Share app link to by ActivityViewController iOS swift? - ios

Question

My app is not Live yet. I got the app ID from the App Store Connect. I want to share the app link on social media apps. I used the UIActivityViewController:
let string1 = "itms-apps://itunes.apple.com/app/idXXXXXXX"
let url = NSURL(string: string1)
let shareItems = [UIApplication.sharedApplication().openURL(url!)]
let activityViewController = UIActivityViewController(activityItems: shareItems, applicationActivities: nil)
self.presentViewController(activityViewController, animated: true, completion: nil)
Problem: It is not showing some social media apps like WhatsApp.

Answer 1

Solution for Swift 4 or better:
This solution also works on iPad (the solution above crashes on iPad):
if let urlStr = NSURL(string: "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/idxxxxxxxx?ls=1&mt=8") {
let objectsToShare = [urlStr]
let activityVC = UIActivityViewController(activityItems: objectsToShare, applicationActivities: nil)
if UIDevice.current.userInterfaceIdiom == .pad {
if let popup = activityVC.popoverPresentationController {
popup.sourceView = self.view
popup.sourceRect = CGRect(x: self.view.frame.size.width / 2, y: self.view.frame.size.height / 4, width: 0, height: 0)
}
}
self.present(activityVC, animated: true, completion: nil)
}

Answer 2

This is used to open the site, not to share the app:
[UIApplication.sharedApplication().openURL(url!)]
Do this instead:
if let name = URL(string: "https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/myapp/idxxxxxxxx?ls=1&mt=8"), !name.absoluteString.isEmpty {
let objectsToShare = [name]
let activityVC = UIActivityViewController(activityItems: objectsToShare, applicationActivities: nil)
self.present(activityVC, animated: true, completion: nil)
} else {
// show alert for not available
}
for sample see this

Answer 3

The solutions here are all good but it's worth considering implementing the UIActivityItemSource protocol and LinkPresentation framework.
My solution achieves the following:
App icon and title showing at the top of the UIActivityViewController
Direct link to App Store for AirDrop ActivityType
Custom text for messages and emails, including an opportunity to add a link to the app on Google Play if required
Subject for emails
Doesn't use the LPMetaDataProvider fetch request (as described in this WWDC 2019 262 video) so faster to load
0. Init the UIActivityViewController:
Set the items to self:
let activityVC = UIActivityViewController(activityItems: [self], applicationActivities: nil)
Exclude certain ActivityTypes which don't apply:
activityVC.excludedActivityTypes = [.addToReadingList, .assignToContact, .markupAsPDF, .openInIBooks, .saveToCameraRoll]
For iPad set the popoverPresentationController.sourceView or .barButtonItem (this is ignored on iPhone):
activityVC.popoverPresentationController?.sourceView = myButton
Present it:
present(activityVC, animated: true, completion: nil)
1. Implement the required UIActivityItemSource methods
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uiactivityitemsource
You must implement the placeholder method which according to the docs:
Placeholder objects do not have to contain any real data but should be configured as closely as possible to the actual data object you intend to provide.
func activityViewControllerPlaceholderItem(_ activityViewController: UIActivityViewController) -> Any {
return ""
}
And the actual data, returning a link to the app for AirDrop and text for everything else:
func activityViewController(_ activityViewController: UIActivityViewController, itemForActivityType activityType: UIActivity.ActivityType?) -> Any? {
if activityType == .airDrop {
return URL(string: "APP_STORE_URL")!
}
return "Check out the APP_NAME on the App Store: APP_STORE_URL or on the Google Play Store: PLAY_STORE_URL"
}
2. Implement the subject method
From the docs:
For activities that support a subject field, returns the subject for the item.
func activityViewController(_ activityViewController: UIActivityViewController, subjectForActivityType activityType: UIActivity.ActivityType?) -> String {
return "EMAIL_SUBJECT" // e.g. App name
}
3. Implement the LPLinkMetaData method
From the docs:
Returns metadata to display in the preview header of the share sheet.
#available(iOS 13.0, *)
func activityViewControllerLinkMetadata(_ activityViewController: UIActivityViewController) -> LPLinkMetadata? {
let metadata = LPLinkMetadata()
metadata.title = "APP_NAME"
return metadata
}

Answer 4

iPhone solution for Swift 5+
let url = URL(string: "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1535629801")!
let vc = UIActivityViewController(activityItems: [url], applicationActivities: nil)
present(vc, animated: true)