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

[Mouse Lin]

Is the Admob iOS SDK still using UIWebView?

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi there,

Thank you for reporting this to us. I will be raising your concern to our Engineering Team so they could provide better insights on this. I'll get back to you as soon as I receive any feedback from them.
 
Regards,
Mark Albios
Mobile Ads SDK Team

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[Ken Nguyen]

I'm using SDK version 7.49.0 which is containing UIWebView. Please see attachment below

This issue is urgent due to this one

TMS-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. #39470

Please help review and update.

Thanks,

[William Nardo]

Same here! I can't upload my last build because Apple say me to remove UIWebView usages

[Andreas Krämling]

Would be great, to post a date, when an update/work around is available. 

Regards

Andreas

[Gilroy Kilroy]

I just got this too. AppLovin also seems to be an offender and I contacted them too.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Gilroy,

Thank you for raising this to us. We're already aware on this issue and had been escalated to our Engineering Team. I will also relay this information with the Team for further investigation. I'll update this thread once I receive any feedback from them.

Regards,
Mark Albios
Mobile Ads SDK Team

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[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi everyone,

We will look into this issue, but for now you can set a key and value in your info.plist to use WKWebView instead of UIWebView.

Key: gad_preferred_webview 

Value: wkwebview 

Thanks.

Jon

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[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Roman,

Hope you're doing great.

This is Mark, Deepika's colleague. We have received a response from our Engineering Team on this thread. While they're currently looking at the issue, you can set a key and value in your info.plist to use WKWebView instead of UIWebView.

Key: gad_preferred_webview 
Value: wkwebview 

Thanks,

Mark Albios
Mobile Ads SDK Team

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[michael/.]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for the information.

Initially I added the key information to the original info.plist (not the one in the Pods folder)

Key: gad_preferred_webview 

Value: wkwebview 

The result was that a test ad was displayed in iOS simulator, followed by the following message being repeated many times:

2019-09-05 11:50:46.951083+1000 APP NAME[40778:389577] Could not signal service com.apple.WebKit.WebContent: 113: Could not find specified service

After deleting the key, the error went away.

Adding the key to the info.plist inside the Pod folder seems to work ok. (same as not having it at all)

I can see what the general intent of the key is, but is it likely to resolve the issue with he WKWebView due to ITMS-90809: Deprecated API Usage error?

Or is the ultimate fix with an update from the Engineering team?

Thanks so much for any help!

[Roman Matovsky]

Thank you. But it doesn't work... Still same Email from Apple...

[michael/.]

Hi Jon, Mark or Dipeeka,

Any chance of an update to this matter?

The "stand by" post from Jon doesn't seem to clear the issue from an app store approval position.

I think this is going to be an increasingly bigger problem as so many apps will be declined due to the UIWebView usage error.

Thanks,

Michael

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Michael,

Please be informed that our Engineering Team is actively working on a solution to address this API usage warning. In the meantime, could you please confirm that if this issue is preventing you from submitting your app update, or if it is just a warning for future submissions?

Regards,

Mark Albios
Mobile Ads SDK Team

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[michael/.]

Hi Mark, 

Thanks for your reply.

I can absolutely confirm that the problem is preventing the app from being approved. There is a big red cross over the icon of the binary after submitting it and it can't be further submitted for approval.

The app is a new app, but the issue also affects app updates to existing ones.

I agree though, that the email from apple suggests it is going to affect future submissions, but it in fact does affect current ones. At the start it mentions, "Will stop accepting" but by the end, it states... After you’ve corrected the issues, you can use Xcode or Application Loader to upload a new binary to App Store Connect.

FOr reference, here's the email:

We identified one or more issues with a recent delivery for your app, "App Name" 1.0 (1). 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.

Thanks,

Michael

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Michael,

Thank you for confirming that this UIWebView issue not only prevents the newly apps from being approved, but also affects app updates for existing ones.

I'll relay this additional information to our Engineering Team as well. Rest assured that they're doing their best to address this issue.

Regards,
Mark Albios
Mobile Ads SDK Team

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[Damien]

Hi,

Using Google-Mobile-Ads-SDK (7.49.0)

Any feedbacks on this blocking issue which prevents completely from being accepted by Apple when submitting the app?

$ grep -r "UIWeb" .

Binary file ./Pods/Google-Mobile-Ads-SDK/Frameworks/GoogleMobileAdsFramework-Current/GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds matches

My guess is that any reference found by the Apple robot in the framework automatically fire the ITMS-90809 issue and prevent submission (app stays "in review" forever)

Thanks a lot

Damien

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Damien,

I'm Mark's colleague and thank you for providing additional input. Rest assured that the Engineering team is actively working on this. I'll relay this information to them and get back to you the soonest they provide their feedback.

Regards,
Teejay Pimentel

[Gilroy Kilroy]

How's the resolution of this issue coming? Its been over 2 weeks since first reported. It is holding up my (and every else's) submissions.

[Mentor Neto]

Hi Gilroy

I have an app currently in app store with three different methods to show vídeos:

WKWebView

YTPlayerView

GADMediaView

I’m working on the iOS 13 version.

WKWebView works fine, not crashing or getting deprecated messages (since it is the right option now)

YTPlayerView, based on UIWebView get the deprecated message anf crash when opening UIView.

and GADMediaView works perfectly. No crashes or messages.

You saying that is based on UIWebView and will stop being accepted? 

thanks!

On Sep 16, 2019, 6:23 PM -0300, Gilroy Kilroy <gilroy...@gmail.com>, wrote:

How's the resolution of this issue coming? Its been over 2 weeks since first reported. It is holding up my (and every else's) submissions.

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[Gilroy Kilroy]

Apple is sending out messages to any app that has UIWebView's mentioned in their code (which AdMob does). See the initial messages in this thread. If you were to upload a new version of your app today it would probably be rejected.

[Mentor Neto]

Apple is sending out messages to any app that has UIWebView's mentioned in their code (which AdMob does).

Ok. I know about Apple’s messages but didn’t know AdMob has UIWebView.

Thanks again!

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[Peter Smith]

I just wanted to post that this isn't happening for everyone. I don't receive warnings on upload. My apps pass through review just fine and go live without comment. The last reviewed app was about 4 days ago, and my last upload without warning into waiting for review was today. The apps are using the latest admob 7.49, the latest xcode / iOS 13 and are obj-c/swift . Don't hold back on uploading because of this thread.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Peter,

Thank you for giving an effort, providing this information.

Could you please provide the following details via "Reply privately to author" option so I could raise this to our Engineering team? This would be a big help on our investigation.

• App ID and Ad Unit IDs
• App Store link of your published app

[Peter Smith]

Done. I have sent this info using Reply privately.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Peter,

Thank you for providing the details privately. I'll relay the information to our Engineering team and update this thread for any feedback available.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi everyone, 
We have resolved the warning with the latest version of the SDK, 7.50.0. Thanks. 

 

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[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi everyone, 
The latest version of the SDK 7.50.0, released yesterday, resolves these warnings. Thanks.

Jon

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[Damien Praca]

Hi there,

Just made a quick grep test : 

$ pod update

Update all pods

Updating local specs repositories

Analyzing dependencies

Downloading dependencies

Installing Google-Mobile-Ads-SDK 7.50.0 (was 7.49.0 and source changed to `https://cdn.cocoapods.org/` from `trunk`)

$ grep -r "UIWeb" .

Binary file ./Pods/Google-Mobile-Ads-SDK/Frameworks/GoogleMobileAdsFramework-Current/GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds matches

Is the problem on my side?

Best

[King AX]

The new GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.50.0 

DefaultdeMacBook-Pro:GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.50.0 default$ nm ./GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds | grep "UIWebView" 

00000000000008b8 S l_OBJC_LABEL_PROTOCOL_$_UIWebViewDelegate

0000000000000f38 D l_OBJC_PROTOCOL_$_UIWebViewDelegate

0000000000002510 S l_OBJC_LABEL_PROTOCOL_$_UIWebViewDelegate

0000000000002ed0 D l_OBJC_PROTOCOL_$_UIWebViewDelegate

                 U _OBJC_CLASS_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor

./GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds(GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor_756cbedfcadc00b64a868c185cab1ab0.o):

---------------- t -[GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor .cxx_destruct]

---------------- t -[GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor initWithWebView:]

---------------- t -[GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor injectJavaScriptFromString:]

---------------- t -[GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor jsEnvironment]

---------------- t -[GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor supportBackgroundThread]

---------------- D _OBJC_CLASS_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor

---------------- D _OBJC_IVAR_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor._webView

---------------- D _OBJC_METACLASS_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor

DefaultdeMacBook-Pro:GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.50.0 default$ 

DefaultdeMacBook-Pro:GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.50.0 default$ 

DefaultdeMacBook-Pro:GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.50.0 default$ 

DefaultdeMacBook-Pro:GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.50.0 default$ 

DefaultdeMacBook-Pro:GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.50.0 default$ cd -

/Users/default/Downloads/GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.49.0

The old sdk GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.49.0

DefaultdeMacBook-Pro:GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.49.0 default$ nm ./GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds | grep "UIWebView" 

                 U _GAD_GADUIWebViewDelegateProxy_x86_64_7_49_0

                 U _OBJC_CLASS_$_GADUIWebViewDelegateProxy

                 U _OBJC_CLASS_$_UIWebView

./GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds(GADUIWebViewDelegateProxy.o):

0000000000000000 T _GAD_GADUIWebViewDelegateProxy_x86_64_7_49_0

0000000000000e88 S _OBJC_CLASS_$_GADUIWebViewDelegateProxy

0000000000000e80 S _OBJC_IVAR_$_GADUIWebViewDelegateProxy._webViewDelegate

0000000000000eb0 S _OBJC_METACLASS_$_GADUIWebViewDelegateProxy

00000000000008b8 S l_OBJC_LABEL_PROTOCOL_$_UIWebViewDelegate

0000000000000f38 D l_OBJC_PROTOCOL_$_UIWebViewDelegate

                 U _OBJC_CLASS_$_GADUIWebViewDelegateProxy

0000000000002510 S l_OBJC_LABEL_PROTOCOL_$_UIWebViewDelegate

0000000000002ed0 D l_OBJC_PROTOCOL_$_UIWebViewDelegate

                 U _OBJC_CLASS_$_UIWebView

                 U _OBJC_CLASS_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor

                 U _OBJC_CLASS_$_UIWebView

./GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds(GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor_756cbedfcadc00b64a868c185cab1ab0.o):

---------------- t -[GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor .cxx_destruct]

---------------- t -[GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor initWithWebView:]

---------------- t -[GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor injectJavaScriptFromString:]

---------------- t -[GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor jsEnvironment]

---------------- t -[GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor supportBackgroundThread]

---------------- D _OBJC_CLASS_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor

---------------- D _OBJC_IVAR_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor._webView

---------------- D _OBJC_METACLASS_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor

DefaultdeMacBook-Pro:GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.49.0 default$ 

Still use _UIWebViewDelegate but not _UIWebView . maybe apple ignore this.

Try a test by upload a new binary :>

在 2019年9月20日星期五 UTC+8下午6:58:52，Damien Praca写道：

[Narendra Thapa]

hi there..

Still getting same error. Grep on my latest .app file results in

0000000100997ea0 S _OBJC_CLASS_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor

                 U _OBJC_CLASS_$_UIWebView

000000010097ef18 s _OBJC_IVAR_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor._webView

0000000100997ec8 S _OBJC_METACLASS_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hey everyone, 
Thanks for pointing this out. The SDK still supports UIWebView because we support iOS 8, however when you submit your apps to the App Store you should no longer get warnings. Thanks. 

[Gilroy Kilroy]

I was recently able to submit and get approved with this SDK.

[JAD]

As per my query here does updating to SDK version 7.50.0 or above mean that we no longer need to add the following to ensure use of WKWebView in order to reduce certain crashes that could occur with earlier SDK versions, due to the use of UIWebView?

 <key>gad_preferred_webview</key>
 <string>wkwebview</string>

Thanks

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi there,

Let me share your inquiry to the rest of the team and get back to you the soonest they provide their feedback.

Regards,
Teejay Pimentel

Mobile Ads SDK Team

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[Mihailo G]

+1 here, we need to resolve this ASAP, can we please get update or confirmation if this is fixed? 

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi there,

I'm afraid we cannot provide a definite timeline on when the SDK will deprecate the UIWebView. Please keep an eye out on our release notes regarding this.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi there,

I received a feedback from the team. You still needs to set the gad_preferred_webview key to wkwebview value on SDK v7.50.

[Alexander Zhigulich]

Seems done: https://developers.google.com/admob/ios/rel-notes

7.55.0	2020‑02‑04	Removed all references to UIWebView. UIWebView is no longer supported.
7.54.0	2020‑01‑28	Enabled WKWebView as the SDK default across all web views.

Tested and seems all good.

[EB]

7.55.1 still has something called GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor inside it.  Not sure if that trips Apple's UIWebView detector or not, but it should probably be removed.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hello EB,

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I have shared it with the team and we will take care of this. 

Let us know if you see any problems with it. 

Regards,
Deepika Uragayala

Mobile Ads SDK Team
 

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[Terence Ho]

UIWebView is still detected in Google-Mobile-Ads-SDK (7.56.0).

Binary file ./Pods/Google-Mobile-Ads-SDK/Frameworks/GoogleMobileAdsFramework-Current/GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds matches

Email received from The App Store Team highlighted:

ITMS-90809: Deprecated API Usage - Apple will stop accepting submissions of apps that use UIWebView APIs starting from April 2020 . See https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uiwebview for more information.

Kindly advise solution as today is 6th March 2020, less than a month's time to April 2020.

Thank you.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hello there,

Thanks for reaching out to us. Did you recieved this email from App store when you submitted your app with Google-Mobile-Ads-SDK (7.56.0)? I have already shared this information with our team, but if you could confirm this, our team will take a look into this.

[Terence Ho]

Yes, the error listed in the email was pertaining to my app submission with Google-Mobile-Ads-SDK (7.56.0).

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi there,

Thank you for your confirmation. Let me raise this information to the rest of the team. I'll update this thread the soonest they provide their feedback.

Regards,
Teejay Pimentel

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Terence,

Please be informed that the team is already checking on this. Could you kindly confirm if that "Binary file ./Pods/Google-Mobile-Ads-SDK/Frameworks/GoogleMobileAdsFramework-Current/GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds matches" message is coming from Apple identifying the binary?

[MonRoyals]

Any news regarding this? I took the latest Firebase version (Firebase-6.19.0.zip) and tried a grep command. The result was:

grep -r "UIWebView" .

Binary file GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds matches

Thanks

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hello there,

Thanks for sharing the information. We will share this with the team and we will provide an update here if we have any new information to share.

Regards,
Deepika Uragayala

[ferry zhang]

I used the Google-Mobile-Ads-SDK(7.55.0). When I detection the app content with `nm` command, I got 

000000010123ddd8 S _OBJC_CLASS_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor
0000000101206cdc s _OBJC_IVAR_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor._webView
000000010123de00 S _OBJC_METACLASS_$_GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor

I ignored the message, released the version to testflight, and didn't receive a warning email from apple.

在 2020年3月13日星期五 UTC+8上午4:04:22，mobileadssdkforumadvisor写道：

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Ferry,

Thank you for this. Could you confirm if the binaries you've mentioned came from Apple identifying the binary?

d...@vertexartsgames.com,

Could you also confirm if this binaries came from apple as well? 

Regards,
Teejay Pimentel

[MonRoyals]

Yes it was reported by Apple after uploading our apk to TestFlight.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi there,

Thank you for your confirmation. Let me relay this information to the rest of the team. I'll update this thread the soonest they provide their feedback.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hello there,

Our team has investigated the issue and here is an update that we have on this-

 grep -r "UIWebView" does not necessarily mean that an SDK is calling UIWebView. Some of the strings shown in the Google Mobile Ads SDK are part of log messages. We have tested app uploads using both 7.56.0 and our upcoming release and did not get warnings about UIWebView usage.

Please double-check the other binaries in your app to verify whether they are using UIWebView. We recommend running multiple tests with a subset of your binaries (e.g. a test without any mediation adapter/SDKs binaries if you use mediation) to verify the offending binary.

Regards,
Deepika Uragayala

[Minh Tuan Do]

Same issue with me 

TMS-90809: Deprecated API Usage - Apple will stop accepting submissions of app updates that use UIWebView APIs starting from December 2020. See https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uiwebview for more information.

 % grep -r "UIWebView" .

Binary file ./Pods/Google-Mobile-Ads-SDK/Frameworks/GoogleMobileAdsFramework-Current/GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds matches

Apple@Tonys-MacBook-Pro Project_IOS_GIT % 

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi there,

Thank you for reporting this.

As mentioned by my colleague, Deepika, grep -r "UIWebView" does not necessarily mean that an SDK is calling UIWebView. Some of the strings shown in the Google Mobile Ads SDK are part of log messages. Also, we've tested the latest version of the SDK and we didn't get warnings about UIWebView usage.

Could you kindly double-check the other binaries in your app to verify whether they are using UIWebView. We also recommending our publishers to run multiple test with a subset of their binaries (e.g. a test without any mediation adapter/SDKs binaries if you use mediation) to verify the offending binary.

Please let us know how it goes so I could raise this to the team once more.

[Erik Flores]

I'm using latest version admob sdk 7.57.0

when I check app after build. admob still using UIWebView > one of  using in admob is 

UIWebView stringByEvaluatingJavaScriptFromString:

Look like admob team cannot fix this. So, next month will end of admob on appstore :(

Dear admob team. dont need to use grep string. please download your sdk. then open with hex editor. search UIWebView > you can found >30 times UIWebView in your sdk. so, apple will start reject app using UIWebView start 4/2020. If your team cannot update anything now, admob mobile will only on google play. thanks

WK

WebView stringByEvaluatingJavaScriptFromString:WKWebView stringByEvaluatingJavaScriptFromString:WKWebView stringByEvaluatingJavaScriptFromString:WKWebView stringByEvaluatingJavaScriptFromString:

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Erik,

Thank you for reporting this. Could you confirm if you received that warning from Apple? It's odd that you're getting that warning as we also submit an app to the AppStore with the latest version of the SDK, and we didn't received any UIWebView warning. Could you kindly double-check the other binaries in your app to verify whether you are using UIWebView?

Regards,
Teejay Pimentel
Mobile Ads SDK Team

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[Erik Flores]

Yes, I confirmed that recently I received warning from Apple. I also just make a emty app with latest admob SDK version(7.57.0) included then upload to appstore connect. After appstore process, I got warning from Apple "ITMS-90809: Deprecated API Usage - Apple will stop accepting submissions of new apps that use UIWebView APIs starting from April 2020." 

As I explanation above, If you open Admob sdk ios (latest ver 7.57.0) with hex editor > then find "UIWebView". You still found >30 times admob using UIWebView. If you explaination with us that is UIWebView just is a name for log or debug, it not true. We also found UIWebView in debug mode. That mean UIWebView still in admob sdk. Also, Apple still reject app / binary inclue any text, string in code using character "UIWebView". Hope you team will removed all UIWebView in next version. Thanks

Vào 04:07:25 UTC+8 Thứ Ba, ngày 24 tháng 3 năm 2020, mobileadssdkforumadvisor đã viết:

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Erik,

 

Thank you for providing additional context on your concerns.

 

It does seem that there are still a few leftover references to the UIWebView inside the AdMob SDK. I will be taking this up to the rest of the team for their insights on this. Your report will prove to be very useful to their investigation on this issue.

 

Regards,

Ziv Yves Sanchez

[Zalán Meggyesi]

Hello Ziv and others,

I want to note that we as users have at most seven days to integrate the new version, lest our submissions be rejected.

Since this library is also used in Flutter's AdMob plugin, I have created an issue in the flutter repository to facilitate coordination with that team: https://github.com/FirebaseExtended/flutterfire/issues/2232

All participants of this thread are welcome to vote on the issue to give the Flutter team an idea of the scope of the problem.

Best Regards,

Zalan Meggyesi

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Erik,

 

Thank you for your patience on this issue.

 

The team has stated any code referencing the UIWebView should have been completely removed from the AdMob SDK version 7.57.0. If the situation persists on this version of the AdMob SDK, could you then kindly provide the details below (via Reply privately to author) so that we can further investigate the issue?

• Copy of a sample project (replicating the issue)
• Steps to replicate the issue

[Tour Tracker]

Hi Ziv -

I want to confirm that I just submitted an app to Apple with GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.57.0 and as Erik describes, Apple has flagged it as including UIWebView and will not accept it starting April 1st. Note that I also submitted a build with the SDK removed as a test (and code commented out) and Apple did NOT flag it as including UIWebView.

Fact: GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.57.0 includes references to UIWebView in GoogleMobileAds.framework.

Please don't take this to a private discussion as this will impact thousands of apps next week.

Thank you,

Allan

[Erik Flores]

Hello. 

step. 1. Download admob sdk 7.57 for ios & download Hex friend app > https://ridiculousfish.com/hexfiend/
step. 2. Open hex friend > open "GoogleMobileAds" file in > "GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds"
step. 3. Ctrl + F to find text UIWebView > then you will found many code UIWebView still using in your sdk

here is some code disassembly is your SDK for per archived > all is 25 times:

"GADOMIDUIWebViewJSExecutor"

"UIWebView" as String

"Web view should be UIWebView or WKWebView or not null." as String

cfstring_UIWebView

cfstring_Web_view_should_be_UIWebView_or_WKWebView_or_not_null_

>> Even, if your application uses the string "UIWebView", debug text or any code snippet, library framework using UIWebView as a text or link to this framework. You will got warning email from apple. Why your team is not got this message from apple. Because you dont know as apple side, maybe this is random scan in appstore process. But I just confirm again UIWebView still using in latest ios Admob framework.

Thanks

Vào 09:13:01 UTC+7 Thứ Tư, ngày 25 tháng 3 năm 2020, mobileadssdkforumadvisor đã viết:

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Erik, Allan,

 

Thank you providing additional context to your concerns. I understand how this issue is affecting the deployment of your apps to production.

 

As it stands, we have tested app uploads last week using both 7.56.0 and 7.57.0, and did not get warnings about UIWebView usage. Since we thus cannot verify the same issue occurring on our end, we will be needing a copy of any project (even a modified sample one) from your ends in order to properly investigate this again.

 

Kindly send the above via Reply privately to author in order to protect sensitive data; in the event that you do not wish to send files privately, kindly then ensure that no sensitive data is to be found in the projects that you will be sending. I would recommend putting in test ad unit IDs instead of your real ones if necessary.

[Filip Kasik]

Any news about this? And what about 7.57.0 in GoogleMobileAds unity package...will this version be integrated soon?

On Friday, August 30, 2019 at 4:24:05 AM UTC+2, Mouse Lin wrote:

Is the Admob iOS SDK still using UIWebView?

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Filip,

As it stands, we have tested app uploads using both 7.56.0 and 7.57.0, and did not get warnings about UIWebView usage. The version that ships with Unity as of now is 7.56.0.

You can monitor this page to find out when the SDK that ships with Unity will be updated. 

If you are receiving warnings from Apple about UIWebView usage when attempting to publish and you are using either of those 2 SDK versions mentioned, please note that since we cannot verify the same issue occurring on our end, we will be needing a copy of any project (even a modified sample one) from your end in order to properly investigate this, so kindly send the above via "Reply privately to author" in order to protect sensitive data.

Regards,
Aryeh Baker

[HD project]

HI admob team.

    I have test admob both 7.56.0 and 7.57.0. Still got issues warnings from Apple about UIWebView. What happend? many people here confirm that still exist UIWebView. but admob confimed that is removed?

Thanks

Vào 20:45:55 UTC+7 Thứ Tư, ngày 01 tháng 4 năm 2020, mobileadssdkforumadvisor đã viết:

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi HD project,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

I would ask for you to check again which version of the SDK you are using. As we have tested against 7.56 and 7.57 and not gotten that message.

We would also ask for you to check if you are using any other mediations, or adapters, or something else that might be causing this to happen.

Regards,
William Pescherine

[syed ali]

Hi,
So I have downloaded the latest version of google ad mob which is v7.56 which is available on https://github.com/googleads/googleads-mobile-unity/releases/tag/v5.0.1. I make the build and upload to Apple AppStore and I still get the same message from apple -> "ITMS-90809: Deprecated API Usage - Apple will stop accepting submissions of apps that use UIWebView APIs".

Can you please help me break down this issue?

Thanks

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi there,

Have your received this warning directly to Apple? Could you please see an screenshot of it so I could then raise this to the team? Also, since we thus cannot verify the same issue occurring on our end, we will be needing a copy of any project (even a modified sample one) from your ends in order to properly investigate this again.

Regards,
Teejay Pimentel

[syed ali]

Here is the screenshot of the warning email.
If you still want me to send my project, can you define the procedure as this is my personal project and due to privacy I couldn't be able to share you this project publically?

Thanx

[杨巍]

Hi, I have the same issue when using iOS SDK 7.57.0, and here is the screenshots.

在 2020年4月16日星期四 UTC+8下午7:07:01，mobileadssdkforumadvisor写道：

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Syed,

Thank you for the screenshot.

I just need to know a few more pieces of information please.

• AdMob SDK version.
• Are you using cocoapods?
• Are you using Facebook Mediation with adapters? If so version please.
• Also please share via "Reply privately to author" button with your app id and ad unit id.

At this moment, no need for the project yet, but thank you.

Regards,
William Pescherine

[syed ali]

Hi,
Here are the details:-

1- Google Mobile Ads Unity Plugin v5.0.1.
2- No, I am directly referencing framework file in the xcode
3- No, nothing related to fb.
4- Sent you in private.

[Kuldeep Parmar]

On Friday, August 30, 2019 at 7:54:05 AM UTC+5:30, Mouse Lin wrote:

Is the Admob iOS SDK still using UIWebView?

 

Hi mobileadssdkforumadvisor,

I uses these meditation which still uses UIWebView.

1. GoogleMobileAdsMediationAdColony

2. GoogleMobileAdsMediationInMobi

3. GoogleMobileAdsMediationVungle

I got mail regarding UIWebView Deprecation warning ITMS-90809: Deprecated API Usage - Apple will no longer accept submissions of new apps that use UIWebView as of April 30, 2020 and app updates that use UIWebView as of December 2020. Instead, use WKWebView for improved security and reliability.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Kuldeep,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us.

 

It seems that you've already created a new thread for your concern. Let us continue there instead so that we can assist you better on it.

 

Regards,

Ziv Yves Sanchez

Mobile Ads SDK Team

ref:_00D1U1174p._5001UaSBEs:ref

[Pedrum Golriz]

Any update on this? I cant submit any apps with admob in them

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Pedrum,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us.

 

Kindly note that we have already tested app uploads starting from 7.56.0 of the AdMob SDK, and did not get warnings about usage of UIWebView .

 

We would suggest double-checking all the other binaries in your app to verify whether they are using UIWebView. We would also recommend running multiple tests with a subset of your binaries (e.g. a test without any mediation adapter/SDK binaries if you use mediation) to verify the offending binary.

[Sailendu Behera]

I just submitted updates for 3 of my apps to Apple and all of them got approved. I am using the Unity AdMob plugin version 5.0.1 with AdMob SDK 7.58 and it does not have any issue with UIWebView.

The issue was not only AdMob SDK, you also need to use a newer version of Unity, currently I am using Unity 2019.3.11f1, previously I was using Unity 2019.1.8f1 which had some usage of UIWebView that's why Apple was rejecting the build.

You can read at the end of the following Unity forum thread about in which version they fixed the UIWebView issue:

https://forum.unity.com/threads/itms-90809-deprecated-api-usage-apple-will-stop-accepting-submissions-of-apps-that-use-uiwebview.736814/page-3

I hope this helps.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi there,

Thank you for sharing your findings to the community. This information will greatly help other publishers who experience this issue.

Regards,
Teejay Pimentel

[Ha Hue]

Yes confirmed this is right. No problem with admob sdk if you have updated. The problem is you also need to update Unity. Thanks alot.!

[phu khanh le]

Hello, 

does this issues fixed ? 

I tested with latest version 7.59.0 : https://developers.google.com/admob/ios/rel-notes 

The warning issues ITMS-90809: Deprecated API Usage still notified.

grep -r "UIWebView" .

Binary file ./Pods/Google-Mobile-Ads-SDK/Frameworks/GoogleMobileAdsFramework-Current/GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds matches

But I think it should be fixed in 7.55.0 2020‑02‑04 Removed all references to UIWebView. UIWebView is no longer supported.

[astrovicApps]

Hi,

I'm using GoogleMobileAds.framework 7.59.0 (https://developers.google.com/admob/ios/download). 

All references to UIWebView should have been removed in version 7.55.0 But when I upload the app to iTunes Connect, I receive a warning mail from App Store Connect because references to UIWebView have been found.

In fact it seems that it has not been completely removed...

GoogleMobileAds.framework astrovic$ grep -R 'UIWebView' .

Binary file ./GoogleMobileAds matches

I am only using these modules:

- GoogleMobileAds.framework 7.59.0

- PersonalizedAdConsent 1.5.0

- FBAudienceNetwork.framework 5.8.0

- FacebookAdapter.framework 5.8.0.2

[Sailendu Behera]

If you're using Unity, then please tell which version of Unity you're using.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi All,

Thank you for showing that the Apple Store was not allowing the app to be uploaded.

On our end we have tested this out and are able to confirm that teh UI WebView as been removed and ou should be able to post to the Apple store.

What we would suggest is upgrading to the latest Unity version as it would appear that older Unity versions might still have the UIWebView.

Regards,
William Pescherine

[astrovicApps]

Hi,

no, I'm not using Unity, but Appcelerator Titanium. I just import framework GoogleMobileAds.framework on my AdMob module. The module does not make any changes. 

/GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.59.0/GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds file contains many occurrences of the UIWebView text. This could be the reason why the warning is reported by Apple. 

Couldn't all these texts that contain UIWebView be removed?

[astrovicApps]

Hi William,
no, I'm not using Unity. You can read my previous answer (https://groups.google.com/d/msg/google-admob-ads-sdk/QuZMbjIyxn8/-iHGj5dCAwAJ)

[Narendar Saini]

I ran this command: grep -r -i 'UIWebView' * in my project directory and matches found for UIWebView. 

Binary file MyApp/Classes/Ads/GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.59.0/GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds matches

But Mobile Ads SDK Team is still saying that there is no references of the UIWebView and they have successfully uploaded their own app on AppStore.

Then one of the publisher also shown via hex editor that SDK has UIWebView references. I also confirmed few references in 7.59.0

Still many publishers are facing same issue.

So, I request to Mobile Ads SDK Team please resolve this issue, I also understand that your team is not seeing this issue, but something is there and should be resolved.

Apart from this, do you have an skype or zoom call setup so that couple of developer/publisher can discuss and resolve this issue and then can be shared in this thread, other wise we'll be in while(true); loop forever.

Please update accordingly !!

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi All,

@AstrovicApps - Thank you for the link and if you are using Appcelerator to develop your app. I would advise to upgrade the SDK or to contact them and let them know that UIWebView is no longer supported by Apple or Admob. And that we do not support that SDK so I would be unable to offer more support than that.

@Narender - The basic same question would be asked of you? What SDK are you using to develop. If Xcode I would ask what version as the newer ones no longer support UIWebView.

As we only offer support for Xcode and Unity when doing iOS development. Any other SDK's we are unable to offer any technical support on. And would advise to contact that company for further support.

[astrovicApps]

Thanks William for your answer, 

but the problem is not the Titanium AdMob module SDK. Titanium has been supporting WKWebView since 2019.

Titanium AdMob module copies the entire content of the GoogleMobileAds.framework folder, and does not make any changes to it, nor does it use UIWebView. Just use the framework content as it is. And since the GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.59.0/GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds file contains over 200 times the "UIWebView" text, this may be the only reason why the Apple warning is reported.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi AstrovicApp,

Yeah the reality is that there are most-likely references to the UIWebView or fragments of it that the Apple store is detecting and considering them being used. I know from our perspective. We have tested it out for that. And that we have not had issues.

And it appears to be some most-likely deep UIWebView reference or fragment that no one every uses but that Apple still detects.

Regards,
William Pescherine
Mobile Ads SDK Test

ref:_00D1U1174p._5001UaSBEs:ref

[Narendar Saini]

Hi William,

macOS Version: 10.15.3 (19D76)

Xcode Version: 11.3.1 (11C504)

iOS: 13.2 (17B102)

App Language: Objective C

Admob SDK: 7.59.0

Included following frameworks in the app:

- nanopb.xcframework

- GoogleAppMeasurement.framework

- PromisesObjC.xcframework

- GoogleMobileAds.framework

- GoogleUtilities.xcframework

Additionally, I am using latest version of:

- FBAudienceNetwork.framework

- FacebookAdapter.framework

Please let me know what else you need.

Thanks,

Narendar

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Narendar,

 

Thank you for providing additional details on your concern.

 

I'll take this up to the rest of the team to gather our insights on this, and will keep you all updated for any updates thereafter.

 

Regards,

Ziv Yves Sanchez

[kanda Hagoat]

เมื่อ 13 พ.ค. 2563 เวลา 04:43 เขียนโดย Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod <mobileadssdk...@gmail.com>:

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To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to google-admob-ads...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/google-admob-ads-sdk/5QEjl000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000QA8MZP008NarHznNTxeVBGFMhSyQcg%40sfdc.net.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Kanda,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us.

 

It seems that you've posted an empty response to this thread. Kindly create a new thread if you have any concerns with the AdMob SDK, so that we can assist you better on it.

[邱至民]

Hi,

I'm having the same problem here.

TMS-90809: Deprecated API Usage - Apple will no longer accept submissions of new apps that use UIWebView as of April 30, 2020 and app updates that use UIWebView as of December 2020. Instead, use WKWebView for improved security and reliability. Learn more (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uiwebview).

I'm using Firebase/AdMob (6.22.0).

And there's no any other WebView in my app.

Thanks.

mobileadssdkforumadvisor於 2020年5月14日星期四 UTC+8上午11時31分45秒寫道：

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi there,

Thank you for bringing your app rejection from the store to our attention. According to our release notes version 7.55.0 and up of the Mobile Ads SDK don't use UIWebView. We recommend that you upgrade to the latest version which is 7.59.0 for best functionality and supportability.

Kind Regards,
Aryeh Baker

[邱至民]

Hi, 

Turns out the UIWebView is from the inMobi adapter.

Problem solved.

Thanks.

mobileadssdkforumadvisor於 2020年5月15日星期五 UTC+8下午11時41分13秒寫道：

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi there,

 

Thank you for confirming that the issue has been resolved on your end.

 

With that said, we would like to remind everyone that we've already tested uploads starting from version 7.56 of the AdMob SDK, and can confirm that we did not get any warnings about UIWebView usage. Thus, we would strongly suggest that you kindly double-check the other binaries in your app to verify whether those are using UIWebView. We would also recommend running multiple tests with a subset of your binaries (e.g. a test without any mediation adapter/SDKs binaries if you use mediation) to verify the offending binary.

 

If you've done everything above and the situation still persists, and you have good reason to believe that the warnings are coming from the AdMob SDK, then you may kindly provide the details below (via Reply privately to author) so that we can continue investigating the issue:

• Copy of a sample project replicating the issue (source code, not an IPA file, nor a link to the App Store app)
• Steps to replicate the issue

 

Regards,

Ziv Yves Sanchez

[Jimmy Jin]

We met the same issue, still didnot find way to fix it, any progress one this issue? Thanks

在 2020年5月13日星期三 UTC+8上午12:48:45，Narendar Saini写道：

[Jimmy Jin]

 ran this command: grep -r -i 'UIWebView' * in my project directory and matches found for UIWebView. 

Binary file MyApp/Classes/Ads/GoogleMobileAdsSdkiOS-7.59.0/GoogleMobileAds.framework/GoogleMobileAds matches

But Mobile Ads SDK Team is still saying that there is no references of the UIWebView and they have successfully uploaded their own app on AppStore.

Unity version 2019.2.1 , but still get this messge: ITMS-90809, how to fix it?

在 2019年8月30日星期五 UTC+8上午10:24:05，Mouse Lin写道：