Intro to apps and books licenses in Apple Business
Overview
The App Store and Apple Books both feature thousands of apps and Apple Business gives your organization a simple way to get licenses for and manage these apps in the App Store. Using device management, you can install and update apps remotely, even if the App Store app is removed from the device.
Note: Depending on your local tax requirements, you may be required to provide tax information when you initially set up your organization to get licenses.
What type of apps and books can I distribute?
You can distribute the following types of apps and books:
Free App Store apps: You can get as many licenses for free apps from the App Store that you need, you don’t have to specify a specific number of each app.
Paid App Store apps: You can get as many licenses for paid App Store apps as you need. If you need more, you can always get additional licenses.
Paid app subscriptions from the App Store: You can subscribe to App Store apps for a specific period of time, for example, one month or one year.
Custom Apps: Custom Apps are apps developed to meet your organization’s specific business needs. The apps are developed either by you or by an external developer.
Unlisted App Store apps: Unlisted apps are apps that are organization specific—for example, one that’s used as an employee resource or sales tool, or developed for a special event or for a research study. These apps are discoverable only with a direct link that the user receives.
Books from the Book Store: Books can be distributed only to users, not devices, and they can’t be revoked and reassigned.
EPUBs and PDFs: EPUB books and PDFs have the same properties as other managed documents. You can update them with newer versions as needed, share them only with other managed apps, or store them using a Managed Apple Account.
Packages that contain Mac apps: Packages can contain a Mac app and any associated files, such as scripts or helper apps.
Note: While in-app purchases aren’t supported as standalone content that can be bought and distributed with Apps and Books, users can make and restore in-app purchases from within Apps and Books-assigned apps assigned to them.
How do I distribute apps?
Besides getting licenses for apps, you can also revoke and reassign apps to different devices and users. In this way, you always retain full ownership and control of apps your organization got from the App Store. You can assign the apps you bought through Apple Business to any devices or users in any country or region where those apps are available from that organizational unit’s App Store. (The App Store Country or Region is determined by the address submitted when your organization signs up for Apple Business. For example, if your organization signed up with an address in the United States, the App Store locale is set to United States.)
App distribution works best when the app is assigned before devices are configured or given to users. After the user receives the device and completes the Setup Assistant, the built-in device management automatically assigns app licenses to Managed Apple Accounts. To alleviate bandwidth saturation during the initial mass deployment, consider distributing only the apps necessary for the first day of deployment, and then make additional apps available to users for download over time. If the device is supervised, apps are installed silently.
Developers may also offer a separate version of their app (sometimes as a Custom App) for organizations that need to deploy apps at scale. See What are Custom Apps.
Note: While in-app purchases aren’t supported as standalone content that can be bought and distributed with Apps and Books, users can make and restore in-app purchases from within Apps and Books-assigned apps assigned to them.
How do I distribute Apple Books?
Apple Books bought through Apple Business can be distributed only to users, not devices. They can’t be revoked and reassigned. When books are assigned to users, those books follow the same country and region download restrictions as apps.
What happens if I assign apps to a device through device management?
Apps that are assigned to a device or user through a device management solution, including Apple Business, may be automatically removed when a user unenrolls the device from device management.
In addition, if a user restores apps through a backup from the Finder or iCloud, apps assigned through a device management service aren’t automatically reinstalled.
How do I get an app subscription?
You can get an app subscription from the App Store section of Apple School Manager. You search for and find the app, then select the subscription tier you want. You can choose from different plans. The built-in device management service in Apple Business supports assigning app subscriptions. Review your third-party device management service’s documentation to see if they support managing app subscriptions.
What are Custom Apps?
Custom Apps are apps developed to meet your organization’s specific business needs. The apps are developed either by you or by an external developer. They’re distributed privately and securely to members of your organization through Apple Business. Your developers submit Custom Apps through App Store Connect and assign the apps to your Apple Business account. After the apps are approved, they’re available to your organization, so that only you can view and access them from Apps and Books. Custom Apps can also have subscriptions.
Custom Apps allow you to leverage the scale and ease of use of the App Store while also providing:
Security features for sensitive or private organization data
A tailored look and feel, such as your organization logo or branding
Unique features for users within your organization
Specific functionality for a business process or workflow
Custom features for partners, clients, dealers, or franchises
Special configuration for IT environments
Important information about Custom Apps
App review: Each Custom App, as well as each updated version submitted for custom distribution, goes through the app review process with Apple. The same app review guidelines for App Store apps apply to Custom Apps. The review process typically takes 1–2 days. See the App Review website on the Apple Developer website.
App security: If your app contains sensitive business data, include an authentication mechanism within the app. Apple highly recommends using best practices for in-app authentication and encryption. See the Security Framework article on the Apple Developer website.
App verification: To verify that Custom Apps meet the review guidelines, Apple needs to sign in and operate the app. Work with your developer or business partner to determine how to meet this requirement with appropriate handling of proprietary or sensitive data. To protect confidentiality for the purposes of app review, provide generic test accounts or sanitized sample data.
Distribution: Custom Apps are distributed privately within the Apps section of Apple Business. IT teams can leverage the same app distribution model as App Store apps, including device-based assignments and managed app capabilities. Developers designate organizations that are allowed to access the app and can privately distribute it to a specific organization. If you’re supporting a global user base, it’s important to mark the app as globally available when submitting through App Store Connect.