iOS

Submitting to the iOS App Store

Background Location

Crowd Connected’s Colocator service fundamentally requires access to location while the app is in background / closed. Apple’s guidelines require that this provides benefit directly to the app user. Providing footfall analytics alone is therefore not a reason Apple accept for collecting location data in the background. However, providing highly relevant push notifications based on accurate geofencing is a reason Apple do accept. Our system provides all customers of Engage, Insight and Analytics modules with emergency geo-targeted messaging that increases safety in crowded places. Therefore for any customers of this product suite, a suitable reason for using background location might be:

Background location is used to accurately determine the user's position. This information allows the app to target highly relevant push notifications, including emergency and public safety messaging relevant to the venue / event.

However the precise reason will of course depend on exactly how the app is using the colocator platform.

We also recomened preemptively providing answers to common questions Apple asks. These can be found in the Example Notes Section

Example Note Section

This app includes Crowd Connected’s Colocator SDK, which fundamentally requires access to location while the app is in background/closed

Background location is used to accurately determine the user's position. This information allows the app to target highly relevant push notifications, including emergency and public safety messaging relevant to the venue/event.

We are advised by the SDK vendor that Apple will often have additional questions regarding the SDK, and so pre-emptively provide answers to some potential questions here:

  1. How does your app utilize background bluetooth-central, bluetooth-peripheral functionalities?

These methods are referenced by the Crowd Connected Colocator iOS SDK framework, which is embedded in the app. However, due to the manner in which the App uses the Crowd Connected Colocator iOS SDK, these methods are never actually called.

  1. Does this app detect startMonitoringForRegion:, startRangingBeaconsInRegion:, or both?

Both methods are used by the embedded Crowd Connected Colocator iOS SDK framework to more accurately determine the user's current location both indoors and out, minimising the dependency on GPS. These methods are not used continually. Actual calls to these methods are determined dynamically by the Crowd Connected Colocator system so they are only used in environments where they will be beneficial.

  1. What is the user experience when the app detects the presence of a beacon?

The Crowd Connected Colocator iOS SDK uses the presence of beacons to provide accurate location information. This information allows the app to target highly relevant push notifications, including emergency and safety messaging relevant to the venue/event.

  1. What features in this app use background location?

Background location is used to accurately determine the user's current position. This information allows the app to target highly relevant push notifications, including emergency and safety messaging relevant to the venue/event.

  1. If this app uses 3rd party SDKs for iBeacons, please provide links to their documentation showing that background location is required for it to function.

You can find the Crowd Connected Colocator iOS SDK and its indoor positioning feature documentation at https://developers.colocator.net/