ITMS-90809: Deprecated API Usage -- Apple will stop accepting submissions of apps that use UIWebView APIs

Yesterday, I uploaded my App to TestFlight and after a while Apple sent me this warning:

> 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.

The thing is that I don't use UIWebView in my app so I tried to update my pods but still the same thing.By the way this is my 3rd build on TestFlight and this is the first time apple sends me this. Any ideas?

Update

These are my pods:

pod 'Firebase/Core'
pod 'Firebase/Firestore'
pod 'Firebase/MLVision'
pod 'Firebase/MLVisionTextModel'
pod 'SVProgressHUD'
pod 'SPPermission/Camera'
pod 'SPPermission/PhotoLibrary'
pod 'Mantis'
pod 'SwiftKeychainWrapper'
pod 'SwiftyOnboard'
pod 'Fabric'
pod 'Crashlytics'

Update 2

Seems like I found the frameworks with the issue.

Binary file ./Pods/FirebaseMLCommon/Frameworks/FirebaseMLCommon.framework/FirebaseMLCommon matches
Binary file ./Pods/Crashlytics/iOS/Crashlytics.framework/Crashlytics matches
Binary file ./Pods/GoogleMobileVision/Detector/Frameworks/GoogleMobileVision.framework/GoogleMobileVision matches

So now do I have to wait for google to fix them and update my pods?

Check if you use in your code the UIWebView class; if yes replace your implementation with WKWebView, else need check your Pods.

Go with terminal into your project folder and execute the command: grep -r "UIWebView" .

All matched pod must be updated. Now I'm stuck because I found UIWebView into Google AdMob (version 7.49.0) and I'm waiting a new version from Google.

You can examine each of the frameworks in the archived app to see if any of them refer to UIWebView. From the command line, cd to the archived app, e.g.:

cd ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives/<date>/myapp.xcarchive/Products/Applications/myapp.app

Once there, use the nm command to dump the symbols of your app and each of the app's frameworks:

nm myapp | grep UIWeb
for framework in Frameworks/*.framework; do
  fname=$(basename $framework .framework)
  echo $fname
  nm $framework/$fname | grep UIWeb
done

This will at least tell you which framework is the culprit.

I will answer my own question as I have news about this email. Google told me that there are several tickets about this issue and they are going to resolve this as soon as possible. Also today my app has been approved for the AppStore so it seems to be just a warning for the time being.

For project with cocoapods:

grep -r UIWebView Pods/ 

WKWebView is the replacement for UIWebView. If you don't have UIWebView usage in your code than by executing the below terminal command you can easily get to know that which library is still using UIWebView reference (don't miss the . (dot)).

From the command line, cd to the archived app, e.g

cd ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Archives/<date>/myapp.xcarchive/Products/Applications/myapp.app

And then Run

grep -r UIWebView

OR call

 grep -r UIWebView /Path/To/Project/*

This will give you Output for framework match

./<ANY>.framework/Headers/ANY.h:#define ANYUseUIWebView ANY_NAME_PASTE(ANY_PREFIX_NAME, ANYUseUIWebView)

Output for library match

Binary file ./<FRAMEWORK-NAME>.framework/<LIB-FILE>.a matches

Update these Libraries

pod update

also check out this Medium Article

brew install ripgrep 
cd Pods
rg UIWebView

YoutubePlayer-in-WKWebView/README.md
10:- using WKWebView instead of UIWebView.

TTTAttributedLabel/TTTAttributedLabel/TTTAttributedLabel.h
166: to emulate the link detection behaviour of UIWebView.

TwitterKit/iOS/TwitterKit.framework/Headers/Twitter.h
28:     * either UIWebView or SFSafariViewController depending on iOS

TwitterKit/iOS/TwitterKit.framework/Headers/TWTRTweet.h
84: *  Suitable for loading in a `UIWebView`, `WKWebView` or passing to Safari:

In order to find where you are using a UIWebView, Go to your project root in terminal and use this command

grep -r -F "UIWebView" .

> The '.' is very important.

It tells the system to search the string "UIWebView" in the current folder and subfolders. This will search the cocoapods libraries also

I solved this issue by updating ionic webview plugin and adding preferences in config.

I followed following steps:

1.cordova plugin rm cordova-plugin-ionic-webview

2.cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-ionic-webview@latest

3.Added preferences in config file under ios platform :

<preference name="WKWebViewOnly" value="true" />
    <feature name="CDVWKWebViewEngine">
        <param name="ios-package" value="CDVWKWebViewEngine" />
    </feature>
<preference name="CordovaWebViewEngine" value="CDVWKWebViewEngine" />

After following these steps my app is submitted and later approved in review.

Use latest firebase version

https://firebase.google.com/support/release-notes/ios

Version 6.8.1 : Removed references to UIWebViewDelegate to comply with App Store Submission warning (#3722).

If you are building with Unity 3D, this is a know-issue (acknowledged in changelogs), it's currently fixed for version 2019.3 (being tested and backported).

Check the ticket here https://unity3d.com/unity/whats-new/2019.2.4

It was a long process, but I managed to solve the above mentioned issue. Let me walk you through the process and share my findings. First things first, its not necessary what worked for me will work for you. You juts need to try every possible solution put out there. I followed some of the solutions posted in various threads. (Linked below).

1. When I was on RN 0.59, I found these files comment mentioned here. Didn't work

2. I upgraded to RN 0.61, I didn't find these files. I tried uploading the app but still got the warning. Didn't work

3. I updated the following libraries to their latest versions. Didn't work react-native-device-info react-native-view

4. I tried this grep command mentioned here. There were certain libraries that showed up i.e react-native-fbsdk, react-native-google-sign, react-native-gesture-handler. So I upgraded all of them and uploaded the build but still got the warning. Didn't work

5. The last resort to update all the libraries, which i know was going to take a lot of time. So my first guess was to update 'react-native-firebase' to latest v6 version issue. But it had some issues with Notification not being on so I couldn't use it. Also they mentioned that their v.5.5.6 is clean and doesn't have any UIWebViewIssues given you update your iOS sdk to 6.12.+ More info here. So this moved me to my second guess which in my case was 'react-native-ux-cam'. Luckily they updated their library to remove all the references of UIWebView. I updated to the lastest version and BOOM, the issue was solved. I submitted my app to Apple and no warnings so far. More info here Worked 

Hope this helps someone.

Backstory

On my ReactJS + Cordova project I uploaded an app to the app store and it was successful. Shortly after I received an email citing ITMS-90809: Deprecated API Usage. After hours (over days) of research and multiple failed uploads I connected with Apple using a paid developer token ($50); they responded basically saying "check your node modules folder" and refunded my token because they weren't going to assist me with this extremely ambiguous error.

Previous Attempts

• Updated cordova to use the wkwebview-engine and wkwebviewxhrfix plugins
• Using grep -r on archives, ios source, and entire project source, I found a LOT of notes but nothing that really helped.
• updated all npm packages
• cleaned and updated all cocoapod pods

Final Attempt

After removing all "extra" cordova plugins, npm packages, and pods I was left with a shell of an application but still facing the apple rejection. using grep -r again there was still a reference to "facebook" which lead me to an old copy of the FBSDK.

Solution

FBSDK had been manually added to target > Build Phases > Link Binary With Libraries. There was also an associated cordovaFacebook.m in target > Build Phases > Compile Sources. After removing these old, un-maintained files I was able to upload to itunes connect without at issue.

In my case, Firebase/Auth was using deprecated UIWebView API and the version I was using was an older one. So I just updated the Firebase/Auth pod using the command,

pod update 'Firebase/Auth'

Note: To figure out the frameworks which are using this api, just search "UIWebView" (cmd+shift+F)

FB Sdk above Version 7.16.1 have this issue. Actually it have no files in framework folder.

This error remove when you build it using FBSDK v7.16.1, but Appstore got rejected the app, because of depreciated api usage(UIWebView).

I resolve it by using FBSDK v7.19.2.

1. When you build the project for xcode it shows the mention error, shareKit not found. I resolve it by copy the facebookSDK folder from the framework folder of my previous build(with fbsdk v7.16.1), into the same location of the current xcode folder(frameworks/FacebookSDK....)

2. Then, open your xcode project, add files from location: Frameworks/FacebookSDK/Plugins/IOS/ (sharekit, corekit, loginkit) into Frameworks in Xcode.

3. Add "$(PROJECT_DIR)/Frameworks/FacebookSDK/Plugins/iOS" into Framework Search Paths into build settings at Xcode.

4. Open Project into Terminal: type "grep -r "UIWebView" ." , if this shows any match with UIWebView remove it by opening the file.

5. If it shows match in a binary file of FBSDKCoreKit. Open the file in TextEdit at MAC and Find and Replace all "UIWebView" to "WKWebView"

6. Save it and again add it into Frameworks at Xcode. Build and push to appstore.

100% Working Solution #ionic #wkwebview #webview

Here Webview is deprecated by Apple so replace with WKWebview.

Follow few simple steps for solve this issue:-

1.Open Terminal and go to project path 
2.cordova plugin rm cordova-plugin-ionic-webview
3.cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-ionic-webview@latest
4.open config.xml file and put below code inside <platform name="ios"> section.
 
   <preference name="WKWebViewOnly" value="true" />
   <feature name="CDVWKWebViewEngine">
      <param name="ios-package" value="CDVWKWebViewEngine" />
   </feature>
   <preference name="CordovaWebViewEngine" value="CDVWKWebViewEngine" />

after following all this step again build using "ionic cordova build ios" command and submit it to again in appstore.

When you build an Ionic app, you can choose between Cordova or Capacitor to deploy a native mobile version. While more recent versions use WKWebView automatically, Cordova still uses UIWebView APIs outright or contain references to them (Capacitor has been updated to remove these references – see below).

Upon app submission, Apple searches the app’s code for the “UIWebView” string then generates a submission warning if found. Therefore, a future release of cordova-ios (the Cordova iOS library) will be required to ensure that all references to UIWebView APIs removed.

another thought. I don't know if it makes sense or is technically possible.

Move UIWebView to a plugin as well and make cordova-ios use this or some of the WKWebView plugins. cordova-ios just contains the code to load a webview. By default the next version should load the Apache WKWebViewEngine (Plugin installed by default on new apps, Migration instruction for old apps). Users who need UIWebView, the Ionic one, a fork or others can specify their own one like it is now.

That way no UIWebView would be in cordova-ios and it would still be flexible enough like today.

I faced the same for React native app. Check below things :

1. You are using react-native-webview module rather than importing it directly from react-native(community webview is deprecated as a lean core removal in v0.60 and will be removed in the next stable release). (check here)

2. Please also verify if you are using any third-party libraries which use webview is up to date, If not please ask the library maintainers to upgrade the react-native-webview.

3. you are good to go for the upload, Please add comments if anyone finds some more difficulties.

Check here the breaking changes in v0.60

Another way to get rid of this warning is: start passing useWebKit={true}, that is to say, you are using WKWebView not UIWebView at all. Then you can do the following to solve the problem -- Deprecated API Usage.

1. Remove Libraries/RNCWebView.xcodeproj/RNCUIWebView.h、RNCUIWebView.m、RNCUIWebViewManager.h、RNCUIWebViewManager.m
2. Remove Libraries/React.xcodeproj/React/Views/RCTWebView.h、RCTWebView.m、RCTWebViewManager.h、RCTWebViewManager.m

Now I has already uploaded app.ipa to AppStore successfully without any permission warnings.

<WebView
 style={{flex: 1, backgroundColor: Colors.white}}
 useWebKit={true}
 startInLoadingState={true}
 source={{uri: 'my http url'}}
/>```

If anyone helps I run pod update on terminal and then archive again. That works for me.

For me, scripts didn't help. I had to just manually go through each framework and look at release note, and update them.

I get rid out from this by following below steps-

Step 1:

> Search “UIWebView” in xcode project directory

Step 2:

> Right click (on RCTWebView.m) and select “Reveal In Project Navigator”

Step 3:

> Scroll down and delete the following four files only:

 1. RCTWebView.h
 2. RCTWebView.m
 3. RCTWebViewManager.h
 4. RCTWebViewManager.m

Then clean the project & archive.

N.B: If you use 'react-native-community/react-native-webview' library then update with latest version otherwise it's done.

You should install this Cordova Plugin:

https://github.com/apache/cordova-plugin-wkwebview-engine

Then add <preference name="WKWebViewOnly" value="true" /> in your config.xml, under the iOS section.

Then increase the version and re-upload it.

To update WebView depreceated in ios

This solved my problem successfully

cd platforms/ios grep -r UIWebView Pods/

Open Podfile and add/replace AFNetworking pod as

pod 'AFNetworking', '~> 4.0'

Finally in terminal pod update

As per new Apple policies, the new/old apps that use UIWebView are no longer accepted. The best solution is to use WKWebView for improved security. The issue is there because of some deprecated old plugins like GoogleAd or GoogleVR SDK. If you want a quick solution then replace the UIWebView with WKWebView framework.

In Terminal, run this command in your iOS project folder:

grep -r "UIWebView"

Then you will find the list of all the files that use UIWebview. Update whatever files to use WKWebView (Or replaced them with WKWebView using gVim). If your pod libraries are showing that it has UIWebView. Update the pods files as well.

In my case, the unsupported plugin was GVR SDK and steps to resolve are:

Step1: Remove UIWebView:

1. Get vim for mac.
2. List item In Vim open {Path to your build folder} \Pods\GVRSDK\Libraries\libGVRSDK.a
3. Click ESC
4. Type ":"
5. Paste "%s/UIWebView/WKWebView/g"
6. Click enter

Step 2: Adding Frameworks to Your Xcode Project

1. Select the project file from the project navigator on the left side of the project window.
2. Select the target for where you want to add frameworks in the project settings editor.
3. Select the “Build Phases” tab, and click the small triangle next to “Link Binary With Libraries” to view all of the frameworks in your application.
4. To Add frameworks, click the “+” below the list of frameworks.
5. Select WebKit.framework