight storage limit
There's a 128mb limit for donating items to core spotlight. As far as I understand, there's a warning that shows in the Xcode console when either approaching or hitting that limit. It would be great if there was an API to check the current status of available storage for QA purposes to see if we're either donating too much or can donate more. Thanks!
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266
Jan ’25
How to uninstall/delete Voice Control on macOS?
How to uninstall/delete Voice Control on macOS so that I can test my app for the case when the initial use of Voice Control causes it to be downloaded from Apple? Is there a folder in the macOS System or Library to delete to force a re-download of Voice Control? My macOS app uses the older NSSpeechRecognizer to handle speech commands, but to use NSSpeechRecognizer required authorization via [SFSpeechRecognizer requestAuthorization...]. I do this and on a macOS system it can trigger a download of Voice Control, the macOS feature. An alert appears with: "A 390 MB download is required to use speech recognition features in MyApp. You may need to quit and open MyApp again after download completes."
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334
Jan ’25
Unblocking Apps After a Scheduled Duration in FamilyControl
I am able to block apps using FamilyControl and Shield. Unblocking is also simple—just assign nil to store.shield.applications. However, I want to unblock them even when the app is not open. Use case: Let's say the app allows users to create a session where a particular app is blocked for a specific duration. Once the session starts, the app should remain blocked, and as soon as the session time ends, it should automatically be unblocked. Please help me with this. Thank you!
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398
Feb ’25
ManagedSettingStore limits and groups
So what's the point of being able to block unto 50 apps per ManagedSettingStore via store.application.blockedApplications (which works fine) until removing the blocked apps or clearing the store. Where the following occurs if you have a social networking group with more than 9 apps only 9 apps will go back into the group and all the others will go onto the springboard all jumbled if you end up with an empty group then tap into the group, it is removed then during the reset all apps are placed back on to the springboard
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310
Jan ’25
Evidently I'm not generating API tokens right.
I'm trying (in Swift) to use CryptoKit to generate the required JWT for the Apple Music Web API, as documented (sort of) here. But I'm getting 401s no matter what I try. I found some examples of generating JWTs online, but something isn't working here. I've set up my identifiers and gotten an API secret through my account in the dev portal. It's associated with an identifier requesting Music API access (I requested all three available Music-related capabilities). For the secret, I'm using the long key string from the .p8 file I generated and downloaded from the dev portal. Here's what I've tried: struct APIToken { struct Header: Encodable { let alg = "HS256" let kid: String } struct Payload: Encodable { let iss: String let iat: String let exp: String } static func tokenize(keyID: String, issuerID: String, secret: String) -> String { let privateKey = SymmetricKey(data: Data(secret.utf8)) let headerJSONData = try! JSONEncoder().encode(Header(kid: keyID)) let headerBase64String = headerJSONData.base64EncodedString() let currUnixTime = Int(Date().timeIntervalSince1970) let expUnixTime = currUnixTime + 5 * 2628288 // five months of seconds let payloadJSONData = try! JSONEncoder().encode(Payload(iss: issuerID, iat: "\(currUnixTime)", exp: "\(expUnixTime)")) let payloadBase64String = payloadJSONData.base64EncodedString() let toSign = Data((headerBase64String + "." + payloadBase64String).utf8) let signature = HMAC<SHA256>.authenticationCode(for: toSign, using: privateKey) let signatureBase64String = Data(signature).base64EncodedString() let token = [headerBase64String, payloadBase64String, signatureBase64String].joined(separator: ".") print(token) return token } } I also tried making sure the base64 strings are URL-safe with this extension: extension Data { func URLSafeBase64EncodedString() -> String { return base64EncodedString() .replacingOccurrences(of: "+", with: "-") .replacingOccurrences(of: "/", with: "_") .replacingOccurrences(of: "=", with: "") } } but that made no difference. All the documentation says is A decoded developer token has the following format. { "alg": "ES256", "kid": "ABC123DEFG" } { "iss": "DEF123GHIJ", "iat": 1437179036, "exp": 1493298100 } After you create the token, sign it with your MusicKit private key using the ES256 algorithm. Am I not doing that? Any insight appreciated.
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486
Nov ’24
CarKeyRemoteControlSession always returning empty
We are developing an iOS app to connect to vehicles and trigger predefined vehicle controls (door lock/unlock) via the Digital Key framework. We are currently blocked on several aspects and would appreciate your expertise to clarify the following queries. How can we list down connected vehicle information? What is the method to retrieve connection status? How can we perform vehicle control actions (e.g., door lock/unlock)? STEPS TO REPRODUCE Starting the CarKeyRemoteControlSession to Fetch Vehicle Reports Currently, we are using the following API to start a CarKeyRemoteControlSession: open class func start( delegate: any CarKeyRemoteControlSessionDelegate, subscriptionRange subscriptionFunctionIDRange: ClosedRange? = nil, with delegateCallbackQueue: DispatchQueue? = nil ) async throws -> CarKeyRemoteControlSession After successfully creating the session, we check for vehicle reports using the vehicleReports property of CarKeyRemoteControlSession: public var vehicleReports: [VehicleReport] { get throws }
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249
Feb ’25
Family Controls Approved for Main App but Not Extension – Blocking
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
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82
Apr ’25
WeatherKit - missing ForecastHourly field documentation
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
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249
Mar ’25
iMessage functionality
Hey guys! I've recently noticed a number of PaaS'es and CPaaS'es offering bulk outgoing messaging using the iMessage the same way it's done with the SMS. I always thought that iMessage sort of only allowed businesses to send outgoings subject to user contacting their account first (to avoid being spammed). But then there's those I mentioned above. Have you faced anything like this? Did Apple make changes to the model so that businesses can now initiate conversations with users? If so, how does it work?
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62
Oct ’25
UE 5.4 Game Instantly Crash on iOS devices on Testflight
Hi, I'm working on a game for the past few years using first Unreal Engine 4, and now Unreal Engine 5.4.4. I'm experiencingan unusual crash on startup on some devices . The crash is so fast that I'm barely able to see the launching screen sometimes because the app closes itself before that. I got a EXC_CRASH (SIGABRT) so I know that it's a null pointer reference, but I can't quite wrap my head about the cause, I think that's something messed up in the packaging of the app, but here is where I'm blocked, I'm not that accustomed with apple devices. If someone has some advise to give, please, any help will be very valuable. Many thanks. Log : Crash Log on Ipad
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505
Feb ’25
FinanceKit: Apple Cash transfers missing contact information
I’m testing FinanceKit with Apple Cash and noticed that transfers don’t include any counterparty information. Here’s an example transaction I fetched: Transaction( id: 5A96EA49-B7C9-4481-949D-88247210C1D7, accountID: 28D7C0E2-DC2A-4138-B105-BCE5EE00B705, transactionAmount: 30 USD, creditDebitIndicator: .credit, transactionDescription: "Transfer", originalTransactionDescription: "", merchantCategoryCode: nil, merchantName: nil, transactionType: .transfer, status: .booked, transactionDate: 2025-08-19 21:57:54 +0000, postedDate: 2025-08-19 21:57:55 +0000 ) As you can see: transactionDescription is just "Transfer" originalTransactionDescription is empty merchantName is nil No counterparty details are exposed In contrast, the Wallet app clearly shows the other person’s name and avatar for Apple Cash transfers, making it easy to understand who the payment was with. In FinanceKit, there’s no way to distinguish between transfers with different people — every transfer looks identical. Questions Is there a hidden or planned field for Apple Cash counterparty information? Can FinanceKit provide at least minimal metadata (e.g., contact name, initials, or a privacy-preserving identifier)? Is there any workaround today to correlate Apple Cash transfers with contacts? Feature request: Please expose counterparty information for Apple Cash transfers. Even something as simple as a stable identifier or name string would enable developers to build Wallet-quality transaction detail screens. Thanks!
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86
Aug ’25
Request array with AppIntents
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!
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310
Feb ’25
Delays When Creating Advanced App Clip Experiences for Other Businesses
Hey there, I have an app where I create custom Advanced App Clip Experiences for other businesses which seems to be a valid thing. I do create them via API. Upon creation everything looks fine: when I go to App Store Connect -> App -> Advanced App Clip Experiences, I do see the new App Clip Experience I've just created. Their status is Received (as any other active experiences) and have a custom URL. The issue is weird timing when the Advanced App Clip Experience actually becomes available on the iPhone (can be triggered via App Clip Code, etc). Some experiences become available literally immediately but others take days (some take 1-2 days, some take ~5 days). I'm not sure why there's a bid difference for an Advanced App Clip to be actually active. Does anyone have any kind of experience with that? I don't change domain settings, app's settings, etc. I'm just creating a new experience (both via API or manually at App Store Connect) and I do have different "activation" times for different App Clips. Same when I delete an Advanced App Clip Experience, it will still be available for next couple days. I get there might be caching stuff, etc. But the difference is quite huge and makes no sense since as I've mentioned some clips become available immediately but some takes days to be available. Thank you!
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69
Jun ’25
CallKit Keeps Terminating
Hello, I am currently developing a call service using CallKit and VoIP push. Recently, I have encountered a very challenging issue. During testing, when a VoIP push is received, the incomingCall gets triggered continuously, but then it automatically terminates after about 1-2 seconds. I am checking this issue under the debug scheme, and even when switching to different commits, the same problem persists. I suspect it might be an issue with the device, but I would like to confirm the cause and find a solution. Below are some characteristics I have noticed: On this device, when a VoIP push is received, CallKit automatically terminates, but this does not occur when debugging. The issue always occurs when not debugging. Looking at the device console logs related to callservicesd, there are many logs with 'invalidate' appended. For example: Invalidating process assertion for bundle ID from timeout All calls ended. Clearing system uplink muted cache Invalidate callDurationUpdateTimer InCallService has changed process state to 2 InCallService has been suspended; invalidating its XPC client connections. [0x565544180] invalidated because the current process cancelled the connection by calling xpc_connection_cancel() XPC connection invalidated from client These logs appear although our server did not receive any incoming call request, so we did not terminate it on our end. I also checked if there was a crash, but there were no reports left on the device. Could you please share any insights into the cause or solutions for this situation? Thank you.
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351
Jan ’25
Live Caller ID doesn't perform caching
I experimented a lot with Live Caller ID when it first appeared with iOS 18 Beta. Now I'm starting to pick it up again and have immediately noticed some detrimental differences between the behavior observed when it was in beta status to how it currently behaves with iOS 18.3. The main difference is caching - if a call is made and data from a live call id lookup displayed on the call screen, then if the call is made again immediately then that data is re-fetched from the server. And it takes a long time too, about 5 or 6 seconds before the data is displayed in the call screen (with the beta it took about 3 seconds). In the data set cache_expiry_minutes is set to 50, yet it's not being honored, there's no caching occurring at all. Yet this did used to occur several months ago when the feature was in beta. What's happened to caching, why is it no longer working when it used to? Another change is there used to be a notification displayed when a call was blocked, this no longer is displayed. Is this an intentional change or a bug?
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Jan ’25