Prioritize user privacy and data security in your app. Discuss best practices for data handling, user consent, and security measures to protect user information.

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Security of userID in Apple passkeys — how exposed is it?
I’m considering storing some sensitive information in the userID field of a passkey, as described in the createCredentialRegistrationRequest method.(link to method). I'm aware of the largeBlob extension introduced in iOS 17+, but it doesn't meet my needs since I want to create a cross-platform passkey that can be used across various devices — and currently, not many devices support the largeBlob extension. According to W3C documentation, the userID field is not considered private information and can be displayed to the user without requiring a verification process. Based on my understanding, it's also not encrypted, which means it might be accessible with physical access to the device. So here are my questions: How do Apple devices (especially iPhones) handle the userID field in their authenticators? Is it possible to access the userID without user verification, as permitted by the W3C specification? Are there any alternative methods to access the userID value stored in a passkey on Apple devices?
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128
Apr ’25
Credential Provider Extension UI Appears Only on Second “Continue” Tap
I’m having an issue with my Credential Provider Extension for passkey registration. On the browser I click on registration, in IOS i can select my App for passkey registration with a continue button. Wenn I click the continue button the prepareInterface(forPasskeyRegistration:) function is called but the MainInterface is not shown —it only appears when I click the continue button a second time. Here’s a simplified version of my prepareInterface method: override func prepareInterface(forPasskeyRegistration registrationRequest: ASCredentialRequest) { guard let request = registrationRequest as? ASPasskeyCredentialRequest, let identity = request.credentialIdentity as? ASPasskeyCredentialIdentity else { extensionContext.cancelRequest(withError: ASExtensionError(.failed)) return } self.identity = identity self.request = request log.info("prepareInterface called successfully") } In viewDidAppear, I trigger FaceID authentication and complete the registration process if register is true. However, the UI only shows after a second “Continue” tap. Has anyone encountered this behavior or have suggestions on how to ensure the UI appears immediately after prepareInterface is called? Could it be a timing or lifecycle issue with the extension context? Thanks for any insights!
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122
Apr ’25
iPad App Suggestions - Api Security
Hi , I have a requirement like, Develop an app for iPad and app uses .net core apis. App will be in kiosk mode, and app doesn't have any type of authentication even OTP also. As the apis will be publishing to all over internet, how can we achieve security to apis? Kindly provide suggestions for this implementation
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206
Sep ’25
MSAL framework return force authentication
Hi, We are using the MSAL library to authenticate users, with SSO authentication implemented through the Microsoft Authenticator app. The problem is that once or twice a day, a prompt for forced authentication appears, indicating that silent token acquisition is failing and resulting in a requirement for forced authentication. Below are some of the logs: ================================================= 2025-08-28 11:00:05.034 [Info] [AppDelegate.swift:121] application(:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:) > MSAL message: TID=751353 MSAL 1.8.1 iOS 18.5 [2025-08-28 10:00:05 - EC9D1457-2D70-4878-926F-553391EBC9D3] [MSAL] Silent flow finished. Result (null), error: -51115 error domain: MSIDErrorDomain 2025-08-28 11:00:05.034 [Info] [AppDelegate.swift:121] application(:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:) > MSAL message: TID=751353 MSAL 1.8.1 iOS 18.5 [2025-08-28 10:00:05 - EC9D1457-2D70-4878-926F-553391EBC9D3] [MSAL] acquireTokenSilent returning with error: (MSALErrorDomain, -50002) Masked(not-null) ==================================================== We initially raised this issue with Microsoft, but according to them: In the app's logs, the single one failure it contains, was when the SSO extension returned the error com.apple.AuthenticationServices.AuthorizationError, -6000 during a silent call. This error code is generated by the system framework (Apple), not by our code. It indicates that the framework encountered an unexpected internal issue before or after calling the SSO extension. MSAL returning interaction_required to the client app is the most effective way to recover from this error (as you mention, after the user selects the account the app continues working as expected). Additionally, as you also mention, the interactive call is made by switching to Authenticator (not displaying a "window" without leaving Eva Lite app), which means MSAL is not able to use the SSO extension and is using the fallback to legacy authentication. The recommended next step is for the customer to request support directly from Apple as this is an issue on their side. Additionally, the customer can also try to update to the latest iOS, in case Apple has already fixed this issue. ============================================= STEPS TO REPRODUCE There is no such steps its just that this is an enterprise application which is getting used on managed devices[iPhone 14]. The device are managed using some intune policy. Platform and Version: iOS Development Environment: Xcode 15, macOS 13.6.1 Run-time Configuration: iOS 18 Please let me know if there are any solutions to resolve this problem. Thank you.
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803
Sep ’25
Attesting Secure Enclave-Generated Keys in a WebAuthn Flow
Hello everyone, I'm working on a project where I intend to use Secure Enclave-based, device-bound private keys within a Webauthn flow. I have the following question: Is it possible to generate private keys in the Secure Enclave with integrated attestation in order to reliably prove to a relying party the authenticity and uncompromised state of the key? If so, I would appreciate details on the implementation—specifically, any prerequisites, limitations, or particular API calls and configuration options that need to be considered. I look forward to any advice, best practices, or pointers to further documentation on this topic. Thank you in advance for your support! Best regards, Alex
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152
Apr ’25
identifierForVendor Changing Unexpectedly in Some Cases (App Store Builds)
We’ve noticed an unexpected behavior in our production iOS app where the UIDevice.current.identifierForVendor value occasionally changes, even though: The app is distributed via the App Store (not TestFlight or Xcode builds) We do not switch provisioning profiles or developer accounts No App Clips, App Thinning, or other advanced features are in use There’s no manual reinstall or device reset in the scenarios observed (as per user feedback) Any insights or confirmations would be much appreciated. Thanks!
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134
Apr ’25
Device identifier for framework
I want iOS device identifier for a framework that is used in multiple vendor's apps. I'm developing a framework to control a peripheral. The framework has to send unique information to register the device with the peripheral. My naive idea was to use IdentifierForVendor. But this API provides the device identifier for the same vendor's apps, not the framework. (The framework will be used by multiple vendors.) Is there a usable device identifier for the framework, regardless of app vendor? Please tell me any solution.
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85
Jul ’25
use user ip address
Hi, is it legal to use open APIs to get the users's country country code using the Ip address in the app? I mean I want to know the user country for the game leaderboards data, and there are sites say this is free and open. So, I have two questions, first, is this making the user calling open api to get its country code concept legal? second question, what if these sites suddenly decided that it is not legal to use their apis for commercial use, and i miss that announcement; will you remove my app from the store? or what action will you take exactly?
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131
Apr ’25
iOS 18 - Intermittent keychain issue
Hi, We're encountering an intermittent issue where certain users are unexpectedly logged out of our app and unable to log in again. We believe we've narrrowed down the issue to the Keychain due to the following reasons: We use a keychain item to determine if the member is logged in or not. Failure to retrieve the value leads the app to believe the member is logged out. API error logs on the server show 3 missing values in fields that are each populated from items stored in the keychain. Additional Notes: The issue is hard to reproduce and seems to affect only a subset of users. In some cases, uninstalling and reinstalling the app temporarily resolves the problem, but the issue recurs after a period of time. The behavior appears to have coincided with the release of iOS 18. We’re using the “kSecAttrAccessibleWhenUnlocked” accessibility attribute. Given that our app doesn’t perform background operations, we wouldn’t expect this to be an issue. We’re also considering changing this to "kSecAttrAccessibleAfterFirstUnlockThisDeviceOnly" to see if this might resolve the issue. We're the keychain-swift library to interact with the keychain. We are currently adding extensive logging around our keychain implementation to confirm our findings but are looking for any additional input. Questions: Has anyone encountered similar keychain behavior on iOS 18? Are there known changes or stability issues with the keychain in iOS 18 that might lead to such intermittent “item not found” errors? Any recommended workarounds or troubleshooting steps that could help isolate the problem further? Thanks for any help you can provide.
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597
Feb ’25
App Attest attestationData request fails with 400 Bad Request (no X-Request-ID)
Hello Apple Team We are integrating App Attest with our backend and seeing a 400 Bad Request response when calling the attestation endpoint. The issue is that the response does not include an X-Request-ID or JSON error payload with id and code, which makes it hard to diagnose. Instead, it only returns a receipt blob. Request Details URL: https://data-development.appattest.apple.com/v1/attestationData Request Headers: Authorization: eyJraWQiOiI0RjVLSzRGV1JaIiwidHlwIjoiSldUIiwiYWxnIjoiRVMyNTYifQ.eyJpc3MiOiJOOVNVR1pNNjdRIiwiZXhwIjoxNzU3MDUxNTYwLCJpYXQiOjE3NTcwNDc5NjB9.MEQCIF236MqPCl6Vexg7RcPUMK8XQeACXogldnpuiNnGQnzgAiBQqASdbJ64g58xfWGpbzY3iohvxBSO5U5ZE3l87JjfmQ Content-Type: application/octet-stream Request Body: (Binary data, logged as [B@59fd7d35) Response Status: 400 Bad Request Response Headers: Date: Fri, 05 Sep 2025 04:52:40 GMT x-b3-traceid: 4c42e18094022424 x-b3-spanid: 4c42e18094022424 Response Body (truncated): "receipt": h'308006092A864886F70D01070... Problem The response does not include X-Request-ID. The response does not include JSON with id or code. Only a receipt blob is returned. Questions Can the x-b3-traceid be used by Apple to trace this failed request internally? Is it expected for some failures to return only a receipt blob without X-Request-ID? How should we interpret this error so we can handle it properly in production? Thanks in advance for your guidance.
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286
Sep ’25
Unexpectedly invalidated Biometrics in iOS 18.3.2 or later
There is a sudden surge of users in our apps with invalidated biometrics. Even though the issue is being handled correctly and the user has another way to login, some of the users forgot their passwords and they can not login. Is there any known issue with Biometrics in iOS 18.3.2 or later? There is a (possible) related discussion here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/256011565
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88
Apr ’25
Unable to add "One Time Codes" support to my app
I'm working on a Password Manager app that integrates with the AutoFill Credential Provider to provide stored passwords and OTPs to the user within Safari and other apps. Password AutoFill works perfectly. I'm unable to get iOS to register that the app supports OTPs though. I've followed the Apple documentation here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/authenticationservices/providing-one-time-passcodes-to-autofill and added "ProvidesOneTimeCodes" to the AutoFill extension's Info.plist, but iOS just doesn't seem to notice the OTP support. <key>ASCredentialProviderExtensionCapabilities</key> <dict> <key>ProvidesOneTimeCodes</key> <true/> <key>ProvidesPasswords</key> <true/> </dict> Any help would be greatly appreicated!
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378
Mar ’25
User-Assigned Device Name Entitlement for Multipeer Connectivity
Hi everyone, I’m developing a multiplayer iOS game that uses Multipeer Connectivity for local peer-to-peer networking. I’d like to display user-assigned device names in the UI to help players identify each other during the connection process. In iOS 16 and later, accessing UIDevice.current.name requires the User-Assigned Device Name Entitlement. The documentation states that the entitlement is granted for functionality involving “interaction between multiple devices that the same user operates”. My game is strictly multiplayer, with devices owned by different users, not a single user managing multiple devices. I have a few questions regarding this: Does the requirement for “devices operated by the same user” definitively exclude multiplayer scenarios where devices belong to different players? Can a Multipeer Connectivity-based game qualify for the entitlement in this case? If the entitlement is not applicable, is prompting users to enter custom names the recommended approach for identifying devices in a multiplayer UI? Has anyone successfully obtained this entitlement for a similar multiplayer use case with Multipeer Connectivity? Thanks in advance.
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Apr ’25
Impact of Security Vulnerabilities Caused by Enabling "Generate Debug Symbols"
We are working with an iOS app where we have enabled the “Generate Debug Symbols” setting to true in Xcode. As a result, the .dSYM files are generated and utilized in Firebase Crashlytics for crash reporting. However, we received a note in our Vulnerability Assessment report indicating a potential security concern. The report mentions that the .ipa file could be reverse-engineered due to the presence of debug symbols, and that such symbols should not be included in a released app. We could not find any security-related information about this flag, “Generate Debug Symbols,” in Apple’s documentation. Could you please clarify if enabling the “Generate Debug Symbols” flag in Xcode for a production app creates any security vulnerabilities, such as the one described in the report? The report mentions the following vulnerability: TEST-0219: Testing for Debugging Symbols The concern raised is that debugging symbols, while useful for crash symbolication, may be leveraged to reverse-engineer the app and should not be present in a production release. Your prompt confirmation on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
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543
Mar ’25
Best Practice for Keychain Storage for a C++ Plugin in a Host App (Maya)?
Hi everyone, I'm developing a C++ plugin (.bundle) for a third-party host application (Autodesk Maya) on macOS, and I'm finalizing the design for our licensing system. The plugin is distributed outside the Mac App Store. My goal is to securely store a license key in the user's Keychain. After some research, my proposed implementation is as follows: On activation, store the license data in the user's login keychain as a Generic Password (kSecClassGenericPassword) using the SecItem APIs. To ensure the plugin can access the item when loaded by Maya, I will use a specific Keychain Access Group (e.g., MY_TEAM_ID.com.mywebsite). The final .bundle will be code-signed with our company's Developer ID certificate. The signature will include an entitlements file (.entitlements) that specifies the matching keychain-access-groups permission. My understanding is that this combination of a unique Keychain Access Group and a properly signed/entitled bundle is the key to getting reliable Keychain access. This should also correctly trigger the one-time user permission prompt on first use. Does this sound like the correct and most robust approach for this scenario? Are there any common pitfalls with a plugin's Keychain access from within a host app that I should be aware of? Thanks for any feedback!
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140
Jun ’25
Share session from ASWebAuthenticationSession with WKWebView
Hello everyone, In my application, i have implemented authentication using ASWebauthenticationSession. However, when redirecting the user to a WKWebView, no cookies are shared, causing the session to be lost and requiring the user to log in again. Is there a way to share cookies between the two? If not, what would be the best approach to set up authentication that ensures SSO when switching to a WebView ? Thank you very much for your help !
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478
May ’25