I'm developing an iOS app for companies that will help them track their sales rep's progress throughout the day. Tracks a lot of different info and helps with time management, etc.
The service requires that a company sign up for the service through the website. Then they will have their sales reps download the app and sign in using their company account/login information.
So if a general user downloads the app, without first signing up for the service, the app won't work.
Is this a problem? I can't find anything in the iOS documentation and Apple Developer Support is no help.
Does Apple require the the user be able to create an account within/through the app itself? Do I need to provide some kind of content to someone who downloads the app but does NOT have a membership? Like in the login screen?
Any input you might have would be helpful.
Thanks,
Because you are having a sales rep login with company info, I would imagine that when the app first launches, there will be a login screen. And most login screeens have hyperlinks like "Create an Account" and "Forgot Password?" That redirect users to a website in safari
Nothing you described seems to violate Apple's terms of service. You should be fine and your app should be approved. But then again, Apple always has the final word.
Related
Apple developers rejected my app with this reason.
"Business - 3.1.1
Your app includes an account registration feature, which is considered an access to external mechanisms for purchases or subscriptions to be used in the app.
This feature does not comply with the App Store Review Guidelines.
Next Steps
Please remove the account registration links and any other fully qualified links to your site that could indirectly provide access to these mechanisms, such as links to web pages for support, FAQ, product or program details, etc."
The users can use the app in demo mode (without registration) with some restrictions, but if they register they can use without registrations.
The registration is not in webview. The client sends the user's datas to server.
Can someone help me?
You basically have two ways to solve the problem.
1) Sell the subscription etc. only through the App Store in the app (similar to Dropbox/Office etc.), i.e. there should be no links to your website, where your users have/can insert payment information. Look at the mentioned examples, how they solve this.
2) Only sell the subscription/services via the web, but never ever link to these pages via your app (similar to Kindle app, partially Spotify).
Your app must still be somehow (open for interpretation) functional for users without a subscription / registration.
The main issue Apple has, is that it's possible to circumvent the store and Apple's 30% cut. Just make sure that users are not able to purchase any digital products & services
Apps may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than IAP.
Source:
https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#payments
Yes, You can submit app again but you have to implement one small feature like as guest user login.
In this You will implement one UIButton it's should say "Go without login". Implement this small functionality in your app. Create one user as guest.
When user hit "Go without login" you will pass your static user id and login in the app.
I have same problem. I am create a this solution and it's work
We're a small company and have developed an iPad app we would like to give to our customers. I've read through the B2B option but don't like our customers having to register their DUN info with Apple.
Should I just load it in the App store and put in the description that it's a private App? It requires a login so it doesn't matter if other folks download it.
Currently, we're using it in house via the internal tester scenario.
No one but Apple can say for certain what Apple will do in any specific case, but your description suggests it will be rejected.
From Apple's App Review Guidelines (https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/):
17.2: Apps that require users to share personal information, such as email address and date of birth, in order to function will be rejected
If you don't have a base functionality that applies to the general public, you will, in all likelihood, need to go Enterprise delivery.
Distributing publicly might be the best option, but I don't think you would get an approval if you describe it as a private app in your description.
Without knowing too much about your business or the nature of your app, it's hard to suggest, but possibly you could add some public usefulness on the front-end of your app, even if that's business info, contact information, a news feed, etc... with the real intent of the app being tucked behind a login portal. (all total speculation).
Distributing the app outside of the app store has a lot of limitations as well: http://mobiledan.net/2012/03/02/5-options-for-distributing-ios-apps-to-a-limited-audience-legally/
I would just submit to the app store and see what happens. Apple may reject it, but that is true in any case. I have an app of this nature, submitted with a couple of test accounts, no problem getting it approved. When the app launches, it pops a logon screen, and has a short message about where to get an account (which won't make much sense to people not in the intended audience).
I am developing an Application where I want the user to log in with his/her Apple ID.
Is this possible? If so, how can I do this?
Apple introduced Sign In with Apple at their worldwide developer conference, WWDC 2019.
Here's how Apple describe it:
Sign In with Apple makes it easy for users to sign in to your apps and websites using their Apple ID. Instead of filling out forms, verifying email addresses, and choosing new passwords, they can use Sign In with Apple to set up an account and start using your app right away. All accounts are protected with two-factor authentication for superior security, and Apple will not track users’ activity in your app or website.
Sign In with Apple requires iOS 13 or later, iPadOS 13 or later, watchOS 6 or later, macOS Catalina 10.15 or later, and tvOS 13 or later.
Nope, there is an standard API for this. You could use a UIWebView to make a user log in to an existing login form somewhere on apple.com, and then check for the subsequent success or failure URL, but that would probably be both brittle and rejected by the App Store approval process.
It is not possible currently. Your best bet is to submit a feature request at https://bugreport.apple.com/
If you want to authenticate users without setting up your own registration system, you could adopt Facebook Connect. Lots of people already use Facebook obviously, and you don't have to maintain the signup/forgot password/security stuff at all.
If you don't like Facebook, Google also offers a similar system. (see https://developers.google.com/accounts/docs/MobileApps)
Apple will probably never allow you to log in with the user's Apple ID.
You might be able to allow your users to log into Game Center. The user's Game Center account is tied to the AppleID, so users can be identified by your app that way. But this is assuming that you were actually building a game.
Apple's Game Center documentation is here: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/LanguagesUtilities/Conceptual/iTunesConnect_Guide/15_GameCenter/GameCenter.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40011225-CH7-SW1
The App Store Review guidelines preclude using any information from Apple's services in your app, which is why it's dubious they would ever allow you to login with an Apple ID:
12. Scraping and aggregation
12.1
Applications that scrape any information from Apple sites (for example from apple.com, iTunes Store, App Store, iTunes Connect, Apple Developer Programs, etc) or create rankings using content from Apple sites and services will be rejected
If what you want to achieve is a seamless user experience between the user's different iOS devices without requiring the user to pick a username and password for your service you could maybe use iCloud. But of course it depends on what you are building. Apple provides some videos introducing the different iCloud APIs: https://developer.apple.com/icloud/documentation/
I want someone to complete a registration process on a website, then download an app from the Apple App Store, however I am unsure how we could track that someone did download an app and tie that download back to the registration.
What is the best I can hope to achieve with this and how would I go about implementing it?
Have them enter some kind of registration code or a username/password combo created on the website. As far as I know, the is no other way since you do not have access to that kind of information from the App Store.
It sounds like you want analytics tracking per registration. For that you may consider a B2B app, meaning it's not visible in the app store when you search for it yet, you can point users to a custom itunes url to download the app. After that you can download iTunes Connect a view active installs.
http://www.apple.com/business/vpp/
https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/iTunesConnect.woa
You could take a look at Taps.io - http://blog.tapstream.com/post/40781681789/made-for-apps-taps-io-shortener
In their own words:
Taps.io is a universal URL shortener that sends web visitors to your app or your website. It also answers the question:
How many of those visitors download and run your app?
Just like Bit.ly, it tracks the number of clicks - but unlike ordinary shorteners it shows the number of app users you get from that link and its overall conversion rate. So use it instead of a naked iTunes link for tweets, email signatures, ads and anywhere else you share your app. You can even use LinkShare with taps.io to recapture affiliate commission.
Taps.io is free for indie devs, with no cap on how many taps.io links you create or how many clicks you generate.
I have a website which offers (FREE) account based services. Iam working on a iphone app for the site. Can somebody help me with these questions?
1) Registration: In my case, the app is meaningless without an account/registration (all free). There is a lot of chatter in the internet that apps that do not offer a "registration-free" experience will be rejected. (example : http://readitlaterlist.com/blog/2010/08/version-2-2-rejected-new-rejection-reason-from-apple-may-have-major-implications/) Thoughts?
2) Email Verification: On my website, a user has to "Verify his email" before he can login.
Basically, can I do this one time only thing in my app: (a) ask email -> register (b) ask user to copy verification token in email & paste in the app (c) Hit verify & let them inside the app upon success. Is this alright?
3) Is it against Apple's rules if the iphone app only supports existing users(who already signed up via website & have a user name password)? This way I need not worry about 1 & 2 for now & still have a full fledged app.
Please note that I have read the guidelines but still cannot come to a conclusion.
I am aware that "will Apple reject my app" - is a question nobody can answer
All I am looking for is your opinion based on your prior experiance & your interpretation of guidelines. Thanks much.
UPDATE: To all users who land here: Apple approved my app few weeks ago. All I did is explain(in review notes) that my app is truly account based & would be meaningless without an email. On my home screen, I have 2 buttons, "I have an account" & "Create an account". There is no registration free experience other than a series of graphics focused on "what is " & indirectly emphasizes that it is an account based appln. Apple seem to be convinced & approved the app the first go. Hope it helps.
I made an app that sounds very similar to yours. I host some websites that are basically forums (they require registration). So my app is an app that allows the user (once they have logged in) to read, post, edit profile etc. Without logging in they get nothing, they see a login screen/Signup button. Which takes them to a form to sign up, it then sends out an email and they approve it via the link it then allows them to login. So as you pointed out No one can really tell you if your app will be rejected or by apple, but my app was very similar to yours and made it through just fine. Also think about a service like Spotify, gmail, or facebook. They require the user to login/register before the app works at all. I believe these rejections dont come from the fact that they are requiring users to login, but they are making it difficult for them to login in or they did not have a website that this was tied to, they just want the user to login to use the app. Its a very fine line, and again apple will be the judge of this in the end.
*Apple very well could have changed this since I submitted my app, but this is just my experience.
In general this sounds fine. The most important piece of advice I can give you is to make sure that you create an account for the reviewers to use - use the 'review notes' box to give them a login and password so they can type it straight into the app. You'll probably get rejected if you don't do this (reviewers dont' have time to check out your site, sign up, wait for the email, click .. etc).
EDIT: Also you should ensure there's a link to the registration page on the web from the front-page of your app (or at least somewhere very obvious).
If your submitted iOS app requires email verification from within the app for the app to function, this sounds it could very likely be a strong reason for a rejection by Apple (apps are not allowed to require personal identifying information.)
If your app requires a pre-existing login/password, and you give Apple a pre-existing fully functional working login for review purposes, what any user has to do to get this login outside and before running your app may be outside Apple's purview (for instance, joining some club or professional organization, opening a bank account, etc.).
But the only way to know for sure is to submit an app for review by Apple.
Our empirical knowledge is that we had submitted a fully featured app with more then one reasen to get rejected. One of them was, of course, that we enclose a way to get balnce in the app without using the IAP (https://developer.apple.com/in-app-purchase/) from apple. That thing was a killer. I think, because of this feature, the reviewers told us even more reasons to get rejected. One was the signup button in the login screen. After we disabled the topup and the signup feature, the review was fine and we're happy and online. Since that rejection, over a year ago, we had never tried to enable signup and upload it again. Now, we'll do that and I will report here what is happaning...
Update #Ravi Jul 31 at 16:18
It's like what I said! We're now online with a singup button at the start screen of the app. Apple does not disallow it. FYI