I have a simple Safari extension for iOS.
In its popup, I want a button that will open the app via a universal link.
I have this kind-of working, except that Safari opens the actual online destination of the link with a banner at the top saying "Open in the XXXX app" and an OPEN button.
What do I have to do to go directly to the app?
More generally, I know that if I copy-and-paste a universal link into the Safari address bar, Safari does the same thing - but it does go directly to the app from an <a href="...."> link.
In my app extension JavaScript, I set window.location. Presumably this is too similar to pasting into the address bar.
Is there some alternative to setting window.location that is more like clicking on a link and will go directly to the universal link's app?
Thanks.
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Hello,
I am developing a Mac application via Mac Catalyst and encountering an issue with WKWebView. Specifically, I'm loading a webpage (e.g., https://translate.google.com) in WKWebView, but when I press the copy button on the page, the content doesn't actually copy to the clipboard.
I've attempted modifying the UserAgent without any success. Here is the relevant part of my code:
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
let config = WKWebViewConfiguration()
config.preferences = WKPreferences()
config.defaultWebpagePreferences.preferredContentMode = .desktop
let webView = WKWebView(frame: .zero, configuration: config)
webView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
view.addSubview(webView)
webView.scrollView.showsVerticalScrollIndicator = false
webView.backgroundColor = UIColor.white
webView.scrollView.backgroundColor = UIColor.white
webView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leadingAnchor).isActive = true
webView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.topAnchor).isActive = true
webView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.trailingAnchor).isActive = true
webView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.bottomAnchor).isActive = true
if let url = URL(string: "https://translate.google.com") {
let req = URLRequest(url: url)
webView.load(req)
}
}
I am maintaining a PWA that utilizes WebSockets. In this app, after the web page is loaded from the server, JavaScript establishes a WebSocket connection.
Because the app connects to a completely local server on a managed local network, we use http:// and ws:// (non-secure).
The Issue: The app worked perfectly from older iOS versions up to iPadOS 18. However, during testing on iPadOS 26, we encountered an issue where the WebSocket connects successfully but is disconnected by the iPad approximately one second later.
According to our packet captures, the iPad is sending a FIN packet to initiate the teardown.
Additional Context: What makes this particularly confusing is that we have another server hosting the exact same PWA where the WebSocket connection stays stable even on iPadOS 26. This suggests it might not be a universal OS bug, but perhaps related to specific network conditions or a new security policy.
Has anyone experienced similar behavior on iPadOS 26?
Could this be a bug, or is there a new security restriction regarding non-secure WebSocket (ws://) connections in local networks?
Are there any known changes in WebKit/Safari for iPadOS 26 that might cause the OS to send a FIN packet immediately after a handshake?
I would appreciate any insights or suggestions on what might be causing this.
Topic:
Safari & Web
SubTopic:
General
Is the new Observations API for WebPage not available in Beta 1 as demoed in the WWDC video? I get this error even though Observation is imported.
Subject: Unexpected system confirmation dialog when opening a Universal Link
Description of the issue:
We’re implementing a login flow using Native iOS apps, Universal Links, and OpenID Connect authentication. Our domain is correctly configured with the apple-app-site-association file, and Universal Links work as expected.
However, under certain circumstances, the behavior differs on the same login page:
The user connects to the OIDC provider in their mobile browser.
Instead of automatically switching to the Native application, a popup asks the user to open the app.
The behavior depends on how the login page is opened:
When opened in a new browser tab, the Universal Link opens the app immediately without showing any system confirmation dialog.
When the same tab is reused without a page refresh, iOS displays a system confirmation dialog asking the user to open the link in the app. This confirmation dialog doesn’t appear in the first scenario.
This additional system dialog impacts the user experience, as we aim for a frictionless and seamless login flow with minimal confirmation steps.
Question: Why does the app switch work automatically only the first time?
Is this intentional iOS behavior? If so, what security requirement or system rule causes a confirmation dialog when reusing the same tab, but not when redirecting in a new tab or pressing a button on the reused tab? Is this expected design, or should we adjust our side to avoid this dialog?
Environment details:
Verified on two devices
iOS versions: 18.7.2, 26.1
Thanks for your help.
Hi!
I configure proxy for webview like
DispatchQueue.main.async {
self.webView.configuration.websiteDataStore.proxyConfigurations = [proxyConfiguration]
}
It is fine in iosiOS 17 however, it crashes in iOS 18.3. And the problem seems to be related to the left side of the equation. I tried to call
print(self.webView.configuration.websiteDataStore.proxyConfigurations.count)
in async block and got the same bad access error. But if stop at that line of code and call
po self.webView.configuration.websiteDataStore.proxyConfigurations
in debugger it returns 0 elements.
Did anyone have the same problem? What may cause the exception?
I have a local HTML file used to display mixed content with images and text. Here's the issue: the same file displays everything correctly in Google Chrome, showing both images and text as expected. However, when opened in Safari, only the text is shown—images are missing, which is very strange.
Interestingly, if I remove .png from the title attribute of the tag, the images show up properly in Safari. Alternatively, if I comment out the inclusion of html2canvas.min.js, the images also display correctly (although the layout breaks without it).
I'm not sure if this is a Safari-specific issue. Can anyone explain what might be causing this problem?
Topic:
Safari & Web
SubTopic:
General
Hi Apple engineers!
We are making an iOS browser and are planing to deliver a feature that allows enterprise customers to use a MAM key to set a PAC file for proxy. It's designed to support unmanaged device so the MDM based solutions like 'Global HTTP Proxy MDM payload' or 'Per-App VPN' simply don't work.
After doing some research we found that with WKWebView, the only framework allowed on iOS for web browsing, there's no API for programmatically setting proxy. The closes API is the WKURLSchemeHandler, but it's for data management not network request interception, in other word it can not be used to handle HTTP/HTTPS request well.
When we go from the web-view level to the app level, it seems there's no API to let an app set proxy for itself at an app-level, the closest API is Per-App VPN but as mentioned above, Per-App VPN is only available for managed device so we can't use that as well.
Eventually we go to the system level, and try to use Network Extension, but there's still obstacles. It seems Network Extension doesn't directly provide a way to write system proxy. In order to archive that, we may have to use Packet Tunnel Provider in destination IP mode and create a local VPN server to loop back the network traffic and do the proxy stuff in that server. In other word, the custom VPN protocol is 'forward directly without encryption'. This approach looks viable as we see some of the network analysis tools use this approach, but still I'd like to ask is this against App Store Review Guidelines?
If the above approach with Network Extension is not against App Store Review Guidelines, I have a further question that, what is the NEProxySettings of NETunnelNetworkSettings for? Is it the proxy which proxies the VPN traffic (in order to hide source IP from VPN provider) or it is the proxy to use after network traffic goes into the virtual private network?
If none of the above is considered recommended, what is the recommended way to programmatically set proxy on WKWebView on an unmanaged device (regardless of where the proxy runs, web-view/app/system)?
The passkey authentication dialog appears, and after unlocking with Touch ID, the dialog closes without any notification of success or failure.
This issue occurs with high frequency.
access to the https://passkeys-demo.appspot.com/
register account and create passkey.
logoff
access to the url again
you can see the passkey dialog
unlock device then the dialog disappears
nothing happens
reload the page
proceed 5) to 6)
nothing happens or success webauthn.
Topic:
Safari & Web
SubTopic:
General
Tags:
WebKit JS
WebKit
Safari and Web
Passkeys in iCloud Keychain
Since iOS 18.1 launched as a beta, we've been getting reports from end users on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max specifically. They're reporting that our WebView is unable to load our local HTML content. I'm curious if anyone else has had their app or users run into this issue?
So far I've tried installing the most recent XCode Beta 16B5014f and installed an 18.1 emulator, but our app worked fine. It's also working fine on all my real devices, but we don't have a 15 Pro to test on. I'm curious if this is related to the processor on these devices and how they are intended to support Apple's new AI coming in 18.1.
I'm a web developer of WebRTC based web app for video and audio calls. After updating to iOS 26.1 beta I noticed, that my app can't use microphone anymore.
When I'm calling to getUserMedia with audio set to true, Safari returns error "No AVAudioSessionCaptureDevice device".
Other WebRTC demo apps also can't access microphone on this firmware.
And maybe it's connected somehow, but safari can't detect connected AirPods Pro 2 as an input device.
So, this bug brakes any WebRTC app, that uses microphones.
Hi, We are facing a major issue with our application. We are using FolioReaderkit to read epub files. Currently, it's working on the iOS 18.1 device and simulator, but it's not working on the iOS 18.2 and later version devices.
we are facing this error in Folioreaderkit
Safari 18.0.1 on macOS 15.01 doesn't support the Passkey PRF extension during cross-device WebAuthn authentication when using QR code scanning, while it works correctly with iCloud passkeys.
Steps to Reproduce:
Clone and setup:
git clone https://github.com/quocle108/passkey-prf-test
yarn
yarn start
Test iCloud Passkey Flow:
Open http://localhost:3000 in Safari
Open DevTools (Cmd+Option+I)
Click "Register"
Choose "Passkey on iCloud"
Expected console output: PRF supported: true
Test Cross-Device Flow:
Click "Register"
Choose "Phone/Tablet"
Scan QR with mobile device
Expected: PRF supported: true
PRF extension should be supported in cross-device flow, matching iCloud passkey behavior.
Actual: PRF supported: false
Cross-device flow returns empty extension results.
Verify in Chrome
Repeat steps 2-3 in Chrome
Both flows return proper PRF extension results: PRF supported: true
Test Environment:
Browser: Safari 18.1.1 , Chrome 131.0.6778.70
OS: macOS 15.01
Mobile: iOS 18.x / Galaxy Note9 Android 10
Test repo: https://github.com/quocle108/passkey-prf-test
Starting with iOS 26.2, when Safari tabs are set to Bottom or Compact view, some pages are not rendering properly. The error does not occur in Top view.
For some pages, scrolling causes rendering to be very slow, causing the user to experience page breaks and missing parts. If the user waits a few seconds, the missing parts of the page will appear, but the issue will reoccur when scrolling further. We have tested this on all available iOS devices and the issue occurs on all iPhones running iOS 26.2. The issue does not occur on iOS 26.1, and we have not experienced it on devices running iOS 18.
The issue can be reproduced on the following pages with an iPhone running iOS 26.2:
https://fotosakademia.hu/products/course/fotografia-kozephaladoknak-haladoknak
https://oktatas.kurzusguru.hu/products/course/az-online-kurzuskeszites-alapjai
I’m experiencing a crash in WKWebView on iOS 26 Developer Beta 5 and Beta 6 with the following exception:
CALayer position contains NaN: [nan 65]
The crash occurs when the following CSS properties are applied to content displayed in WKWebView:
-webkit-user-select: none;
-webkit-touch-callout: none;
This issue happens consistently whenever these styles are set, leading to the crash inside WKWebView.
Is this a known bug in the current iOS 26 betas, or is there a recommended workaround?
The crash is specific to iOS 26.2 WKScriptMessageHandler delegate func userContentController(_ userContentController: WKUserContentController, didReceive message: WKScriptMessage)
Name attribute is accessible but WKScriptMessage body attribute causes crash
The object seems to be not accessible
I'm working on a web browser App that's distributed via the App Store. This app renders web pages using WKWebView.
Our users are requesting a way for us to allow them to play videos in Picture in Picture. After some investigation, we noticed that in order to allow PiP videos in our browser in the sandboxed environment, we need to add the com.apple.PIPAgent entitlement under the com.apple.security.temporary-exception.mach-lookup.global-name option.
We tried to submit our app with this entitlement, but unfortunately, we were rejected:
Guideline 2.4.50) - Performance
We've determined that one or more temporary entitlement exceptions requested for this app are not appropriate and will not be granted:
com.apple.security.temporary-exception.mach-lookup.global-name
com.apple.P|PAgent
We would like to have access to this entitlement so we can offer PiP to our users.
We already created a radar about this as well: FB13814428
Additionally, we have another radar (FB13557716) regarding allowing the usage of a private flag _allowsPictureInPictureMediaPlayback, which would also be required to enable us to use PiP.
Is there any way in which we can currently enable PiP? Would opening a TSI help here?
From a mail app or similar, when opening a webpage in Safari as an external browser, JavaScript on the webpage stops running if Safari goes into the background. Is there a way to prevent this from happening?
Sample code for the counter:
Behavior: Upon returning from the background, the counter continues for about 7-8 seconds but does not progress further.
For example, if Safari is kept in the background for about 20 seconds and then brought back, the counter stops at around 7-8 seconds and only resumes counting after returning to the foreground.
Expectation: The counter should continue running even if Safari goes into the background.
使用direct distribution进行分发时,safari web extension 在safari setting 中显示没有权限读取、修改或传输任何网页的内容。
但是我在看公证日志显示插件是正常的公证的
这导致safari extension 无法使用。
公证日志
https://www.coupert.com/img/2025-04-10/notarization-log.json
I am encountering an intermittent issue with WKWebView in my iOS app. The problem occurs infrequently, but when it does, the WKWebView consistently displays a white screen and remains in this state until the app is forcefully terminated and relaunched.
To provide more context, here are the key characteristics of the issue:
The white screen problem occurs sporadically and is not easily reproducible.
The WKWebView remains unresponsive despite attempts to interact with it.
Reloading the webpage or navigating to a different URL does not resolve the white screen issue.
The problem persists until the app is terminated and relaunched.
This issue is specific to the WKWebView; other components of the app function correctly.
The WKWebView renders normally, and the main document synchronously loads resources both offline and online without any issues. The bridge and JavaScript execution also work as expected.
However, when interacting with the WKWebView, it becomes unresponsive to user clicks, and the web inspector fails to respond. Additionally, asynchronous network requests also do not receive any response.
The problem occurs exclusively on HTTPS pages, whereas HTTP pages load without any issues. Other components, such as workers, function correctly.
addUserScript injection during WKWebView creation is effective, and evaluateJavaScript during the page loading process works as expected. However, when the document becomes unresponsive, executing evaluateJavaScript only triggers the callback after the WKWebView is destroyed.
I have discovered a reliable method to reproduce the white screen issue in WKWebView. This method involves the following steps and conditions:
Create a WKWebView instance.
Load an HTML page using the loadRequest method(https url request).
Before the WKWebView is attached to the UI (not yet visible to the user), call the evaluateJavaScript function.
This issue has occurred in almost all iOS versions, including the latest iOS 17.x version.