Prioritize user privacy and data security in your app. Discuss best practices for data handling, user consent, and security measures to protect user information.

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Privacy manifest related deadlines - inconsistent communication by Apple
Please help me clarify the current situation regarding the necessity of a privacy manifest file in 3rd party SDKs. It would be nice to have a reply from someone working at Apple, to have a reliable answer. A quick summery of the events from last year https://developer.apple.com/support/third-party-SDK-requirements/ : "Starting in spring 2024, you must include the privacy manifest for any SDK listed below when you submit new apps in App Store Connect that include those SDKs, or when you submit an app update that adds one of the listed SDKs as part of the update." Last autumn, we started receiving warning emails from Apple after initiating app reviews, even when our apps did not have a newly added SDK: ITMS-91061: Missing privacy manifest - Starting November 12, 2024, if a new app includes a privacy-impacting SDK, or an app update adds a new privacy-impacting SDK, the SDK must include a privacy manifest file. Please contact the provider of the SDK that includes this file to get an updated SDK version with a privacy manifest. According to this warning message, app updates which do not contain any new SDKs are still not affected. Since then, at one point in time the deadline changed, as now we have February 12, 2025 in the privacy manifest documentation: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/adding-a-privacy-manifest-to-your-app-or-third-party-sdk However, this page does not contain any mention of the circumstances, it only states in general that apps you submit for review in App Store Connect must contain a valid privacy manifest file for a certain number of commonly used third-party SDKs. My questions Does the February deadline apply to every app update, even if they do not contain any newly added SDKs? Or does it still affect only the app updates "that adds one of the listed SDKs as part of the update." ? If the former, the 3rd party requirements page should be updated in my opinion. And if the latter, why does the documentation not contain this important piece of information? We have a basic product which then gets customised for the clients so we upload several different apps based on the same code with the same dependencies. How is it possible that during autumn, Apple sent ITMS-91061: Missing privacy manifest warnings for some of our apps, but did not send it for others? Does Apple not validate all the apps but only some of them randomly? Also, the warning still states that it should be relevant if "an app update adds a new privacy-impacting SDK", but that was not the case for us, we did not add anything newly to our apps - why did we even get these warnings then? Just in general: when the deadlines change, is there any channel where Apple communicates these, besides the warning emails? I did not see any posts on the Apple Developer site's News page about this February date, I just found it by accident. I don't even remember seeing a notice about the original November deadline, we just started receiving the email warnings without expecting them. Thank you in advance for anyone sharing an answer.
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1.2k
Jan ’25
Authentication using MSAL library in offline mode
Hi. We are trying to get the access token before calling any API. The app can go in bad network areas but the token acquisition keeps happening for the network call. The devices are managed devices which means it has some policies installed. We are using MSAL lib for the authentication and we are investigating from that angle too but the below error seems to be coming from apple authentication which needs our attention. ========================================== LaunchServices: store (null) or url (null) was nil: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-54 "process may not map database" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=process may not map database, _LSLine=68, _LSFunction=_LSServer_GetServerStoreForConnectionWithCompletionHandler} Attempt to map database failed: permission was denied. This attempt will not be retried. Failed to initialize client context with error Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-54 "process may not map database" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=process may not map database, _LSLine=68, _LSFunction=_LSServer_GetServerStoreForConnectionWithCompletionHandler} Failed to get application extension record: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-54 "(null)" ASAuthorizationController credential request failed with error: Error Domain=com.apple.AuthenticationServices.AuthorizationError Code=1003 "(null)" ========================================== This happens mostly when we switches the network or keep the device in no or low network area. This comes sometimes when app goes in background too. Just trying to give as much as information I could. Any lead would be highly appreciated. Thank you
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88
Apr ’25
Publishing an app with the correct privacy settings
I am a new developer working to publish an app that includes a location tracker but does not collect user location data. I lam developing my app using Thunkable. My initial submission was rejected because opening the app triggered the error message: "This app is missing "NUserTrackingDescription so tracking transparency will fail. Ensure that this key exists in app's info.plist" However when I add in the NUserTrackingDescription it triggers a process by which I have to notify users that their location data is being collected, which is not the case. I am looking for advice on how to re-submit my app with the correct privacy settings that do not trigger the error message received previously.
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328
Dec ’24
Sign In by Apple on Firebase - 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable
Hello everyone, I'm encountering a persistent 503 Server Temporarily Not Available error when trying to implement "Sign in with Apple" for my web application. I've already performed a full review of my configuration and I'm confident it's set up correctly, which makes this server-side error particularly confusing. Problem Description: Our web application uses Firebase Authentication to handle the "Sign in with Apple" flow. When a user clicks the sign-in button, they are correctly redirected to the appleid.apple.com authorization page. However, instead of seeing the login prompt, the page immediately displays a 503 Server Temporarily Not Available error. This is the redirect URL being generated (with the state parameter truncated for security): https://appleid.apple.com/auth/authorize?response_type=code&client_id=XXXXXX&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2FXXXXXX.firebaseapp.com%2F__%2Fauth%2Fhandler&state=AMbdmDk...&scope=email%20name&response_mode=form_post Troubleshooting Steps Performed: Initially, I was receiving an invalid_client error, which prompted me to meticulously verify every part of my setup. I have confirmed the following: App ID Configuration: The "Sign in with Apple" capability is enabled for our primary App ID. Services ID Configuration: We have a Services ID configured specifically for this. The "Sign in with Apple" feature is enabled on this Services ID. The domain is registered and verified under "Domains and Subdomains". Firebase Settings Match Apple Settings: The Services ID from Apple is used as the Client ID in our Firebase configuration. The Team ID is correct. We have generated a private key, and both the Key ID and the .p8 file have been correctly uploaded to Firebase. The key is not revoked in the Apple Developer portal. Since the redirect to Apple is happening with the correct client_id and redirect_uri, and the error is a 5xx server error (not a 4xx client error like invalid_client), I believe our configuration is correct and the issue might be on Apple's end. This has been happening consistently for some time. My Questions: What could be causing a persistent 503 Server Temporarily Not Available error on the /auth/authorize endpoint when all client-side configurations appear to be correct? What is the formal process for opening a technical support ticket (TSI) directly with Apple Developer Support for an issue like this? Thank you for any insights or help you can provide.
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333
Sep ’25
APP ID's indentifier not updating
When implementing Sign In with Apple I created an App ID and a Service ID for my app. I didn't configure the Server-to-Server Notification URL properly there and token revocation didn't work. Later on I updated the url config and the name of the identifiers. However, when I Sign in with Apple in my app I still see the old identifier name in my iPhone Settings->Apple Account->Sign in with Apple. I would assume that if the name doesn't update, the configuration doesn't update either. I'm using automatic Xcode signing, I have deleted all the profiles locally, cleaned project, bumped versions, waited for a week, nothing worked. Token revocation for account deletion doesn't work properly I would assume because of the initial misconfiguration. I want to mention that this is working fine for my development build (another bundleID, AppID, ServiceID) What am I missing here?
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91
Jun ’25
Invalid web redirect url
I am implementing Apple Sign-In for a multi-platform application, specifically for the web component using the REST API flow. I am encountering an invalid_request Invalid web redirect url error when attempting to use a newly registered redirect URL. Here are the details: Original Test URL: I initially registered a redirect URL, let's call it [Your Original Test Redirect URL, e.g., https://test.yourdomain.com/auth/callback], for testing purposes. This URL worked correctly. New Service URL: I then registered a second redirect URL, [Your New Service Redirect URL, e.g., https://www.yourdomain.com/auth/callback], intended for my production service. This URL was registered approximately 5 days ago (including the weekend). The Problem: The new service URL ([Your New Service Redirect URL]) is still not working and consistently returns the invalid_request Invalid web redirect url error. Puzzling Behavior: Furthermore, I have since deleted the original test URL ([Your Original Test Redirect URL]) from the Service ID configuration in the Apple Developer portal. However, the deleted test URL still appears to function correctly when I use it. This situation is highly confusing: The newly registered URL is not working after 5 days, while the URL I have deleted from the configuration is still operational. The Service ID in question is [Your Service ID, e.g., com.yourdomain.service]. Could you please investigate why the new redirect URL ([Your New Service Redirect URL]) is not becoming active and is returning the invalid_request error, and also explain why the deleted URL ([Your Original Test Redirect URL]) remains functional? Any guidance or assistance you can provide to resolve this issue with the new URL would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and support. Sincerely, I have the exact same problem. The newly registered URL is not working after 5 days, while the URL I have deleted from the configuration is still operational. In addition to the above problem, I also get a response of 'invalid_client' when I newly register a service in configuration. Please check it out as it needs to be resolved quickly.
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124
Jun ’25
Sign in with Apple but I got `Failed to verify your identity. Try again.``
Hey there, I used our team's account to configure sign in with Apple, the mode is pop up, my clientId scope redirectUrl state are both correct. I got Failed to verify your identity. Try again., actually my account is valid because I can login to my mac and every apple website. I have tried many apple accounts and still got this error. That was so weird, I didn't find a solution online. Pls help me thanks.
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408
Mar ’25
How to distinguish the "no credential found" scenario from ASAuthorizationError
Hello everyone, I'm developing a FIDO2 service using the AuthenticationServices framework. I've run into an issue when a user manually deletes a passkey from their password manager. When this happens, the ASAuthorizationError I get doesn't clearly indicate that the passkey is missing. The error code is 1001, and the localizedDescription is "The operation couldn't be completed. No credentials available for login." The userInfo also contains "NSLocalizedFailureReason": "No credentials available for login." My concern is that these localized strings will change depending on the user's device language, making it unreliable for me to programmatically check for a "no credentials" scenario. Is there a more precise way to determine that the user has no passkey, without relying on localized string values? Thank you for your help.
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317
Sep ’25
Sending emails from AWS SES to private relay service
Feedback report id: FB16605524 I'm trying to send emails to private relay service addresses using AWS SES and emails are not received. My emails are sent from dev@mydomain.fr and I've set a custom FROM domain of mail.mydomain.fr. I've added both domains and the dev@mydomain.fr adress to the "Certificates, Identifies & Profiles" section. I've set up DKIM and SPF for both. Attached a redacted version of email headers. email_headers_redacted.txt
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299
Mar ’25
App Tracking Transparency Issue
Hello! I need to implement requestTrackingAuthorization into my app but I'm not exactly sure how, the engine I use handles all of the Xcode stuff for me so I'm not very experienced in that sector nor do I have an Xcode project for this app, any help?
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253
Dec ’24
How to use App Attest Environment?
Hi, I'm looking at adding App Attest to an app, and I think I understand the mechanics of the attestation process, but I'm having trouble figuring out how development and testing are supposed to work. Two main questions: The "App Attest Environment" -- the documentation says that attestation requests made in the .development sandbox environment don't affect the app's risk metrics, but I'm not sure how to actually use this sandbox. My understanding is that one of the things App Attest does is to ensure that your app has been appropriately signed by the App Store, so it knows that it hasn't been tampered with. But the docs say that App Store builds (and Test Flight and Developer Enterprise Program) always use the .production environment. Does App Attest actually work for local developer-build apps if you have this entitlement set? Presumably only on hardware devices since it requires the Secure Enclave? Does our headend have to do something different when verifying the public key and subsequent attested requests for an app that's using the .development sandbox? The docs do mention that a headend server should potentially track two keys per device/user pair so that it can have a production and development key. How does the headend know if a key is from the sandbox environment? Thanks!
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124
Jun ’25
Sign in with Apple Keychain savedEmail Stored Incorrectly
Using personal physical iPhone for simulations. Can't get Keychain to read or store AppleID name/email. I want to avoid hard reseting physical phone. Logs confirm Keychain is working, but userIdentifier and savedEmail are not being stored correctly. 🔄 Initializing UserManager... ✅ Saved testKeychain to Keychain: Test Value ✅ Retrieved testKeychain from Keychain: Test Value 🔍 Keychain Test - Retrieved Value: Test Value ⚠️ Keychain Retrieve Warning: No stored value found for userIdentifier ⚠️ Keychain Retrieve Warning: No stored value found for savedEmail 🔍 Debug - Retrieved from Keychain: userIdentifier=nil, savedEmail=nil ⚠️ No stored userIdentifier in Keychain. User needs to sign in. 📦 Converting User to CKRecord: Unknown, No Email ✅ User saved locally: Unknown, No Email ✅ User saved to CloudKit: Unknown, No Email Below UserManager.swift if someone can help troubleshoot. Or step by step tutorial to configure a project and build a User Login & User Account creation for Apple Only app. import Foundation import CloudKit import AuthenticationServices import SwiftData @MainActor class UserManager: ObservableObject { @Published var user: User? @Published var isLoggedIn = false @Published var errorMessage: String? private let database = CKContainer.default().publicCloudDatabase init() { print("🔄 Initializing UserManager...") // 🔍 Keychain Debug Test let testKey = "testKeychain" KeychainHelper.shared.save("Test Value", forKey: testKey) let retrievedValue = KeychainHelper.shared.retrieve(forKey: testKey) print("🔍 Keychain Test - Retrieved Value: \(retrievedValue ?? "nil")") fetchUser() // Continue normal initialization } // ✅ Sign in & Save User func handleSignIn(_ authResults: ASAuthorization) { guard let appleIDCredential = authResults.credential as? ASAuthorizationAppleIDCredential else { errorMessage = "Error retrieving Apple credentials" print("❌ ASAuthorization Error: Invalid credentials received") return } let userIdentifier = appleIDCredential.user let fullName = appleIDCredential.fullName?.givenName ?? retrieveSavedName() var email = appleIDCredential.email ?? retrieveSavedEmail() print("🔍 Apple Sign-In Data: userIdentifier=\(userIdentifier), fullName=\(fullName), email=\(email)") // 🔄 If Apple doesn't return an email, check if it exists in Keychain if appleIDCredential.email == nil { print("⚠️ Apple Sign-In didn't return an email. Retrieving saved email from Keychain.") } // ✅ Store userIdentifier & email in Keychain KeychainHelper.shared.save(userIdentifier, forKey: "userIdentifier") KeychainHelper.shared.save(email, forKey: "savedEmail") let newUser = User(fullName: fullName, email: email, userIdentifier: userIdentifier) saveUserToCloudKit(newUser) } func saveUserToCloudKit(_ user: User) { let record = user.toRecord() Task { do { try await database.save(record) DispatchQueue.main.async { self.user = user self.isLoggedIn = true self.saveUserLocally(user) print("✅ User saved to CloudKit: \(user.fullName), \(user.email)") } } catch { DispatchQueue.main.async { self.errorMessage = "Error saving user: \(error.localizedDescription)" print("❌ CloudKit Save Error: \(error.localizedDescription)") } } } } // ✅ Fetch User from CloudKit func fetchUser() { let userIdentifier = KeychainHelper.shared.retrieve(forKey: "userIdentifier") let savedEmail = KeychainHelper.shared.retrieve(forKey: "savedEmail") print("🔍 Debug - Retrieved from Keychain: userIdentifier=\(userIdentifier ?? "nil"), savedEmail=\(savedEmail ?? "nil")") guard let userIdentifier = userIdentifier else { print("⚠️ No stored userIdentifier in Keychain. User needs to sign in.") return } let predicate = NSPredicate(format: "userIdentifier == %@", userIdentifier) let query = CKQuery(recordType: "User", predicate: predicate) Task { [weak self] in guard let self = self else { return } do { let results = try await self.database.records(matching: query, resultsLimit: 1).matchResults if let (_, result) = results.first { switch result { case .success(let record): DispatchQueue.main.async { let fetchedUser = User(record: record) self.user = User( fullName: fetchedUser.fullName, email: savedEmail ?? fetchedUser.email, userIdentifier: userIdentifier ) self.isLoggedIn = true self.saveUserLocally(self.user!) print("✅ User loaded from CloudKit: \(fetchedUser.fullName), \(fetchedUser.email)") } case .failure(let error): DispatchQueue.main.async { print("❌ Error fetching user from CloudKit: \(error.localizedDescription)") } } } } catch { DispatchQueue.main.async { print("❌ CloudKit fetch error: \(error.localizedDescription)") } } } } // ✅ Save User Locally private func saveUserLocally(_ user: User) { if let encoded = try? JSONEncoder().encode(user) { UserDefaults.standard.set(encoded, forKey: "savedUser") UserDefaults.standard.set(user.fullName, forKey: "savedFullName") UserDefaults.standard.set(user.email, forKey: "savedEmail") print("✅ User saved locally: \(user.fullName), \(user.email)") } else { print("❌ Local Save Error: Failed to encode user data") } } // ✅ Retrieve Previously Saved Name private func retrieveSavedName() -> String { return UserDefaults.standard.string(forKey: "savedFullName") ?? "Unknown" } // ✅ Retrieve Previously Saved Email private func retrieveSavedEmail() -> String { return KeychainHelper.shared.retrieve(forKey: "savedEmail") ?? UserDefaults.standard.string(forKey: "savedEmail") ?? "No Email" } // ✅ Sign Out func signOut() { isLoggedIn = false user = nil UserDefaults.standard.removeObject(forKey: "savedUser") print("🚪 Signed Out") } }
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274
Mar ’25
Apple SignIn not working for an account that was deleted.
I was testing an app with AppleSignIn with a Firebase backend and wanted to test account deletion functionality. I was unaware of needing to revoke the token with Apple before proceeding with account deletion. Now, when I try to create a new account with the same appleId email, the token passed to Firebase is invalid and the login fails. As such, I am blocked from testing my app with authenticated Apple users, so I'm trying to understand what the workaround is. Thanks in advance!
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377
Jan ’25
Inconsistent "Sign in with Apple" behaviour: Missing Claims in ID Token and App Icon/Name Issues
Context We are experiencing inconsistent behaviour with "Sign in with Apple" across different environments (we have an app for "A" and "B" regions) on our web client in browsers. Specifically, we have observed two key issues: Missing email and email_verified Claims in ID Token In some cases, the ID token received after successful authentication does not contain the email and email_verified claims. Here the docs state that "Alternatively, if the managed Apple ID is in Apple School Manager, the email claim may be empty. Students, for example, often don’t have an email that the school issues.", but this was experienced with a non-student Apple ID. This issue was observed for certain users in the "A" environment, while the same users had no issues in the "B" environment. For one affected user, removing and re-enabling the "Sign in with Apple" integration resolved the issue (https://account.apple.com/account/manage/section/security). However, for another user, the integration could not be removed, preventing this workaround (button was active, but did nothing). In contrast, for some users, authentication works correctly in both environments without missing claims. Inconsistent Display of App Icon and App Name The app icon and app name do not always appear on the Apple login interface. One user observed that the app icon and name were displayed in "A" but not in "B". Another user had the opposite experience, with the app icon and name appearing in "B" but not in "A". A third user did not see the app icon or name in either environment. Questions Why does the app icon and name not always appear on the "Sign in with Apple" login screen? How is it possible that the ID token sometimes lacks email and email_verified claims when using the same Apple ID in different environments?
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444
Mar ’25
Missing "is_private_email" claim in ID Token for Hide My Email users
Hello, I am implementing "Sign in with Apple" on my backend and validating the Identity Token (JWT) received from the client. I noticed that for some users who choose the "Hide My Email" option, the is_private_email claim is missing from the ID Token payload, even though the email address clearly belongs to the private relay domain (@privaterelay.appleid.com). Here is an example of the decoded payload I received: { "iss": "https://appleid.apple.com", "aud": "com.platform.elderberry.new.signinwithapple", "exp": 1764402438, "iat": 1764316038, "sub": "000851.86193ef81ad247feb673746c19424f28.0747", "c_hash": "3FAJNf4TILzUgo_YFe4E0Q", "email": "x8sqp2dgvv@privaterelay.appleid.com", "email_verified": true, "auth_time": 1764316038, "nonce_supported": true // "is_private_email": true <-- This field is missing } My Questions: Is the is_private_email claim considered optional in the ID Token? Is it safe and recommended to rely solely on the email domain suffix (@privaterelay.appleid.com) to identify if a user is using a private email? Any insights or official references would be appreciated. Thanks.
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258
1w
Apple Login using Firebase on EXPO(fro android and ios)
Hello I am trying to release an application using EXPO ROUTER + EXPO RN WEB. I am trying to implement Apple Login using Firebase. I have already put necessary info in both App Store Connect and Firebas console. Now I am so confused what I have to do next. What are some resource I could use or tips you could possibly give me when making apple login available using firebase. Pleas all helps are welcomed and needed
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29
1w
Apple Attestation unknownSystemFailure error
Hi, I’ve added attestation to my app, and everything worked as expected during setup. However, after deployment, I noticed some unknownSystemFailure entries in the production logs on New Relic. Could you help me understand what typically causes this error? The documentation suggests issues such as failing to generate a token. What scenarios could lead to that?
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1w
DeviceCheck Framework Crash: DCAnalytics nil Dictionary Insertion in Production
We're experiencing crashes in our production iOS app related to Apple's DeviceCheck framework. The crash occurs in DCAnalytics internal performance tracking, affecting some specific versions of iOS 18 (18.4.1, 18.5.0). Crash Signature CoreFoundation: -[__NSDictionaryM setObject:forKeyedSubscript:] + 460 DeviceCheck: -[DCAnalytics sendPerformanceForCategory:eventType:] + 236 Observed Patterns Scenario 1 - Token Generation: Crashed: com.appQueue EXC_BAD_ACCESS KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS 0x0000000000000010 DeviceCheck: -[DCDevice generateTokenWithCompletionHandler:] Thread: Background dispatch queue Scenario 2 - Support Check: Crashed: com.apple.main-thread EXC_BAD_ACCESS KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS 0x0000000000000008 DeviceCheck: -[DCDevice _isSupportedReturningError:] DeviceCheck: -[DCDevice isSupported] Thread: Main thread Root Cause Analysis The DCAnalytics component within DeviceCheck attempts to insert a nil value into an NSMutableDictionary when recording performance metrics, indicating missing nil validation before dictionary operations. Reproduction Context Crashes occur during standard DeviceCheck API usage: Calling DCDevice.isSupported property Calling DCDevice.generateToken(completionHandler:) (triggered by Firebase App Check SDK) Both operations invoke internal analytics that fail with nil insertion attempts. Concurrency Considerations We've implemented sequential access guards around DeviceCheck token generation to prevent race conditions, yet crashes persist. This suggests the issue likely originates within the DeviceCheck framework's internal implementation rather than concurrent access from our application code. Note: Scenario 2 occurs through Firebase SDK's App Check integration, which internally uses DeviceCheck for attestation. Request Can Apple engineering confirm if this is a known issue with DeviceCheck's analytics subsystem? Is there a recommended workaround to disable DCAnalytics or ensure thread-safe DeviceCheck API usage? Any guidance on preventing these crashes would be appreciated.
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1w