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Clarification on AskCenter and Age Assurance APIs for Texas Regulatory Compliance
Hello, I’m currently reviewing and implementing age assurance and parental approval flows using AgeRangeService and PermissionKit (AskCenter) in the context of Texas regulatory compliance requirements. While the high-level APIs are clear, there are several technical aspects where the intended usage patterns are not fully explicit in the documentation. Clarification on these points would help ensure our implementation aligns with system expectations and regulatory obligations. ⸻ Querying the current approval state for SignificantAppUpdateTopic AskCenter.ask(...) returns Void, and AskCenter.responses(for:) provides an AsyncSequence of approval events. Is there an official or recommended way to determine whether a SignificantAppUpdateTopic has already been approved when the app launches, or is listening for future responses events the only supported mechanism? ⸻ Behavior of AskCenter.responses(for:) regarding past approvals When subscribing to AskCenter.responses(for:): • Does the stream replay previously recorded approval or decline decisions? • Or does it only emit events that occur after subscription? This affects whether the listener must be registered early in the app lifecycle. ⸻ Recommended lifecycle timing for registering a responses(for:) listener What is the intended or recommended time to register a responses(for:) listener? • At application launch • Immediately before calling ask(...) • When entering a specific gated feature Clarification on the expected lifecycle usage would be helpful. ⸻ Repeated calls to ask(...) after approval If AskCenter.ask(...) is called again for the same SignificantAppUpdateTopic after parental approval has already been granted: • Is the request ignored? • Is a new approval request sent to the parent? • Or is the call handled idempotently by the system? ⸻ Delivery of approval results when the child app is not running If a parent approves or declines a SignificantAppUpdateTopic while the child app is not running: • Will the approval decision be delivered as a responses(for:) event on the next app launch? • Or is the app expected to persist approval state locally? ⸻ Persistence of approval state Is the approval decision for SignificantAppUpdateTopic persisted by the system at the OS level, or is the app responsible for storing approval state? Additionally, does the approval persist across: • app restarts? • app deletion and reinstallation? ⸻ Meaning of activeParentalControls.significantAppChangeApprovalRequired How is activeParentalControls.significantAppChangeApprovalRequired determined? • Is this value explicitly configured by a parent (for example via Screen Time)? • Or is it automatically determined by the system based on region, age, or regulatory requirements? ⸻ Relationship between significantAppChangeApprovalRequired and AgeRangeService When activeParentalControls contains significantAppChangeApprovalRequired, is it still expected that apps call AgeRangeService.requestAgeRange(...)? Or can the presence of this flag be treated as sufficient indication that the user is a minor for gating purposes? ⸻ Recommended interpretation of AgeRangeDeclaration Is the intended usage of AgeRangeDeclaration to handle each case individually, or is it acceptable and recommended to interpret the values as different trust levels (for example, self-declared vs. government ID or payment verified)? ⸻ Clarification on these points would help ensure that implementations of age assurance and parental approval flows are consistent with system behavior while meeting regulatory compliance requirements. Thank you for your guidance.
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Dec ’25
Does "Locked and hidden apps" feature of iOS 18 support deep link?
Our app includes showing external web service with WebView or Safari and returning to the app with custom URL scheme or universal link. When we set "Hide and Require Face ID" feature which was available on iOS 18, neither custom URL scheme nor universal link activated the app. If we only set "Require Face ID", the deep link worked properly. Here is what we've tried: Define custom URL scheme or universal link in the app https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/defining-a-custom-url-scheme-for-your-app https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/supporting-universal-links-in-your-app Implement external web service with one of the following frameworks ASWebAuthenticationSession https://developer.apple.com/documentation/authenticationservices/aswebauthenticationsession/ SFSafariViewController https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/sfsafariviewcontroller Safari WKWebView https://developer.apple.com/documentation/webkit/wkwebview On iOS 18 device, install the app and set "Hide and Require Face ID" Access external web page and tap the link which activates custom URL scheme or universal link We expected the deep link to work, but the results were: Custom URL scheme & ASWebAuthenticationSession/SFSafariViewController/Safari The system shows "Cannot open the page because the address is invalid" Custom URL scheme & WKWebView Nothing happens when tapping the link Universal link Directed to the server with associated domain file, but the system doesn't call the app which is defined in the associated domain file We tested the feature with the app built with Xcode16 beta 6, and the device with iOS 18 Seed 8(22A5350a). Does hide app feature support custom URL scheme and universal link?
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1.8k
Jun ’25
Changing Screen Time Passcode does not protect apps with Screen Time enabled
Hello, The purpose of "Screen Time Passcode" under Settings/Screen Time is to protect Screen Time preferences and it is asked every time the user updates Downtime, App Limits, Content & Privacy Restrictions and so on. But the private passcode is not requested if the user disables Screen Time for a particular app (only Face ID or phone passcode is requested, but not the private Screen Time passcode). I think this is a mistake, I think the purpose of a private Screen Time passcode is to protect all settings, including apps that use this API, right? Is there any solution to this? Thank you.
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4.2k
May ’25
WeatherKit suddenly returning JWT errors - no changes
All of my apps stopped working with WeatherKit this morning. They all return an "Error Domain=WeatherDaemon.WDSJWTAuthenticatorServiceListener.Errors Code=2" error. I am certain that the WeatherKit capability added (in project) and enabled as a Capability & App Service (on developer portal for the identifier). All other iCloud features of my apps are working as expected. I have also done all the normal troubleshooting using codesign / security cms, etc. to verify entitlements. I created the following simple project to verify the integration. import WeatherKit import CoreLocation struct ContentView: View { @State private var temp: Measurement<UnitTemperature>? = nil var body: some View { VStack { if let t = temp { Text("\(t.value.rounded())°\(t.unit.symbol)") } else { Text("Fetching…") .task { let service = WeatherService() do { let location = CLLocation(latitude: 50.318668, longitude: -114.917710) let weather = try await service.weather(for: location, including: .current) temp = weather.temperature } catch { print("Error:", error) } } } } } } Any ideas what may be happening?
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Jun ’25
WeatherKit JWT fails (WDSJWTAuthenticatorServiceListener Code 2) despite entitlement
I’m hitting a WeatherKit JWT failure (WDSJWTAuthenticatorServiceListener Code = 2) at runtime even though the entitlement is present in both the signed binary and the embedded provisioning profile. Environment Team ID 5SZLQLQ9MD Bundle ID ParkProfessor.ParkProfessorDisneyland Device / OS iPhone 15 Pro · iOS 17.4.1 (hardware, not simulator) Xcode 15.3 (15E204a) Console output Failed to generate jwt token for: com.apple.weatherkit.authservice Error Domain=WeatherDaemon.WDSJWTAuthenticatorServiceListener.Errors Code=2 "(null)" Entitlement & profile snippets codesign -d --entitlements :- WeatherKitTest.app | grep -A2 weatherkit com.apple.developer.weatherkit security cms -D -i embedded.mobileprovision | grep -A2 weatherkit com.apple.developer.weatherkit What I’ve already tried Regenerated a new development certificate and a new iOS App Development provisioning profile with WeatherKit enabled. Confirmed the capability is selected in Certificates ▸ Identifiers ▸ Profiles and added in Xcode target settings. WeatherKit Terms of Service accepted in the portal. Deleted the app, removed any device management profiles, rebooted the phone, clean-built & ran again. Reproduced the issue in a minimal SwiftUI app that calls: WeatherService.shared.weather(for: CLLocation(latitude: 33.8121, longitude: -117.9190), including: .current) – same Code 2 error. Request It looks like the App ID may need a backend entitlement sync. Could someone from the WeatherKit team please check the status for Team 5SZLQLQ9MD, Bundle ID ParkProfessor.ParkProfessorDisneyland and enable WeatherKit token generation? Thanks!
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Jun ’25
Age declaration not working when using Sandbox account with TestFlight builds
Hello I'm using this sdk DeclaredAgeRange to get the user age range When I'm doing in debug mode using sandbox account it is working as expected and I can get the user age range But when I tried in TestFlight build using sandbox account it is not working and it is always return the age range 18+ and also isEligibleForAgeFeatures API is always returning false Any advise on this?
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1.1k
Feb ’26
ApplicationTokens changing
We persist ApplicationTokens in a storage container that ShieldConfigurationExtension has access to. In rare, cases all the ApplicationTokens for a user seem to change. We know this because the Application parameter passed into configuration(shielding application: Application) -> ShieldConfiguration function has a Token that does not match (using == ) any of the ones we are persisting in storage. Interestingly, the persisted ones still work, so I don't believe storage has gotten corrupted or anything. We can use them to add or remove shields, we can use them to display labels of the apps they represent, etc. But they don’t match what’s passed into the ShieldConfiguration extension. If the user goes into the FamilyPicker at this point and selects an app of a token that we are already persisting, the FamilyPickerSelection will have a token matching the new one that is passed into ShieldConfigurationExtension, not the one we persisted when they last selected that app. This leads me to believe the tokens are updated/rotated in some cases. When and why does this happen, and how can we handle it gracefully?
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1.8k
Jul ’25
Is `isEligibleForAgeFeatures` gonna cover the future cities/countries for us?
Does our app need to check the location or can we fully reply on this API to decide whether we wanna comply for the law of places that requires age range information? Looks like it's only covering Texas now..? would it add other places by apple..? And also this API is really hard to test a user in other places, Iike I don't know a user in Brazil gonna return true for false now, but the law in Brazil also requires the age information.
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Device Activity Reports are returning a blank screen in release mode
There is an inconsistent issue when views are rendered from the Device Activity Report Extension. This issue is noticeable only on release versions and it works fine in debug mode. Around 80% of the times, the Report Views return blank screen and this is only the case when a weekly/monthly filter is used. Although, it works as expected for daily report views. My questions are: How are all the Report Activity Views working fine in debug mode but not in release mode? How the daily activity filter works fine in the release mode but the weekly/monthly filters don't work? Is this because of a memory limit issue in the extension? As of now, I have the family-controls(distribution) entitlement only for the app and for the extensions I only have family-controls(development) entitlement. Do I need to request for family-controls(Distribution) entitlement even for the extensions? I have seen threads on the forum mentioning the blank screen issue associated with the DeviceActivityReport but haven't found a solution to it. Any suggestions/feedback would be of great help, thanks.
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1.5k
Jan ’26
[iOS 18 Beta 4] DeviceActivityMonitor extension is more likely to deadlock
Hi there, My app uses all the Screen Time API's with individual FamilyControls authorization. I've been using the API's for over 2 years (since they came out). In iOS 18 Beta (maybe started in Beta 3?), I've been experiencing random issues. I tracked it down to where it seems like DeviceActivityMonitor extension is more likely to deadlock in iOS 18. To reproduce: when DeviceActivityMonitorExtension.intervalDidEnd gets called, IF you call DeviceActivityCenter.startMonitoring for that SAME DeviceActivityName from the DeviceActivityMonitorExtension , the startMonitoring call deadlocks (if I pause debugger, it does not advance past DeviceActivityCenter.startMonitoring). The bug is reported in FB14664238. It also contains a sample project where you can reproduce this. I also note in the comment section that this is not the only way to encounter this problem. My application code (which is a lot more complicated) seems to deadlock on calling DeviceActivityCenter.activities. As a result, there seems to be an "overall trend" where, due to some changes, DeviceActivityMonitor extension is more likely to deadlock. The steps are not reproducible on iOS 17.6. This is built using Xcode 17.4. Thank you! 🙏
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860
Mar ’25
PDFKit PDFPage.characterBounds(at:) returns incorrect coordinates iOS 18 beta 4
PDFKit PDFPage.characterBounds(at: Int) is returning incorrect coordinates with iOS 18 beta 4 and later / Xcode 16 beta 4. It worked fine in iOS 17 and earlier (after showing the same issue during the early iOS 17 beta cycle) It breaks critical functionality that my app relies on. I have filed feedback (FB14843671). So far no changes in the latest betas. iOS release date is approaching fast! Anybody having the same issue? Any workaround available?
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2.1k
May ’25
There were problems encountered during the development of core spotlight.
In IOS17 and IOS18, core spotlight can only match app contents by searching for the displayName, but cannot hit the contents by using keywords. Moreover, when matching the app content by searching for the "displayName", it requires inputting four consecutive characters to achieve a match.These issues did not occur in iOS 16. What is the reason for this? Here is my code. func addItemToIndex(_ item: QSpotlightItem) { let attributeSet = CSSearchableItemAttributeSet(contentType: .item) attributeSet.title = item.title attributeSet.displayName = item.title attributeSet.contentDescription = item.contentDescription attributeSet.keywords = item.keywords attributeSet.thumbnailData = item.thumbnailImage attributeSet.contactKeywords = item.keywords attributeSet.supportsNavigation = true let searchableItem = CSSearchableItem(uniqueIdentifier: item.id, domainIdentifier: "xxx", attributeSet: attributeSet) searchableItem.expirationDate = .distantFuture CSSearchableIndex.default().indexSearchableItems([searchableItem]) { error in if let error = error { } else { } } }
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May ’25
Translation framework error.
Hello everyone. I use Translation Framework in my application. During development everything was fine, Translation framework worked well, but after two or three days of using the production version (that was published in AppStore and available for others also!) - my application stopped working. Translation framework gives errors: Error sending 1 paragraphs Error Domain=TranslationErrorDomain Code=16 "Translation failed" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Translation failed, NSLocalizedFailureReason=Offline models not available for language pair} Failed to translate input 0; returning error: Error Domain=TranslationErrorDomain Code=16 "Translation failed" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Translation failed, NSLocalizedFailureReason=Offline models not available for language pair} Received unbridged NSError to API, converting to .internalError: Error Domain=TranslationErrorDomain Code=16 "Translation failed" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Translation failed, NSLocalizedFailureReason=Offline models not available for language pair} Once again - it worked when I developed it, it was released on the AppStore, and suddenly it stopped working!
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Jan ’26
Unable to upload an app with ExtensionFoundation
I have an iOS app with ExtensionFoundation. It runs well on my local device, but when I upload on the AppStore it gets rejected with: Validation failed Invalid Info.plist value. The value of the EXExtensionPointIdentifier key, AsheKube.app.a-Shell.localWebServer, in the Info.plist of “a-Shell.app/Extensions/localWebServer.appex” is invalid. Please refer to the App Extension Programming Guide at https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/General/Conceptual/ExtensibilityPG/Action.html#/apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40014214-CH13-SW1. (ID: ae8dd1dd-8caf-4a48-9651-7a225faed4eb) The Info.plist in my Extension is: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>EXAppExtensionAttributes</key> <dict> <key>EXExtensionPointIdentifier</key> <string>com.example.example-extension</string> </dict> </dict> </plist> so the Info.plist that causes the issue has been automatically generated by Xcode. I can access it as well, and it says: { "BuildMachineOSBuild" => "25A354" "CFBundleDevelopmentRegion" => "en" "CFBundleDisplayName" => "localWebServerExtension" "CFBundleExecutable" => "localWebServer" "CFBundleIdentifier" => "AsheKube.app.a-Shell.localWebServerExtension" "CFBundleInfoDictionaryVersion" => "6.0" "CFBundleName" => "localWebServer" "CFBundlePackageType" => "XPC!" "CFBundleShortVersionString" => "1.0" "CFBundleSupportedPlatforms" => [ 0 => "iPhoneOS" ] "CFBundleVersion" => "1" "DTCompiler" => "com.apple.compilers.llvm.clang.1_0" "DTPlatformBuild" => "23A339" "DTPlatformName" => "iphoneos" "DTPlatformVersion" => "26.0" "DTSDKBuild" => "23A339" "DTSDKName" => "iphoneos26.0" "DTXcode" => "2601" "DTXcodeBuild" => "17A400" "EXAppExtensionAttributes" => { "EXExtensionPointIdentifier" => "AsheKube.app.a-Shell.localWebServer" } "MinimumOSVersion" => "26.0" "NSHumanReadableCopyright" => "Copyright © 2025 AsheKube. All rights reserved." "UIDeviceFamily" => [ 0 => 1 1 => 2 ] "UIRequiredDeviceCapabilities" => [ 0 => "arm64" ] } What should I do to be able to upload on the AppStore?
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Nov ’25
Question about testing the Declared Age Range feature
I’m integrating the Declared Age Range feature to tailor our app’s experience based on a user’s age range. I’m currently in the testing phase and would like to repeatedly test the consent flow and different outcomes from AgeRangeService.shared.requestAgeRange(...). However, once I go through the consent flow and choose to share, the age-range sharing sheet no longer appears on subsequent attempts—so it’s hard to validate edge cases (e.g., changed gates, declined flow, re-prompt behavior). Could you advise on the recommended way to reset or re-prompt during development? In particular: Is there a supported way to clear per-app consent so the system prompts again? Under what conditions should the “Share Age Range Again” control appear in Settings, and is there an equivalent way to trigger it for testing? Are there best practices for QA (e.g., using Ask First at the system level, testing on real devices vs. Simulator, using a separate bundle ID for dev builds, or other steps)? Any other guidance for validating different requestAgeRange results (e.g., declined/not available) would be appreciated.
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Nov ’25
How to open parent app from `ShieldActionDelegate`
Hello, I think it is quite a common use-case to open the parent app that owns the ShieldActionDelegate when the user selects an action in the Shield. There are only three options available that we can do in response to an action: ShieldActionResponse.none ShieldActionResponse.close ShieldActionResponse.defer It would be great if this new one would be added as well: ShieldActionResponse.openParentApp While finding a workaround for now, the problem is that the ShieldActionDelegate is not a normal app extension. That means, normal tricks do not work to open the parent app from here. For example, UIApplication.shared.open(url) does not work because we can’t access UIApplication from the ShieldActionDelegate unfortunately. NSExtensionContext is also not available in the ShieldActionDelegate unfortunately, so that’s also not possible. There are apps however, that managed to find a workaround, in my research I stumbled across these two: https://apps.apple.com/de/app/applocker-passcode-lock-apps/id1132845904?l=en-GB https://apps.apple.com/us/app/app-lock/id6448239603 Please find a screen recording (gif) attached. Their workaround is 100% what I’m looking for, so there MUST be a way to do so that is compliant with the App Store guidelines (after all, the apps are available on the App Store!). I had documented my feature request more than 2 years ago in this radar as well: FB10393561
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1.7k
Nov ’25
Message Filter Extension won't use Basic Auth
I am trying to set up a message filter extension that will use shared web credentials for basic auth when calling to its ILMessageFilterExtensionNetworkURL. I have associated domains set up for both "messagefilter:" and "webcredentials:" and the message filter IS correctly calling the ILMessageFilterExtensionNetworkURL with each message - so that part is working. As detailed here, I have set up Shared Web Credentials and my view controller is using SecAddSharedWebCredential() to save the creds to the correct domain. Using Authorization services, the creds are auto-filled into my app's login screen. When I go under Settings > Passwords, I see the creds are saved and they are the correct creds to the corrent website that matches ILMessageFilterExtensionNetworkURL. Regardless of all of this, the deferQueryRequestToNetwork() refuses to use the creds and implement Basic Auth in its URL call. It makes the call to the correct URL, it just won't use the Shared Web Creds for basic auth. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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1.1k
Jan ’26