I'm currently working at a company which is thinking about getting an enterprise app store. They asked me to build an little Proof of Concept to see how things could be working. I have already some basic ideas about the processes that need to be out in place and so on. But since I've never done mobile App development I'm a little stuck. I'm currently searching the internet for information about how to install Enterprise Apps but all i find is how to do it by using iTunes.
I need a solution in which i can install mobile Apps programatically over a web site. Or Over one App that is installed on the device (initial app could be installed over iTunes)... Does anyone of you have any information about the installation procedure and would share it. Or does maybe anyone have some good links to online resources or could point me in the right direction.
Thanks a lot
Sulo
Just use TestFlight for that, it's awesome. http://www.testflightapp.com
It let's you install app's on device with just one click, notify testers,etc
Read this How does TestFlight do it?
From memory there were WWDC videos about this topic. Check both the WWDC 2010 and WWDC 2011 videos here:
WWDC Videos
Unfortunately, I can't remember in which video the topic of Enterprise Apps and how to install them over the web was discussed. Sorry - there are a lot of videos.
Related
I am aware that we can block safari content using swift code. I am interested in finding out if we can restrict install of certain apps from AppStore using similar approach ?
Also, is it possible if we can restrict a user from deleting the app from device (not from phone settings but from code) ? Even if Apple does not allow that to publish such app, I am looking for a solution as a part of research.
There are two things you mentioned.
First, can restrict install of certain apps from AppStore
Using Swift code I feel there are no Public API provided by Apple for the developer till now but there is a similar way that is called Device Enrollment Program.
The Device Enrollment Program (DEP) is part of the Apple Deployment
Programs (ADP), which help businesses and educational institutions
easily deploy and configure iOS and OS X devices. DEP provides a fast,
streamlined way to deploy institutionally owned iPad and iPhone
devices and Mac computers that are purchased directly from Apple or
participating Apple Authorized Resellers or carriers.
For more visit this developer guide.
Second: restrict a user from deleting the app from device
Same response for that, till now no Developer API, but lets say if we see this as a part of research and we develop some POC still, it does not make sense for me at all (It's my device and I install the app for making my life easy and better if I don't want to use it anymore, I need an option to delete it) and I don't think so this will be possible in future as well because the USP for iOS device is user experience and we can't make this like that.
I also want to hear something from others and if possible give the use case why you are looking a solution like that.
I hope this will help.
I've come across this application today, Adblock Mobile, which installs a Profile on the users device and routes all web traffic through its secure VPN to disable/block advertisements both when surfing the web, and when using an application that implements advertisements, for example banner or interstitial ads. The majority of my applications revenue is ad based so this causes some concern for me and I'm actually surprised Apple would approve this application, as it hinders iAd from working as expected.
Is there a way to access a user's installed Profiles to check if this Profile is installed from my application?
No, it's not possible to check for existence of configuration files. Some sources:
"... if you're thinking about checking whether the profile exists and if not to install it, it's impossible (as for available documentation thus far)", October 2012, iOS - Prevent iPhone Configuration Profile from being deleted OR check to see if it's installed
Apple dev forum: How can I read the configuration profile, 2011. "Not specifically. However, iOS 7 added a bunch of enterprise integration features that might allow you to achieve the same goal via a different path.", 2013.
But you if you merely want to know whether your ads are served you can do this in another way: Simply try to load some of your ads and see if they're actually loaded and act accordingly.
This should be easy to implement. And it's all you need you only care about the fact that the ads are blocked, not in what way.
Quite a few websites do this. E.g. the Dutch tech website tweakers.net serves a message to people who block ads. And I'm sure a few iOS apps will start doing this soon as well.
Check this SO question How to detect Adblock on my website? for some ways that websites handle this.
No this is not possible due to sandbox. It would be a huge security issue if you could programmatically check or install profiles. Apple is very strict about security.
More details about the topic you can find there: iOS - Prevent iPhone Configuration Profile from being deleted OR check to see if it's installed
Retrieving data programmatically from a Configuration Profile in IOS
How Configuration Profiles Could Be Installed:
http://www.howtogeek.com/176195/why-configuration-profiles-can-be-as-dangerous-as-malware-on-iphones-and-ipads/
Someone assigned me a project in iOS to develop a torrent client app but the problem is that according to my knowledge there are no torrent clients available right now.
So the question is that is it possible to build such an app? I am not asking about publishing my app on app store I just want to build it (it's a university project)
It is possible, see popcorn time or open source implementations on github
But, as you probably know, Apple is likely not to publish such apps in the App Store due to questionable legal aspect.
I couldn't find anything about enterprise beta testing in the iTunes Connect Developer Guide so I hope this question doesn't seem too out of place here. Also, it says here that even the beta will be subject to a review. We are using private APIs so the app will not pass the review.
What I want to be able to do is continue beta testing our enterprise apps without any AppStore reviews. Can I do this on iTunes Connect or do I have to find an alternative now? If its the second, then could you please recommend any possible alternatives. Thanks in advance!
Let's see if Apple is coming up with some updates to the current version. It's not only the Enterprise testing support that is missing ...
But you can easily jump to another Beta Distribution Platform, some free, some paid, some freemium:
https://crashlytics.com/
http://www.hockeyapp.com/
http://ubertesters.com/
https://www.testfairy.com/
http://www.applause.com/mobile-sdk
https://appblade.com/
http://www.installrapp.com/
https://deploygate.com/
... and probably others I don't know.
Or you could host your own:
http://www.hanchorllc.com/betabuilder-for-ios/
http://hockeykit.net/
I personally switched to Crashlytics, it covers all that I need and it's free. Some things are better than in TestFlight, some aren't as good. But your choice might be different - some other platforms offer crowd testing for example or premium in-app test features.
You will never pass the AppStore review when using private APIs. Thus the only possible solution is to switch to alternatives. TF is not for enterprise app testing and we need to take it as it is.
I found nice article on beta testing enterprise apps without AppStore review, not sure if it is something you were looking for, but the main point is the same as yours. When testing enterprise app, you need to support different OSs (not only iOS 8) and you need to distribute your build without any reviews. Today TF is going to shutdown these both features.
I uploaded my app this morning, I *THINK I've satisfied all the requirements for uploading. The app shows up as active in the developer console, but I can't find in in the market via the phone or computer internet version of the market.
Now I haven't done much with the permissions yet, but in the console it shows that the app is compatible with 611 devices including my droid x.
Still, I would think it would at least show up.
Is there generally a delay in the publishing? From what I've seen it should be pretty much instant.
It's also not showing up by using the link format market://details?id=.
Otherwise, can you think of anything I could be missing in the app to keep it from showing up like this?
This is my first time publishing, so try to think back to the elementary concepts of publishing lol.
25 October 2011 - Recently published apps not appearing in Android
Market We're aware of reports from some developers that apps recently
published don't appear in Android Market. This issue is impacting both
app searches and when viewing a developer's app catalog on both mobile
devices and the web view of Android Market. We're investigating this
issue and are striving to resolve it as soon as possible.
Lol well there's you're problem... That's so my luck. I upload my first app, have no clue what i'm doing and then turns out the market broke, and I was doing stuff right. haha go figure