Apple Store - rejecting new apps using UIWebView; Will this impact my existing app and future releases?

Issue

I have an app up on the apple store written with Ionic v1, Cordova, and AngularJS. It's been up there for a few years now. We are planning a few more releases in the upcoming months. I got this email from the Ionic Team:

Hi Aubrey,

In just over one week’s time, Apple will begin rejecting new apps using UIWebView. We wanted to reach out with details on how to update your Ionic apps.

If you receive an email from Apple after uploading an app binary to the App Store, you’ll need to update the app. The email reads something like this:

We identified one or more issues with a recent delivery for your app, [App Name & version number]. Your delivery was successful, but you may wish to correct the following issues in your next delivery:

ITMS-90809: Deprecated API Usage – Apple will stop accepting submissions of apps that use UIWebView APIs. See https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uiwebview for more information.

After you’ve corrected the issues, you can use Xcode or Application Loader to upload a new binary to App Store Connect.

You can find complete details including upgrade instructions on the Ionic blog, but here’s the summary:

Using Cordova? Update to cordova-ios 5.1.0 and above, install the WKWebView plugin, and update each Cordova plugin to the latest version.
Using Capacitor? Update to the latest version then sync the project.
Submit a new version of your app before the deadline to ensure that it has been updated correctly.
If you're an Ionic Enterprise customer, your Customer Success Manager should already be in touch. If you're not a customer and would like to learn more about Enterprise Support options, please reach out here for extra assistance. Our Enterprise Support team is available and able to help. We've already helped a number of our customers navigate this change quickly & easily.

Cheers,

The Ionic Team

The email says that they will reject new apps of they are using UIWebView.

Does this also mean that my future releases will be impacted? Will my next release of an existing app be rejected for using UIWebView?

Solution

This link provides the answer to both of your questions.

The bottom line: It’s time to update your apps! Apple will only accept submissions of Ionic-based iOS apps that contain references to UIWebView until April 2020 (new apps) and December 2020 (existing apps). To meet the new requirement, simply update to the latest version of Capacitor. If you’re using Cordova, see below. - From link provided!

Answered By - Stephen Romero