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Apple privacy manifest

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Apple has a privacy policy for apps that target iOS on the App Store. It requires the app to include a privacy manifest in the app bundle, that lists the types of data your .NET MAUI app or any third-party SDKs and packages collect, and the reasons for using any required reason APIs. If your use of the required reason APIs, or third-party SDKs, isn’t declared in the privacy manifest, your app might be rejected by the App Store. For more information about privacy manifests, see Privacy manifest files on developer.apple.com.

Depending on whether you’re using .NET MAUI to develop an app or providing binding packages to use with .NET MAUI apps, the requirement for providing a privacy manifest might differ.

Privacy manifest for .NET MAUI apps

All .NET MAUI apps that target devices running iOS or iPadOS require a privacy manifest in the app bundle. For more information, see Add required entries to the privacy manifest.

You'll also need to review your own code, any native code, and data collection and tracking practices and update the privacy manifest accordingly:

  • If your app or SDK collects data about the person using the app, you'll need to describe the data use in a privacy manifest. For information, see Describing data use in privacy manifests on developer.apple.com.
  • If your app or SDK includes .NET APIs that call Apple's required reason APIs, then you must assess your use of each of these APIs and declare the reasons for using them. For more information about the required reasons APIs, see Describing use of required reason API on developer.apple.com.

Note

If your app includes any third-party SDKs or packages, then these third-party components must include their own privacy manifests separately.

A privacy manifest is automatically added to new .NET MAUI app projects that are created using .NET CLI or Visual Studio. For information about adding a privacy manifest to an existing .NET MAUI app, see Add a privacy manifest to an existing app.

Important

The above guidelines are provided for your convenience. It’s important that you review Apple’s documentation on privacy manifest files before creating a privacy manifest for your project.

Privacy manifest for binding projects

Binding projects fall into two categories: static framework bindings and dynamic framework bindings. A privacy manifest should be included with the framework by placing it in the framework bundle. When placed correctly the binding project will automatically add it to the app bundle so that app developers don't need to provide reasons for the framework API use. For more information, see Placing content in a bundle.

For a dynamic framework, the framework is added to the app bundle. The privacy policy manifest is added to the location where the App Store expects it to be, and there is nothing for the app developer to do.

Currently, when binding a static framework, app developers will be required to manually merge the privacy manifest included with the static framework into the app privacy manifest. This is due to how static libraries are linked into the main app binary, removing the need for the framework.

Add a privacy manifest to an existing app

To add a privacy manifest to an existing .NET MAUI app project, add a new XML file named PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy to the Platforms/iOS folder of your app project. Ensure that the PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy file doesn't have an .xml extension. Then, add the following XML to the file:

<?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/>
</plist>

Then, edit your .NET MAUI app project file (*.csproj) and add the following build item for iOS at the bottom of the root <Project> element:

<ItemGroup Condition="$([MSBuild]::GetTargetPlatformIdentifier('$(TargetFramework)')) == 'ios'">
    <BundleResource Include="Platforms\iOS\PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy" LogicalName="PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy" />
</ItemGroup>

This will ensure that the privacy manifest is packaged into the iOS app at the root of the bundle.

Add required entries to the privacy manifest

All .NET MAUI apps that target devices running iOS or iPadOS require a privacy manifest in the app bundle. This is due to the .NET runtime and Base Class Library (BCL) using required reason APIs that aren't removed regardless of the linker mode. The three API categories and their associated reasons that must be in the privacy manifest in a .NET MAUI app are shown in the following table:

API category Reason Link
NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryFileTimestamp C617.1 File timestamp APIs
NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategorySystemBootTime 35F9.1 System boot time APIs
NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryDiskSpace E174.1 Disk space APIs

If you've manually added a privacy manifest to an existing .NET MAUI app you'll need to add these entries to it. To do so, open the PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy file in a text editor and add the NSPrivacyAccessAPITypes key, where each required reason API category use will subsequently be added:

<?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>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes</key>
    <array>
    </array>
</dict>
</plist>

Then, add the NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryFileTimestamp category with reason C617.1, NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategorySystemBootTime category with reason 35F9.1, and NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryDiskSpace category with reason E174.1, to the NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes array in the privacy manifest:

<?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>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
            <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryFileTimestamp</string>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
            <array>
                <string>C617.1</string>
            </array>
        </dict>
        <dict>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
            <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategorySystemBootTime</string>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
            <array>
                <string>35F9.1</string>
            </array>
        </dict>
        <dict>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
            <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryDiskSpace</string>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
            <array>
                <string>E174.1</string>
            </array>
        </dict>       
    </array>
</dict>
</plist>

These entries are the minimum you'll need for your app. If you use any of the required reasons APIs in a way that isn't covered by the reason codes provided, then you'll need to add additional reason codes to support your usage of the API. For more information about API use in the .NET runtime, .NET Base Class Library (BCL), .NET for iOS, and .NET MAUI that might cause you to need additional reason codes, see the links in the See also section.

If your .NET MAUI app uses the Preferences API or you use the NSUserDefaults API directly, you must include the reasons for use in your privacy manifest. Use the string NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryUserDefaults as the value for the NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType key in your NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes dictionary. For example, if your app or SDK directly or indirectly uses the NSUserDefaults API, via .NET MAUI's Preferences API, your PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy file should contain an additional dict element in the NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes key's array:

<?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>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
            <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryFileTimestamp</string>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
            <array>
                <string>C617.1</string>
            </array>
        </dict>
        <dict>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
            <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategorySystemBootTime</string>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
            <array>
                <string>35F9.1</string>
            </array>
        </dict>
        <dict>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
            <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryDiskSpace</string>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
            <array>
                <string>E174.1</string>
            </array>
        </dict>
        <dict>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPIType</key>
            <string>NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryUserDefaults</string>
            <key>NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypeReasons</key>
            <array>
                <string>CA92.1</string>
            </array>
        </dict>
    </array>
</dict>
</plist>

You'll need to provide one or more reason codes from User defaults APIs on developer.apple.com. Add one or more of the reason codes below to indicate the correct usage:

  • CA92.1 - to access user defaults in just your app.
  • 1C8F.1 - to access user defaults from apps, app extensions, and App Clips that are members of the same App Group.
  • C56D.1 - to access user defaults from an SDK.
  • AC6B.1 - to access user defaults to read the com.apple.configuration.managed or com.apple.feedback.managed key.

Important

An app's PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy file may need to be updated if you modify the code in your app. This includes adding a NuGet package or binding project to your app that calls into any of Apple’s required reason APIs.

See also

Use the following links to learn more the required reasons API use in .NET MAUI, .NET for iOS, and the .NET runtime and BCL: