Apple recently started to enforce their policy that does not allow corporate apps to be distributed in the public app store.
This change has caused significant disruption for customers of SaaS applications such as ours. Despite repeated attempts by the community to discuss this issue with Apple, we don’t believe that they will change their position.
In response to this we have designed the following mobile strategy -
White Label Apps (Branded Client Apps)
To avoid issues with Apple approvals, white label apps will only be available for customers with an Apple Business Manager (ABM) account or a mobile device management (MDM) solution.
You can create a free Apple Business Manager account and use it to distribute the branded app to your employees.
- During onboarding the customer provides their Apple Business Manager (ABM) account, app assets, icons, etc.
- Sparrow can then build a custom white label app and publish to your ABM account
- You are then responsible for distributing the app to your users via your ABM. This process has been automated by Apple.
To find out more about Apple Business Manager and sign up go to - https://www.apple.com/ca/business/it/
Generic Sparrow App
The generic Sparrow app is already approved and being distributed through both the Apple App Store and the Android Play Store. To avoid further issues with Apple approvals, any customer that does not have an Apple Business Manager account can use the generic branded Sparrow app.
Grandfathered Customers
Customers with already approved white label apps in the app stores will be grandfathered for as long as Apple continues to approve new versions of the apps. Sparrow will keep supporting their existing white labels with new updates and releases.
Please note that Android applications are not effected by this policy.