I would like to know the amount of data traffic my iPhone consumed for a given period of time like you can see in the preferences.
Is this possible to get this information? Or even better: Is it possible to register for traffic usage information that my app can analyze?
I'm pretty sure Apple doesn't allow developers access to this kind of information. I don't think you could access it without risking your app being rejected when submitted to Apple.
Related
I have currently an app that through in-app purchases a user can unlock content on the app. What I have noticed is that some users "abuse" of this by logging with their Apple ID in multiple devices and I'm currently looking into possibilities on how to limit the use of the content to the device where the purchase was done. I understand that Apple doesn't allow that, so that means the payment system should go away from the app.
Therefore, introducing logging will help me to be able to identify the person that is using the app against a backend but still, I need to be able to limit on a device. As far as I know, the UUIDString of the CurrentDevice is not really a way anymore. What other options are?
I saw this library, which seems to promise unique identification:
https://github.com/fabiocaccamo/FCUUID
Another solution probably would be to create a licensing system, so one license can only be used at the time.
Thanks!
I will describe our experience with using same account on different devices (VOD):
User is able to use application on how many devices he want, but he able to watch content only on 5 uniq devices.
Each time user try to watch content, app check if device registered with some UUID, if not then try to register. UUID is uniq per installation, it mean that if user will watch content, then delete app, download again and watch, then he basically lose 1 device.
In same time user able to unregister device via web, but he had only like 25 unregistrations (I don't know what happened if user use them all).
We don't use in-app purchases and accounts are cross-platform (android, iOS, web, tvs, etc), so not sure if it helps you.
AFAIK, Apple does not have limit on how many devices you can user Apple Id. You can have 6 family members so number of devices could be lot more.
I feel it is bias how Apple's guideline talks about limiting music, movies, shows and books to 10 devices but does not say anything about Apps!
Apple - Family Sharing
If your family has purchase sharing turned on, music, movies, TV shows, and books can be downloaded on up to 10 devices per account, five of which can be computers.
I have not seen any application limiting IAP on devices. You could run into risk of Apple rejecting your app, potentially on every update you submit. I would reach out to App Store or if your company have Sales rep contact and get their suggestions/buy-in before spending lot of time and money.
Also, create issue/radar and give specifics about issue. More people request this feature, has better chances of it getting added.
One way you can achieve this is to keep track of receipt you get for IAP and check how many users/devices using that receipt. You would need to build entire flow to educate user about device limitations. Like updating App Store page, warning before purchasing, option to add/remove device and more...
If you are planning to implement device limitation, please beware of the rejection risk.
I am building out a iOS & Android app. My app may not fully scale to support users and have some limited functionality out the gates. I wanted to put an invite list on the front of registration like Mailbox did a few years ago.
I was trying to read the Apple app store guidelines to creating a "waiting list / invite list" and couldn't get a clear picture. I assume Android is more flexible on this, so I figured I could start with Apple's guidelines first.
Here is what I can find.
In Apple's docs, it says under 3.2.2 "UnAcceptable"
(v) Arbitrarily restricting who may use the app, such as by location or carrier.
In this specific case, I am not blocking by location or carrier. I am just putting up a wall to use the app since some of my users can use it in a limited form, but I can't open it up to everyone on Day 1.
I understand I can run a "testflight" release, but I wanted to make our app available in the App Store for anyone to download since it will be publicly available, just not fully ready for a million people to hit it. My understanding is that the testflight release requires a bit more work based on their docs and isn't as simple as just putting it in the public app store so anyone can get to it.
Apple has the ultimate authority for approving and rejecting apps in their app store so nothing on SO can really be perfect advice. If you are really concerned about approval, you can try to contact apple developers support. Here are a few things I would advise:
Make sure in the developer notes for Apple when you submit to them you include a free account.
In the notes for the app store let the users know that it may take up to __ hours for their registration to get activated.
My understanding is you are doing this to handle the volume of users as you are launching the app. Be advised though that if you start restricting users too much you will possibly get poor reviews. Only restrict usage if absolutely required. If you run into issues make sure you are communicating with the users so they understand.
Good luck with you new app!
As you have understood from the question's title, I would like to know, how to identify iOS device across multiple apps. Advertising identifier and identifier for vendor is not an option for me, as apps may not have AdSupport framework included, and they may not have similar vendors. MAC address of the device is also deprecated. Any working solution on this? Thanks in advance!
This functionality is explicitly disallowed by Apple. Any workaround you come up with will violate Apple's stated goal of preventing it (so you would obviously risk appstore rejection even if it "works"). You are not allowed to track devices. You are only allowed to track the vendor ID and advertising ID. Apple has steadily removed every other tool because those are the ones they intend you to use (and their limitations are intentional).
What you are allowed to do is track users by issuing them login credentials and having them log into your server. This usually works fine if the user actually wants the functionality you're providing by tracking them (for example, users don't mind logging into Facebook or Twitter). If you are tracking users or devices to achieve a goal the users don't actually want (such as targeted advertising that the user can't control, or attempts at digital rights management tied to devices), you're unlikely to find a supported or permitted solution.
I'm working on an app that retrieves iBeacon UUIDs from a backend server, that means there are no hard-coded UUIDs in the app and these IDs are constantly changing. UUIDs can be updated on the backend and the app will receive a new set of UUIDs to monitor for.
Based on this post here, Apple is rejecting apps that support manual input of UUIDs and I'm not sure if my app is going to make it to the App store.
I would like to hear your feedback if you've gone through this path or have worked on a similar concept and made it through the review process.
I have also had an app rejected for allowing manual input of ProximityUUIDs. My understanding of Apple's position is that this applies only to transmitting as a beacon, and that it is allowed to have manual user input of ProximityUUIDs for detection purposes. The reason they don't want you to transmit with a manually entered ProximityUUIDs is because it allows creation of an easy hacker tool for "spoofing" other folks' beacons.
That said, your use case is different still, because you are getting the ProximityUUIDs from a server, not directly from user input. I have several apps in the AppStore that do exactly this, and it is a common practice, so I don't anticipate it will be a problem for you.
Interesting discussion on UUIDs. Given the ibeacon protocol requires you to know the UUIDs, having to add them to your app in advance is a major limitation. How does one request an official UUID from Apple David, your company "Radius" makes beacons, is the UUID it ships them configured with an "officially" agreed one you setup with Apple?
I have an app that I did as a proof of concept and put on the app store just to gain experience going through the process but it turns out, it gets quite a few downloads, probably 30 a week. No Angry Birds but the app is very specific on the data it provides. It's a free app and what I would like to do now is gather some data on the users - how often they use it, where they are, what information they are searching and saving. I have no intention of touching personal data but I'd like to be able to aggregate what all the users are doing and see if there's any value in that.
Is this permitted in an iOS app? I see reports where apps are gathering more data than that (like Path pulling all your contacts) and I would think what I am looking to do is pretty standard.
Any advice is appreciated.
Check the App Store approval guidelines. That is the best resource you have.
https://developer.apple.com/appstore/resources/approval/guidelines.html
A few excerpts that may be relevant to you:
Location
4.1 Apps that do not notify and obtain user consent before collecting, transmitting, or using location data will be rejected
4.2 Apps that use location-based APIs for automatic or autonomous control of vehicles, aircraft, or other devices will be rejected
4.3 Apps that use location-based APIs for dispatch, fleet management, or emergency services will be rejected
4.4 Location data can only be used when directly relevant to the features and services provided by the App to the user or to support
approved advertising uses
Privacy
17.1 Apps cannot transmit data about a user without obtaining the user's prior permission and providing the user with access to
information about how and where the data will be used
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
17.3 Apps that target minors for data collection will be rejected
Independent of what the guideline says, you should be mindful of your users privacy. As long as you don't pin the information you collect to individual users, I guess you might be fine.
Regarding location data, the guideline states you can't collect for analytical purposes if it is not relevant to the app's usage. However, it is referring to the gps data. You can obtain location for analytical purposes through network access information.