Using auth0 in a iOS "Home Screen" web app

What’s the latest and greatest to be able to use Auth0 to authenticate users on an iOS web app added to the Home Screen.

If it’s still not possible, with the SDKs provided by Auth0, what other hacks are people doing to overcome this?

Hey there @peterbengtsson, this is possible and I’ve linked another solution a community user has found for placing an icon on the homescreen below as well as our latest documentation on native IOS development. If by chance I misunderstood the question or I can be of any additional help please let me know!

https://auth0.com/docs/quickstart/native/ios-swift/00-login

https://auth0.com/docs/libraries/auth0-swift

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@James.Morrison o me, an “iOS web app” is a web page that you open in iOS Safari and once loaded you click the little share icon and select “Add to Home screen”. Then, go and click that newly added icon on your home screen. So no native iOS or Swift.

Also, upon reading Link Button on Homescreen on iPhone does not work it seems to not be a solution. They use the page you redirected to from Auth0 as the URL to suggest to add to the Home screen. That URL will only make sense for about 2 hours then it doesn’t work any more.

As an example, if you have an iPhone try adding https://workon.app to the Home screen and the open it and click the “Authentication” link in the footer. Takes you out of the app. Always.

Hey @peterbengtsson, after working with our support team we were able to get confirmation that at this time that isn’t possible. This is a result of it being based as a web app which in turn needs to reach out via the browser to Auth0 for authentication and then return back. This is a result of the Universal login system however you have options such as the Custom Domain but it does require a paid subscription. Please let me know if this helps you in your quest. Thanks!

the Custom Domain but it does require a paid subscription. Please let me know if this helps you in your quest. Thanks!

Yes please tell me more!

As @justin dives into in this Auth0 Blog article on custom domains:

By using a custom domain for your authentication page, you keep your users interacting with you within the context of your brand, which helps you build brand loyalty. Users are not redirected to a third-party site that breaks the branding context. This prevents users from becoming confused about whether or not they are still running a transaction or operation with you.

As the article progresses he steps through how to setup a custom domain. I would give it a look and let me know if you have any additional questions. Thanks!

Hi @peterbengtsson, I was hoping to follow up to see if you had any further questions on this subject or if all is well? We are always here to help if you need anything!

Hey, I just want to say that there is a solution to this as outlined in a related issue with Firebase.

Specifically, using Google’s PWACompat library to keep the app from exiting to Safari during authentication.

I’ll add that using any connections with two-factor authentication that normally require switching to another app for verification will still break the authentication process, even with this fix. In those cases you might want to instruct your users to use alternate 2FA notifications (e.g. text messages) that are visible on their iOS device without exiting the web app.

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Thanks for sharing that @mike.thibault!

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