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Problem setting up AASA file (paths with queries)
In a project having both an app and a website, the following two website urls are to be handed over to the corresponding app: https://www.example.com/search?plus https://www.example.com/search?query=something In AASA file, this becomes: "components": [ { "/": "/search", "?": { "plus": "", "query": "?*" } } However, finally it does not work for both urls. Only the one with "query" works by hand over to app. For investigation, I have tried this for the problematic link: "components": [ { "/": "/search", "?": "plus" } and this works. How can I get both to work? (note that for the sake of brevity, only a portion of the AASA files are shown)
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May ’25
The enterprise app crashes.
I created a new project, packaged it with my own enterprise certificate, installed and used it. There were no problems on most devices. However, on some devices with system versions of 18.3 and 18.4, the app crashes when opened after trusting the certificate. It seems that there is something wrong with the certificate, but I have confirmed that the certificate is fine. May I ask what the cause of this issue is?
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May ’25
How to debug Quick Look Preview Extension
When I launch the Quick Look Preview Extension target in Xcode, an app called Quick Look Simulator opens with an almost empty window: Online I read that the Terminal command qlmanage allows to test Quick Look plugins (which I think were an older format for creating Quick Look extensions), but running qlmanage -p /path/to/previewed/file -c public.text -g /path/to/QuickLookPreviewExtension.appex (where QuickLookPreviewExtension.appex is generated by the Xcode build and is located in the DerivedData folder) gives an error Can't get generator at QuickLookPreviewExtension.appex How can I debug a Quick Look Preview Extension?
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May ’25
Error Domain=FamilyControls.FamilyControlsError Code=2 "(null)"
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 } }
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May ’25
"Application" is accessing your screen notification
Hi! I'm developing an application based on Chrome that needs to take regular screenshots of webpages. Under the hood (actually Chromium), it uses SCScreenshotManager to capture screenshots automatically (without user interaction). I've noticed that regularly using this API triggers a user notification saying: "Your Screen 'AppTest' has accessed your screen and system audio 3,594 times in the past 30 days. You can manage this in Settings." How can I prevent this notification from appearing? Are there any specific entitlements(Or configuration of SCScreenshotManager) that I can use? Thanks!
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May ’25
Is MetricKit automatically on all devices?
Hello Apple, I am trying to get information such as crash context whenever a user encounters a situation where the app is killed. I was wondering if the tool MetricKit is available to all users or is this a feature to those who has opted into it. I am aware that the whenever someone gets a new device or in settings, an option will appear that'll have users decide whether or not to have Apple receive data analytics during certain events on their device. Does this have any effect on whether some users may not have MetricKit? Overall, we are attempting to use MetricKit to better analyze performance of our app. It would be inefficient for us, if the population of users using MetricKit is only those who have opted into it. Thanks, dmaliro
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May ’25
Unable to locate my stickers in message app after installed my app
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] } }
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May ’25
How to debug Quick Look Preview Extension
I'm facing the same problem as addressed in this discussion: After switching from legacy QLGenerators to Preview extensions on macOS I cannot debug the extensions' code in Xcode, anymore: I launch the app with the embedded appex from Xcode in debug mode. When trying to attach to the appex process the following error is reported: Code: 6 Failure Reason: Ensure “AppName Preview” is not already running, and matthias has permission to debug it. User Info: {... } System Information macOS Version 15.4.1 (Build 24E263) Xcode 16.3 (23785) (Build 16E140) Timestamp: 2025-05-12T14:07:14+02:00 I'm using a standard user account (no admin) and might miss some obvious steps. Can someone detail the steps to debug a Preview (or Thumbnail) extension with Xcode 16? For legacy Quick Look plugins I was using "qlmanage", but that's not working on extensions. All the best, Matthias P.S.: Pardon me re-posting my reply as a separate thread, to increase visibility, but I'm quite desperate and couldn't find any solution on the web...
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May ’25
PDFKit PDFPage.characterBounds(at:) returns incorrect coordinates iOS 18 beta 4
PDFKit PDFPage.characterBounds(at: Int) is returning incorrect coordinates with iOS 18 beta 4 and later / Xcode 16 beta 4. It worked fine in iOS 17 and earlier (after showing the same issue during the early iOS 17 beta cycle) It breaks critical functionality that my app relies on. I have filed feedback (FB14843671). So far no changes in the latest betas. iOS release date is approaching fast! Anybody having the same issue? Any workaround available?
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May ’25
How can I open and write to an SQLite database from my DeviceActivityReport Extension?
Hello everyone, I’m working on an iOS app that uses the new DeviceActivity framework to monitor and report user screen‐time in an extension (DeviceActivityReportExtension). I need to persist my processed screen‐time data into a standalone SQLite database inside the extension, but I’m running into issues opening and writing to the database file. Here’s what I’ve tried so far: import UIKit import DeviceActivity import SQLite3 class DeviceActivityReportExtension: DeviceActivityReportExtension { private var db: OpaquePointer? override func didReceive(_ report: DeviceActivityReport) async { // 1. Construct path in app container: let containerURL = FileManager.default.containerURL(forSecurityApplicationGroupIdentifier: "group.com.mycompany.myapp") let dbURL = containerURL?.appendingPathComponent("ScreenTimeReports.db") // 2. Open database: if sqlite3_open(dbURL?.path, &db) != SQLITE_OK { print("❌ Unable to open database at \(dbURL?.path ?? "unknown path")") return } defer { sqlite3_close(db) } // 3. Create table if needed: let createSQL = """ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS reports ( id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT, date TEXT, totalScreenTime DOUBLE ); """ if sqlite3_exec(db, createSQL, nil, nil, nil) != SQLITE_OK { print("❌ Could not create table: \(String(cString: sqlite3_errmsg(db)))") return } // 4. Insert data: let insertSQL = "INSERT INTO reports (date, totalScreenTime) VALUES (?, ?);" var stmt: OpaquePointer? if sqlite3_prepare_v2(db, insertSQL, -1, &stmt, nil) == SQLITE_OK { sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, report.date.description, -1, nil) sqlite3_bind_double(stmt, 2, report.totalActivityDuration) if sqlite3_step(stmt) != SQLITE_DONE { print("❌ Insert failed: \(String(cString: sqlite3_errmsg(db)))") } } sqlite3_finalize(stmt) } } However: Path issues: The extension’s sandbox is separate from the app’s. I’m not sure if I can use the same App Group container, or if there’s a better location for an on‐extension database. Entitlements: I’ve added the App Group (group.com.mycompany.myapp) to both the main app and the extension, but the file never appears, and I still get “unable to open database” errors. My questions are: How do I correctly construct a file URL for an SQLite file in a DeviceActivityReportExtension? Is SQLite the recommended approach here, or is there a more “Apple-approved” pattern for writing data from a DeviceActivity extension? Any sample code snippets, pointers to relevant Apple documentation, or alternative approaches would be greatly appreciated!
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May ’25
Clarification on ManagedSettings Shield Precedence (Application vs. Category)
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!
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May ’25
Increased Memory Limit for QL Preview Generator
we have written a QL preview generator for some 3D data formats not supported by the AR Quicklook generators included in iOS. however, we are struggeling with the 100 MB memory ceiling imposed on an app extension in iOS. we have included the "Increased Memory Limit" entitlement in both the app and in the preview extensions. nevertheless, the preview generator is limited to 100 MB, even on most recent devices like iPhone 16 Pro Max. we can even see 100 MB limit when we attach to the process with Xcode. my question: did we miss anything? are there additional steps necessary to obtain the increased memory limit? must we explicitly apply for it? 500 MB would be fine (our preview generator does not load textures). best regards
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May ’25
Call directory extension name not localised in settings iOS 15.3
I have two call directory extensions, each with InfoPlist.strings in en.lproj and nb.lproj directories. In these files I've defined CFBundleDisplayName for both locales. These names are displayed under Settings -> Phone -> Call Blocking & Identification. On iOS 12.2 the names are displayed correctly in both Norwegian and English. Testing on iOS 15.3 the English names are displayed even when device language is set to Norwegian. Worth noting: When updating the English versions of CFBundleDisplayName this is immediately reflected in Call Blocking & Identification page with Norwegian device language. As this feature requires a real device, I'm unable to test on iOS 13 and 14.
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2.2k
May ’25
Phonetic vs Pronunciation contacts fields and Siri
The contacts app has fields for Phonetic and Pronunciation. My app adds phonetic data to the phonetic field to help Siri better understand contacts stored in Greek, Cyrillic, or Georgian. However, using the phonetic field causes the sorting order of contacts to be messed up. For example, Greek B (beta) is represented as a phonetic sound of V, resulting in a completely incorrect sorting order. The pronunciation field doesn’t seem to affect the sorting order, but I’m not sure what it does or should do. My questions are: Do we understand the difference between phonetic and pronunciation, and how Siri actively uses them? If the phonetic field is the correct one to use, how can we raise a feature request with Apple to add an option to sort contacts based on phonetic fields or not? Here’s a test you can try: Create a new contact with the following details: First name: test Last name: test Phonetic first name: Billy Phonetic last name: Idol Ask Siri to show the contact Billy Idol. It will return the “test test” contact. Switch from the phonetic to the pronunciation fields. Now, Siri won’t find Billy Idol.
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May ’25
There were problems encountered during the development of core spotlight.
In IOS17 and IOS18, core spotlight can only match app contents by searching for the displayName, but cannot hit the contents by using keywords. Moreover, when matching the app content by searching for the "displayName", it requires inputting four consecutive characters to achieve a match.These issues did not occur in iOS 16. What is the reason for this? Here is my code. func addItemToIndex(_ item: QSpotlightItem) { let attributeSet = CSSearchableItemAttributeSet(contentType: .item) attributeSet.title = item.title attributeSet.displayName = item.title attributeSet.contentDescription = item.contentDescription attributeSet.keywords = item.keywords attributeSet.thumbnailData = item.thumbnailImage attributeSet.contactKeywords = item.keywords attributeSet.supportsNavigation = true let searchableItem = CSSearchableItem(uniqueIdentifier: item.id, domainIdentifier: "xxx", attributeSet: attributeSet) searchableItem.expirationDate = .distantFuture CSSearchableIndex.default().indexSearchableItems([searchableItem]) { error in if let error = error { } else { } } }
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May ’25