Did you know Apple allows developers to distribute unlisted apps, otherwise known as secret apps, through the App Store. These hidden apps can benefit businesses and educational institutions by stop anyone getting access to their app while still being able to secretly host them on the App Store.
Let’s find out more about unlisted apps and how they work.
What Are Unlisted Apps?
Unlisted apps are apps that you can download via the App Store but, unlike listed apps (the normal apps you come across and use normally), you can’t find them by searching the App Store. Instead, you have to use a special link to view and download unlisted apps.
Without the link, no one can find or use these apps. This is great for apps that are only designed to be accessed and used by limited users, making unlisted apps ideal for specific organizations, special events, research studies, and other similar use cases. They might be used by students, employees, franchisees, and the like.
Why Do Organizations Use Secret Apps?
Businesses and educational institutions use unlisted apps as a way to distribute software to employees, students, or business partners without making them available to everyone else as well. Businesses can use unlisted apps to distribute information to internal staff, or to house sales tools.
For example, insurance companies can develop an app for brokers to use as a sales tool when selling insurance directly to a potential client, thereby cutting down on the amount of paperwork used. It makes sense why a company wouldn’t want to make that app available for the general public.
You might have come across an unlisted app at a special event, like at an exhibition, conference, or job fair. Someone at that event might have used a special company app to demonstrate something to you on a tablet.
Educational institutions can use unlisted apps to distribute course material and as a means to communicate with students around their courses. This would cut down on students having to connect to the internet to download course material and it would reduce the amount of emails they receive, as everything would be housed under one umbrella.
How to Find and Download an Unlisted App
If you need to use an unlisted app, you’ll have to get the link to download it. If you’re a student, your educational institution can share it with you. If you’re an employee, your employer can provide you with the link. If you’re a franchise owner, the franchiser should make it available to you.
The point is that, due to the exclusivity of unlisted apps, you can only access them through the link given by Apple to the developer. The developer or app owner will then decide who can have access to the secret app and give out the link accordingly.
After you use the link, the App Store will open on the app description and it’ll look just like a normal app, or the app will start downloading straight away. However, if you leave that page, you’ll need to use the link to find it again.
What to Do if You Can’t Download a Secret App
If you’ve used the link but can’t download a secret, or unlisted, app on your iPhone, you should try all the usual troubleshooting steps that you’d take for a normal app. This might include restarting your device or signing into the app store again. If none of those troubleshooting steps work, it’s worth reaching out to the app developer or app owner to see if they can offer any more help as there may be a problem with the app itself.