Dynamic iBeacons and Manual Input of UUIDs

Question

I'm working on an app that retrieves iBeacon UUIDs from a backend server, that means there are no hard-coded UUIDs in the app and these IDs are constantly changing. UUIDs can be updated on the backend and the app will receive a new set of UUIDs to monitor for.

Based on this post here, Apple is rejecting apps that support manual input of UUIDs and I'm not sure if my app is going to make it to the App store.

I would like to hear your feedback if you've gone through this path or have worked on a similar concept and made it through the review process.

Answer 1

I have also had an app rejected for allowing manual input of ProximityUUIDs. My understanding of Apple's position is that this applies only to transmitting as a beacon, and that it is allowed to have manual user input of ProximityUUIDs for detection purposes. The reason they don't want you to transmit with a manually entered ProximityUUIDs is because it allows creation of an easy hacker tool for "spoofing" other folks' beacons.

That said, your use case is different still, because you are getting the ProximityUUIDs from a server, not directly from user input. I have several apps in the AppStore that do exactly this, and it is a common practice, so I don't anticipate it will be a problem for you.

Answer 2

Interesting discussion on UUIDs. Given the ibeacon protocol requires you to know the UUIDs, having to add them to your app in advance is a major limitation. How does one request an official UUID from Apple David, your company "Radius" makes beacons, is the UUID it ships them configured with an "officially" agreed one you setup with Apple?