Apple Privacy Manifests (PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy): The Guide for Capacitor

What is a Privacy Manifest?

In its continuous fight for user privacy, Apple has introduced Privacy Manifests. This is a PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy file that declares:

1. What data your app collects.
2. Why it collects it.
3. What sensitive system APIs (Required Reason APIs) you use.

The ITMS-91053 Rejection

If you submit a Capacitor app on App Store Connect and receive an automated email from Apple mentioning ITMS-91053: Missing API declaration, it means your app uses monitored APIs without justification.

The most common APIs in Capacitor that trigger this rejection are:

• NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryFileTimestamp (Reading file times).
• NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryUserDefaults (Local storage).
• NSPrivacyAccessedAPICategoryDiskSpace (Disk space).

The Solution

1. In Xcode, go to App > App > New File....
2. Search for "App Privacy" and create the PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy file.
3. Add the NSPrivacyAccessedAPITypes keys.
4. For each API used, indicate the official reason provided by Apple (e.g., reason C617.1 for timestamps or CA92.1 for UserDefaults).

This file will be automatically sealed into your binary when you compile your Archive in Xcode.

Achieving Privacy Manifest compliance can be a headache, especially with multiple third-party plugins. Our Kerweb team performs this audit and applies the fix in record time.