Install IOS app from itunes by clicking an URL - ios

I have a requirement where user will tap a link ( iTunes link of free App ) which he receives in an email on iPad.The App should get installed on iPad, provided that the user is logged in iTunes.
Please let me know, how to go about this.

If you pass a link to a user and they select it on their iPad (for example, in the format of https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/appname/id364304764?mt=8), they will be forwarded on to the App Store app, with the Application information page presented to them. The user will have to explicitly press "Free" then "Install" to install the application. At this point, they will probably have to enter their iTunes password to continue.
There is no way to circumvent this, everyone has to go through the same procedure to install an application; through the App Store*.
*Unless it's an Enterprise application, but they shouldn't be distributed to clients, as that'll break the enterprise service agreement.

Related

Publish App to App Store for Internal Use

I have published an internal app for our company's use, but it falls under Custom App. After the app status "ready for sale", then I realized that I had to get the redemption code and give to each user for them to install.
This is unexpected as I'm expecting to get a link and whoever go to the link, it will automatically select the redemption code for each ID.
I'm so confused right now. How could I publish the app to App Store and the app can be accessed by the public (like how we install Twitter, Facebook, etc.) even though the app is for internal use? I want the user to search the apps name at the App Store and installed directly from there.
To use a custom app, you really need to have devices managed by an MDM, otherwise distributing codes is difficult, as you have found out.
If you don't have MDM managed devices, an unlisted app is a possible solution.
Note that if your app has already been approved as a custom app you will need to create a new app record with a different bundle id for your unlisted app

Submit app to App Store with password protection

I recently updated an app for a client and it's now ready for submission to the App Store. But after a talk with my client they told me that the previous version (not developed or submitted by me) had a kind of "password protection" on the App Store. They explained it as anyone could find the app on App Store but when you click "download" the user would need to enter a password (not the Apple ID password, more of a predefined password specifically for this app) to continue the download process.
I am used to submitting apps to the App Store, both paid and free, but I have never done this and don't honestly know how. My closest guess is that we need to upgrade the plan to an enterprise account, but from my understanding (and please correct me if I'm wrong) this will remove the app from the App Store search and only allow download from a link or file?
What way would you guys recommend?
Thanks in advance!
There's no recommendation.
What you think and whatever is running in your mind is completely correct. There's no way to set custom download passwords. The only way to download using appstore is to use the apple id.
Point your client to the apple guidelines and documentation's. Hopefully they should understand.
Very nice concern from security point of view but unfortunately Apple has not provided any such feature yet...
An alternate solution to your query:
You can't block user from downloading your app but you can block user from using you app with the help of AppLock feature (One time password authentication - when user uses your app for first time).
Set a Passcode/Pattern protected lock screen as a first/main screen of your application (immediately after Splash Scree) and only users can unlock your app, to whom you've shared passcode. (Note: Integrate passcode verification using web service/server, so you can reset passcode any time from server)
I hope this may be helpful to you...
Update
Here is more option, if you want to allow/restrict your app usage for specific region/country (listed on Store).
Distribute iOS app for specific region/territory

iOS change Enterprise Account for existing App

I would like to know if its also possible to transfer an existing app from one Enterprise Developer Account. For example:
We already deployed an app with an existing account and specific app id: com.company.appname
Now i would like to transfer that app (app identifier) to another Enterprise account. Is that possible?
I already know how to migrate apps through developer accounts through iTunesConnect, but how does this work with enterprise apps? Is it allowed to create the "same" app identifier on 2 different accounts? What happens when ill update the app with all the data? The same identifier should only update the existing app, and not install a new one.
How does this work?
Edit: i´ve tried now something new:
use iExplorer to copy all Data from existing App to your Mac
install app with new identifier and new programm
copy all files back to new app, delete the "old" app.
Its about 10 Installations where i want to use the "new" development Programm. Maybe ill just copy all files manually, because in this case ill know that everything works fine.
Yes, you can migrate.
When you migrate your app to other enterprise account, then you will lost your app identifier from your account. When you will update the app from enterprise account, you will see an update of that application, not a new app. From your account, you won't be able to update or make a new app with the same identifier.
Please Note : This is screenshot from a developer account and i'm not sure about enterprise account portal. It should work like developer account too.
Yes, you can transfer your app from one account to another account.
You may not need to delete existing app from your account. There is an app transition process in apple developer account, which moves your app from your account to another account.
Answer to your question: When try to deploy it with another account again it says me "app identifier unavailable, already used" -
so any ideas how to solve this task with enterprise deployment? Or can
i migrate business apps to itunesConnect?
Recommended Solution:
You don't need to remove your app or bundle identifier from your account. You can convert business app into public app by updating certificates and provisioning profiles associated with your app. Then you can process for app transfer between two accounts.
Another Solution:
Delete your app from your developer account (along with bundle identifier) and then create a new app with same identifier in another account, to which you want an app tranfer
Here is an apple guideline for the same:
Transferring and Deleting Apps
You move apps out of your organization’s catalog of apps by
transferring an app to another organization or by deleting the app.
You want to transfer an app when you’ve sold the app to another
developer or you want to move it to another iTunes Connect
organization. You want to delete an app when you’re ready to retire an
app and there’s no chance you will want to offer it for sale or
download in the future or to reuse the app name.
You can transfer the ownership of an app to another developer without
removing the app from the store. The app retains its reviews and
ratings during and after the transfer, and users continue to have
access to future updates. There’s no limit to the number of apps you
can transfer, but each app needs to be transferred individually.
All transfers and deletions are performed by the team agent.
Transferring an App
You’ll need the team agent for the receiving organization to provide the team agent’s Apple ID and Team ID. Recipients can find their Team ID in their account at developer.apple.com.
The team agent is the only one who can transfer an app.
To initiate an app transfer
Make a record of app information you want to have after the transfer.
Because you won’t be able to view the app information after the transfer, make a catalog report (see Requesting Catalog Reports), note dates the app was available on the store (see Viewing Status History), and save sales and download information (see Viewing Sales and Trends).
Open the App Details page for the app, as described in Creating an iTunes Connect Record for an App.
In the App Information section under App Store, scroll to the Additional Information section and click Transfer App.
Make sure the app meets the criteria for transferring.
- If all criteria have been met, click Done.
- If all criteria haven’t been met, resolve those that are outstanding.
Enter the recipient’s Team Agent Apple ID and Team ID, and click Continue.
Verify the transfer information and contract terms.
Read the contract terms, select “I have read and agree to the agreement presented above,” and click Request Transfer.
Click Done to return to the App Details page.
Once the transfer has been initiated and is awaiting acceptance by the recipient, the app stays in its previous status, with the Pending App Transfer status added. You can change the price of the app during this time.
The transfer must be accepted by the recipient organization’s Team Agent within 60 days.
To accept an app transfer
Sign in to iTunes Connect as the Team Agent.
A notice appears indicating that an app is ready to be transferred.
Click Agreements, Tax and Banking.
In the Transfer Agreements section, locate the app being transferred in the Contracts In Process subsection and click Review.
Enter the new metadata and review it.
- Support URL
- Atom feed URL (required if the app previously had an atom feed URL entered)
- Marketing URL (required if the app previously had a marketing URL entered)
- Privacy policy URL (required if the app previously had a privacy policy URL entered)
- CCATS (a new CCATS form is required for apps that use export compliance)
- App Review contact information
- App Store contact information
Read the contract terms, and select “I have read and agree to the agreement presented above,” and click Accept.
It can take up to two business days for the app transfer to complete, during which the app status is listed as Processing App Transfer. While the app is in the transfer state, the following actions apply:
All app metadata, rights, and pricing are locked down on the transferor side and no in-app purchase edits can be made.
Any open communications on the Resolution Center page are closed out.
If the app is part of a Game Center group, no changes can be made to the group on the recipient side.
After the transfer is complete, the app is now owned by the app transfer recipient. It no longer appears in the the transferor’s iTunes Connect account.
Important: The exchange of the actual code set and build assets takes
place directly between the transferor and recipient. App IDs are
transferred automatically in developer.apple.com. To maintain a great
user experience, inform the recipient about any capabilities added to
the app, such as keychain sharing or push notifications, so that the
recipient maintains these capabilities in future updates. Keychain
sharing continues to work until the app is updated, after which point,
prior keychain data cannot be accessed. If the keychain group is
defined in the Xcode project, it must be replaced with a keychain
group created by the recipient (that includes the recipient's Team ID)
for the app to continue using keychain sharing.

How to find out which facebook mobile install ad was clicked after installing the promoted iOS app

When a user clicks on a facebook mobile install ad on ios an app store window pops up.
As answered here What happens to an iOS deeplink when the app is not installed? it's not possible to put any custom parameters to be an launch parameter on the first app launch.
Is there a way after the downloaded app was opened and the user logged in with facebook to get information about which ad he clicked befor? Because actually there is a connection between ad, itunes app id, and facebook app id, isn't it?
I asked a similar question today. But from the information that I was able to find, that is (most likely) not possible.
Even if your app requires the user to register with Facebook and you therefore you have a FB user Id which could potentially be matched against.. Because Facebook gives you the total install counts only, but not a list of user Ids of FB users who clicked your ad, I really can't imagine how to get that info. Unfortunately.
I think we can use this link to check the Activities done on the FB Ad's.
https://www.facebook.com/ads/manager/

How does TestFlightApp know what device I'm using via the web?

We use TestFlight to test our iOS App binaries internally and with beta testers.
When TestFlight sends out an email alert to a user that a test binary is available, the web page it sends them to automatically knows if the user is using a registered device, but it seems to figure this out while in Safari. How is it doing this?
It has to match up UDIDs that we've supplied to their tool (via their website), but I was under the impression that websites could not grab data like UDIDs. How is TestFlight figuring that out?
When registering a device with an account and installing the testflight profile. It then will store the UDID information it received via the profile installation process in a session (and probably a cookie) which then can be accessed from the same website URL. So whenever you go back to the website it checks for the stored information.
This is roughly how it is done, detailed implementation can only be answered by the developers.

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