Would it be possible to prevent deletion of specific apps on iOS devices using MDM.

We provide a MDM product. In our product, payloads and properties which require supervision display those requirements. Two properties forcePreserveESIMOnErase and allowWebDistributionAppInstallation of the restriction payload don’t require a supervised device according to the descriptions in Apple Developer Documentation. However, in our observation, those properties seem to require it. Are those OS bugs or documentation errors? (In which category should I submit a feedback?) Steps to reproduce Prepare a supervised device (I used an iPhone 12 mini with iOS 18.1) and a configuration profile contains the following restrictions: <!-- Does not require a supervised device --> <key>allowDiagnosticSubmission</key> <false/> <!-- Requires a supervised device --> <key>allowESIMModification</key> <false/> <!-- Does not require a supervised device according to its description --> <key>allowWebDistributionAppInstallation</key> <false/> <!-- Does not require a supervised device according to its description --> <key>forcePreserveESIMOnErase</key> <true/> Then, Install the profile with Apple Configurator. Confirm 4 restrictions are shown in Settings > General > VPN & Device Management > PayloadDisplayName > Restrictions. Punch Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings, to unsupervise. Install the profile with Apple Configurator. It cannot be installed automatically because the device was not supervised. Manually install the downloaded profile. Check Settings > General > VPN & Device Management > PayloadDisplayName > Restrictions. Expected results 3 restrictions—allowDiagnosticSubmission, allowWebDistributionAppInstallation and forcePreserveESIMOnErase—are shown. Actual results Only one restriction—allowDiagnosticSubmission—is shown. Appendix: Restriction keys and their restricted message shown in Settings allowESIMModification: eSIM modification not allowed forcePreserveESIMOnErase: Preserve eSIM on erase enforced allowWebDistributionAppInstallation: Web app distribution not allowed allowDiagnosticSubmission: Diagnostic submission not allowed

I’m looking for advice on implementing an Active Supervision Mode for enhanced parental control. My goal is to restrict access to both iOS system apps and third-party applications to create a safer and more tailored digital experience for my child. Here’s what I’d like to achieve: App Restrictions: Block specific apps (both iOS and third-party) and allow access only to approved ones. Time Limits: Set daily usage limits for individual apps or app categories. Content Filtering: Apply restrictions to block inappropriate content and age-inappropriate apps. Remote Management: Manage these settings remotely from my device for added convenience. Activity Monitoring: View app usage stats or receive alerts for policy violations. I understand that Screen Time on iOS offers basic parental controls, but I’m exploring whether iOS supports more advanced capabilities natively or through additional configurations. I’ve also heard that enrolling a device in Apple Business Manager (ABM) and linking it to an MDM (Mobile Device Management) solution might provide greater control. If this is a viable solution, could anyone provide guidance on: Enrolling a personal or family-owned device into Apple Business Manager. Linking an MDM for configuring app restrictions and monitoring usage. Alternatively, if there are third-party parental control apps that work seamlessly with iOS to achieve these goals, I’d appreciate your recommendations! Thanks in advance for your insights!

I’m looking for advice on implementing an Active Supervision Mode for enhanced parental control. My goal is to restrict access to both iOS system apps and third-party applications to create a safer and more tailored digital experience for my child. Here’s what I’d like to achieve: App Restrictions: Block specific apps (both iOS and third-party) and allow access only to approved ones. Time Limits: Set daily usage limits for individual apps or app categories. Content Filtering: Apply restrictions to block inappropriate content and age-inappropriate apps. Remote Management: Manage these settings remotely from my device for added convenience. Activity Monitoring: View app usage stats or receive alerts for policy violations. I understand that Screen Time on iOS offers basic parental controls, but I’m exploring whether iOS supports more advanced capabilities natively or through additional configurations. I’ve also heard that enrolling a device in Apple Business Manager (ABM) and linking it to an MDM (Mobile Device Management) solution might provide greater control. If this is a viable solution, could anyone provide guidance on: Enrolling a personal or family-owned device into Apple Business Manager. Linking an MDM for configuring app restrictions and monitoring usage. Alternatively, if there are third-party parental control apps that work seamlessly with iOS to achieve these goals, I’d appreciate your recommendations! Thanks in advance for your insights!

Hello everyone. Until macOS 14.x Sonoma, the Configuration Profiles, were hosted in System Preferences / Privacy & Security / Profiles. Now, in macOS 15.x, they are hosted in System Preferences / General / Device Management. The thing is, we need to hide this panel since it shows the initial password of a LAPS account to any user. I have seen that in developer.apple.com in the Profile-Specific Payload Keys section, the object SystemPreferences have been Deprecated, and these are the ones we used until now to lock this panel, so it does not work anymore. So that only the objects Restrictions works, in which it does not show any to block the Device Management panel. Does anyone know how to hide/lock the new Device Management panel in System Settings? Thank you very much! Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Hello Is there any official source from Apple listing all their models with their respective specs (mainly storage and device color)? Third party open source exist, but it's incomplete, and we'd like to use an official source. EG https://theapplewiki.com/wiki/Models No "ML9C3" in that site.

We use a profile that delays the installation of the new system in order to test it earlier. Well Sequoia works differently and fails with our system, the manufacturer tells us to talk to Apple. Does anyone have any idea about this? My MDM is Mosyle

On a supervised device running iOS 18 without any AirDrop restrictions applied, when a profile with allowListedAppBundleIDs restriction key is installed, the AirDrop sound plays. But still the accept prompt does not appear, making it impossible to accept files. The prompt works as expected on iOS 18 devices to which the allowListedAppBundleIDs restriction is not installed. This issue occurs only on supervised iOS 18 devices to which the allowListedAppBundleIDs restriction is being applied. Device must be in iOS 18 version > Install the (allowListedAppBundleIDs restriction) profile with the device > Try to AirDrop files to the managed device. The expected result is that the accept prompt must pop up but it does not appear. This issue is occurring irrespective of any Whitelisted bundle ID being added to the allowListedAppBundleIDs restriction profile. Have attached a few Whitelisted bundle ID here com.talentlms.talentlms.ios.beta, com.maxaccel.safetrack, com.manageengine.mdm.iosagent, com.apple.weather, com.apple.mobilenotes, gov.dot.phmsa.erg2, com.apple.calculator, com.manageengine.mdm.iosagent, com.apple.webapp, com.apple.CoreCDPUI.localSecretPrompt etc. Have raised a Feedback request (FB15709399) with sysdiagnose logs and a short video on the issue.

We are pushing some Chrome settings through Directory Services command line utility /usr/bin/dscl /usr/bin/dscl /Local/Default -mcximport /Computers/local_computer chrome_settings.plist /usr/bin/mcxrefresh -n root These commands created com.google.Chrome.plist in /Library/Managed Preferences on previous macOS versions. However on macOS 15.x Sequoia these commands intermittently fail to create the file in /Library/Managed Preferences though there is no error reported or any log entries that could indicate an error. There could be other component on Sequoia that is preventing directory services tool to push the preferences but I am unable to locate it. It is not MDM because the machines are not enrolled (also have a setup where dscl and MDM both work). This is happening on a clean macbook setup but I have never seen it happen on mac mini. Anyone have an idea what could be interfering with directory services to complete its task of pushing managed settings? DDM?

I'm developing an ACME server to issue identity certificates to macOS/iOS devices for MDM attestation, following RFC 8555. Per RFC, the client creates an order, performs authorization, verifies the challenge, and finalizes the order by submitting a CSR to the CA. In my setup, the CA sometimes takes longer to issue the certificate (around 50 seconds). According to RFC 8555, if certificate issuance isn’t complete after the /finalize call, the server should respond with an "order" object with a "processing" status. The client should then send a POST-as-GET request to the order resource (e.g., /order/<order_id>) to check the current state. If the CA still hasn’t issued the certificate, the server should return the order object with the same "processing" status and include a "Retry-After" header, indicating when the client should retry. The client is expected to poll the order resource at this specified interval with POST-as-GET requests. However, it seems the Apple ACME client ignores the "Retry-After" header and instead returns the error: "Profile failed - Order status is processing, not yet valid" immediately upon the first poll response with "processing." Apple ACME client deviating from the RFC documentation. Has anyone found a reliable solution to this issue? Or does Apple supports asynchronous order finalization? Ref -https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8555#:~:text=A%20request%20to%20finalize%20an%20order%20will%20result%20in%20error,to%20the%20%22certificate%22%20field%20of%20the%20order.%20%20Download%20the%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20certificate. To work around this, I’m holding the /finalize call until the CA issues the certificate. This works when issuance is quick (under 20 seconds), but if it takes more than that , the client times out. Interestingly, the Apple ACME client’s timeout appears shorter than the usual 60-second URLSession default.

I'm reaching out to discuss a significant issue related to how iOS handles app login sessions, particularly in the context of MDM (Mobile Device Management) and the Outlook app. In our organization, we use MDM to distribute applications, including Outlook, with certificate-based authentication for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) devices. This setup allows users to log in seamlessly to their accounts. However, we've encountered a concerning behavior: when a user unenrolls from MDM, which automatically removes the distributed apps and certificates, they can later reinstall the app from the App Store and find themselves automatically logged back into their previous accounts without any authentication prompts. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the situation: Initial Installation: Users enroll their devices in MDM, which installs the necessary apps and certificates on those devices. Session Storage: After the initial login, the app stores the session locally on the device. App Deletion: When users un enroll their devices from MDM, it automatically removes the distributed apps and certificates. Reinstallation: Days or weeks later, when they reinstall the Outlook app from the App Store, they find themselves automatically logged back into their accounts. This behavior raises important concerns: Lack of Authentication: The app retaining user sessions even after deletion allows users to access their accounts without re-authentication, which could lead to potential unauthorized access and undermines the effectiveness of certificate-based authentication and two-factor authentication (2FA). Note: This issue is not limited to Outlook; we've observed similar behavior with many other apps. Need for a Solution - Given the implications of this behavior, we are looking for effective solutions to prevent it. Specifically, we need options within the MDM framework to: Restrict Session Retention: Implement settings that ensure any app deleted via MDM will lose all stored sessions and require re-authentication upon reinstallation. Default Settings for MDM-Distributed Apps: Ideally, this would be a default feature for all apps distributed through MDM, ensuring that user sessions are not retained after app deletion. Has anyone else experienced this issue? Are there any existing settings or workarounds within MDM platforms to mitigate this problem? Your insights and experiences would be invaluable as we navigate this challenge. Thank you!

Hello everyone, our company has an annual fee of $299 for an enterprise developer account, which is about to expire next month, but I submitted the renewal application, but after a month, I received an email that refused to renew the subscription. Is there any remedy for this? This account is very important to our company. Thank you

There could be a case where-in multiple transparent proxies might exist in the system (for ex., Cisco AnyConnect, GlobalProtect, etc). We want to know if there is a way to order transparent proxies so that the desired transparent proxy gets the request first. During our research, we found a resource which talks about ordering transparent proxies through MDM. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/vpn/transparentproxy Using this reference, we tried to create a profile and push it through JAMF. Below is the profile that we created and pushed with JAMF. Property List - &lt;?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?&gt; &lt;!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"&gt; &lt;plist version="1.0"&gt; &lt;dict&gt; &lt;key&gt;TransparentProxy&lt;/key&gt; &lt;array&gt; &lt;dict&gt; &lt;key&gt;ProviderBundleIdentifier&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;com.paloaltonetworks.GlobalProtect.client.extension&lt;/string&gt; &lt;key&gt;Order&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;1&lt;/string&gt; &lt;/dict&gt; &lt;dict&gt; &lt;key&gt;ProviderBundleIdentifier&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;com.cisco.anyconnect.macos.acsockext&lt;/string&gt; &lt;key&gt;Order&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;2&lt;/string&gt; &lt;/dict&gt; &lt;dict&gt; &lt;key&gt;ProviderBundleIdentifier&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;com.mydomain.transparentproxy&lt;/string&gt; &lt;key&gt;Order&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;3&lt;/string&gt; &lt;/dict&gt; &lt;/array&gt; We are not sure if this is the right way to create the profile, though JAMF is not throwing any error while pushing this profile. We see this profile on the local machine as "/Library/Managed Preferences/com.apple.networking.vpn-transparent-list.plist". Is there a way to know if the profile took effect and the order of transparent proxies has changed. Thanks in advance.

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Since this file is protected by SIP, it can't just be changed by an installer/app without prompting the user. If the user chooses to deny the request, the sudo file won't be updated with a security critical pam module. I need to insert our custom pam module into /etc/pam.d/sudo without the user being able to deny the operation.

When the user pushed the lock device action on a macOS 14, it returned an acknowledgement but the device wasn't locked. Which resulted in loss of data on the device.

We are doing application assignment to personal iOS devices that are enrolled in MDM via User Enrollment. However, we're experiencing some odd behavior when assigning licenses. We are getting back errors from the devices when doing assignments: code: 12064, domain: MDMErrorDomain, description: Could not retrieve licence for the app with iTunes Store ID 422689480. code: 2605, domain: DeviceManagement.error, description: No licence was found for app "com.google.Gmail". However, we are not seeing license exhaustion on the Apple Business Manager side for our location. We are not clear what would cause the 12064 or 2605 errors. We have tried re-sending the command to install the app, and we have tried un-enrolling devices and re-enrolling, as well as updating the VPP Token for the location. We have gathered sysdiagnoses from affected devices, but it's not clear what causes this. What other causes are there for 12064 and 2605 errors? How can we work around these?

I am trying to set up a workflow where Apple Vision Pro users in my organization can install a signed enterprise .ipa file from an internal web page. The relevant link looks something like this: &amp;lt;a role="button" href="itms-services://?action=download-manifest&amp;amp;url=https://my.example.com/path/manifest.plist"&amp;gt;Click here to download&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; After verifying that all the mime types were correct on the server and the certificate was valid, I finally attached my AVP headset to my Mac's console app and saw that the errors look like this: [com.example.myapp] Skipping due to incompatible platform: com.apple.platform.xros Could not load download manifest with underlying error: Error Domain=ASDErrorDomain Code=752 "Not compatible with this platform: com.apple.platform.xros" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=Not compatible with this platform: com.apple.platform.xros} This manifest.plist was made by the "Distribute App" workflow in Xcode 16.0. Multipart question: Is installing VisionOS apps via manifest+ipa over a web connection a supported way of installing apps? If the issue is with com.apple.platform.xros, what should be the platform-identifier for VisonOS apps?

Dear Apple Developer Support Team, I hope this message finds you well. I am currently utilizing the services at https://identity.apple.com for mobile device management and encountered an issue while attempting to upload a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) file to the portal. The system generated an error indicating that the file format was invalid. Below are the steps I followed to generate the CSR: I first created a private key on my server using the following command: openssl genrsa -out private.key 2048 Next, I generated the CSR file with the following command: openssl req -new -key private.key -out request.csr Despite following these steps, I could not successfully upload the CSR file and obtain the APNs certificate. I would greatly appreciate your guidance on creating and uploading a valid CSR file to avoid this error. Please let me know if there are any specific formatting requirements or additional steps I need to follow. Thank you in advance for your assistance and support.

Hi, I have a question regarding reading the configuration of a managed app deployed via an MDM system. The application has an Action Extension and can receive shared files via this extension. The problem I am facing is that I can read the managed configuration in the host app by accessing the UserDefaults.standard.object(forKey: "com.apple.configuration.managed") dictionary. With this, I can configure the host app. However, I am unable to read this configuration key in the Action Extension part of the application. My question is whether there is any possibility to read the managed configuration even in the extension. So far, I have been unable to figure out how to read it. I found the sample code, but it was not very helpful since it is very basic and does not deal with extensions at all. Any hints are appreciated.