Installation and configuration (iOS)

In this article, you will find out how to install and initialize the Synerise SDK in an iOS application. While performing the actions from this guide, keep the presented order.

If you want to find out what kind of benefits you can get from integrating with mobile SDK, go here.

Requirements

You need:

• Access to a workspace
• A Profile API Key
  When creating the API key, use allowlisting or denylisting to only allow the events you intend to use.
• One of the following dependency managers:
  • CocoaPods - CocoaPods is a dependency manager for iOS projects.
  • Carthage - Carthage is a simple, decentralized dependency manager for iOS projects.
  • Swift Package Manager - Swift Package Manager (SPM) is a dependency manager built into Xcode.
• Recommended environment:
  • Xcode 15
  • iOS SDK 17
• Target deployment: iOS 9.0+

Apple Frameworks

The Synerise SDK references the following Apple frameworks:

• Foundation.framework
• UIKit.framework
• CoreGraphics.framework
• SystemConfiguration.framework
• MobileCoreServices.framework
• CoreTelephony.framework
• Security.framework
• CommonCrypto.framework
• WebKit.framework
• UserNotifications.framework

3rd Party Frameworks

• AFNetworking (fork)
• TrustKit
• Aspects

Installation

CocoaPods

1. Add CocoaPods dependency to Synerise SDK into your Podfile:

       use_frameworks!
   
       target YOUR_PROJECT_TARGET do
         pod 'SyneriseSDK'
       end
       

2. Execute the following shell command in the directory depending on your project configuration:

       pod repo update  
       pod install
       

Swift Package Manager (SPM)

1. Go to Xcode project’s settings and navigate to the Package Dependencies tab.
2. Below the packages list, click the Add button.
3. Enter the URL of Synerise SDK repository (https://github.com/Synerise/synerise-ios-sdk) in the search text field.
4. Under the Dependency Rule section, select the SDK version. Finally, click Add Package.
5. Select the package that best suits your needs and click Add Package.

Carthage

1. Add the Carthage dependency to Synerise SDK into your Cartfile:

       github "synerise/ios-sdk"
       

2. Execute the shell command in directory depending on your project configuration:

       carthage update
       

3. Go to Xcode project target’s General section.

4. In Finder, open <YOUR_XCODE_PROJECT_DIRECTORY>/Carthage/Build/iOS

5. Drag SyneriseSDK.framework to Embedded Binaries.

6. Make sure the Copy items if needed option is selected.

7. Click Finish.

Initialization

Setting up

1. Go to Xcode project target’s General section.

2. Find the Other Linker Flags property and add the -ObjC flag.

3. If you are going to use push notifications:

   1. Go to Info.plist
   2. Add a row for Required background mode with the following array type value: App downloads content in response to push notifications or add the code below directly:

          <key>UIBackgroundModes</key>
          <array>
              <string>remote-notification</string>
          </array>
          

4. If you are going to use HTTP addresses (instead of only HTTPS), change the allowlist domains in your app by adding configuration to Info.plist in one of the following ways:

   • Add configured domain/domains that you need.

         <key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key>
         <dict>
             <key>NSExceptionDomains</key>
             <dict>
                 <key>yourdomain.com</key>
                 <dict>
                 <!--Include to allow subdomains-->
                 <key>NSIncludesSubdomains</key>
                 <true/>
                 <!--Include to allow HTTP requests-->
                 <key>NSTemporaryExceptionAllowsInsecureHTTPLoads</key>
                 <true/>
                 <!--Include to specify minimum TLS version-->
                 <key>NSTemporaryExceptionMinimumTLSVersion</key>
                 <string>TLSv1.1</string>
                 </dict>
             </dict>
         </dict>
         

   • Give permission for all domains.

         <key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key>
         <dict>
             <key>NSAllowsArbitraryLoads</key><true/>
         </dict>
         

Importing Synerise SDK

Import the Synerise SDK header into the files that contain code relating to SDK.

import SyneriseSDK

#import <SyneriseSDK/SyneriseSDK.h>

Basic initialization

Initialize Synerise SDK and provide the Profile API Key.

You may initialize it wherever you want and when you need.

Synerise.initialize(clientApiKey: "YOUR_CLIENT_API_KEY") // 1
Synerise.setDebugModeEnabled(false) // 2
Synerise.setCrashHandlingEnabled(true) // 3
Synerise.setDelegate(self) // 4

[SNRSynerise initializeWithClientApiKey:@"YOUR_CLIENT_API_KEY"]; // 1
[SNRSynerise setDebugModeEnabled:NO]; // 2
[SNRSynerise setCrashHandlingEnabled:YES]; // 3
[SNRSynerise setDelegate:self]; // 4

Basic methods you need:

1. Synerise.initialize(clientApiKey:) - Initializes Synerise SDK.
2. Synerise.setDebugModeEnabled(_:) - Enables debug mode for Synerise SDK. See Debug mode section for more information.
3. Synerise.setCrashHandlingEnabled(_:) - Enables crash handling. Synerise SDK sends a crash event automatically when an uncaught exception occurs.
4. Synerise.setDelegate(_:)- Sets delegate to handle main actions from Synerise SDK. See SyneriseDelegate section for more information.

Initialization with custom API environment

To change API base URL for on-premise installations, use the following initialization method:

Synerise.initialize(clientApiKey: "YOUR_PROFILE_API_KEY", baseUrl: "YOUR_API_BASE_URL")

[SNRSynerise initializeWithClientApiKey:@"YOUR_PROFILE_API_KEY" andBaseUrl:@"YOUR_API_BASE_URL"];

Advanced initialization

This is an example of advanced initialization with:

• custom API base URL for on-premise installations
• request validation salt configured
• debug mode enabled
• crash handling enabled
• most of the settings options available
• main delegate SyneriseDelegate
• client’s state delegate ClientStateDelegate

Synerise.settings.sdk.enabled = true
Synerise.settings.sdk.appGroupIdentifier = "YOUR_APP_GROUP_IDENTIFIER"
Synerise.settings.sdk.keychainGroupIdentifier = "YOUR_KEYCHAIN_GROUP_IDENTIFIER"
Synerise.settings.sdk.minTokenRefreshInterval = 1800
Synerise.settings.sdk.shouldDestroySessionOnApiKeyChange = false

Synerise.settings.notifications.enabled = true
Synerise.settings.notifications.disableInAppAlerts = true
Synerise.settings.notifications.encryption = false

Synerise.settings.tracker.autotracking.enabled = true
Synerise.settings.tracker.autotracking.mode = AutoTrackMode.Fine
Synerise.settings.tracker.autotracking.excludedClasses = [SampleViewController.self]
Synerise.settings.tracker.autotracking.excludedViewTags = [0, 1, 2]

Synerise.settings.tracker.tracking.enabled = true

Synerise.settings.tracker.minBatchSize = 10
Synerise.settings.tracker.maxBatchSize = 100
Synerise.settings.tracker.autoFlushTimeout = 5.0
Synerise.settings.tracker.autoTracking.mode = .fine
Synerise.settings.tracker.locationAutomatic = true

Synerise.settings.injector.automatic = true

Synerise.initialize(clientApiKey: "YOUR_CLIENT_API_KEY", baseUrl: "YOUR_API_BASE_URL")
Synerise.setRequestValidationSalt("YOUR_REQUEST_VALIDATION_SALT")
Synerise.setDebugModeEnabled(false)
Synerise.setCrashHandlingEnabled(true)
Synerise.setDelegate(self)

Client.setClientStateDelegate(self)

SNRSynerise.settings.sdk.enabled = @YES;
SNRSynerise.settings.sdk.appGroupIdentifier = @"YOUR_APP_GROUP_IDENTIFIER";
SNRSynerise.settings.sdk.keychainGroupIdentifier = @"YOUR_KEYCHAIN_GROUP_IDENTIFIER";
SNRSynerise.settings.sdk.minTokenRefreshInterval = 1800;
SNRSynerise.settings.sdk.shouldDestroySessionOnApiKeyChange = NO;

SNRSynerise.settings.notifications.enabled = YES;
SNRSynerise.settings.notifications.disableInAppAlerts = YES;
SNRSynerise.settings.notifications.encryption = NO;

SNRSynerise.settings.tracker.autotracking.enabled = YES;
SNRSynerise.settings.tracker.autotracking.mode = SNRTrackerAutoTrackModeFine;
SNRSynerise.settings.tracker.autotracking.excludedClasses = [SampleViewController.class];
SNRSynerise.settings.tracker.autotracking.excludedViewTags = [@0, @2, @3];

SNRSynerise.settings.tracker.tracking.enabled = YES;

SNRSynerise.settings.tracker.minBatchSize = 10;
SNRSynerise.settings.tracker.maxBatchSize = 100;
SNRSynerise.settings.tracker.autoFlushTimeout = 5.0;
SNRSynerise.settings.tracker.autoTracking.mode = SNRTrackerAutoTrackModeFine;
SNRSynerise.settings.tracker.locationAutomatic = YES;

SNRSynerise.settings.injector.automatic = YES;

[SNRSynerise initializeWithClientApiKey:@"YOUR_CLIENT_API_KEY" andBaseUrl:@"YOUR_API_BASE_URL"];
[SNRSynerise setRequestValidationSalt:@"YOUR_REQUEST_VALIDATION_SALT"];
[SNRSynerise setDebugModeEnabled:NO];
[SNRSynerise setCrashHandlingEnabled:YES];
[SNRSynerise setDelegate:self];

[SNRClient setClientStateDelegate:self];

Initialization process

During initialization, the library starts and when it is ready or an error occurs, the SDK notifies you.

When the delegate method is called, Synerise is ready to use.

// MARK: - SyneriseDelegate

// This method is called when the Synerise SDK is initialized.
func snr_initialized() {
  //...
}

// This method is called when an error occurs while initializing the Synerise SDK.
func snr_initializationError(error: Error) {
  //...
}

#pragma mark - SNRSyneriseDelegate

// This method is called when the Synerise SDK is initialized.
- (void)SNR_initialized {
  //...
}

// This method is called when an error occurs while initializing the Synerise SDK.
- (void)SNR_initializationError:(NSError *)error {
  //...
}

Debug Mode

You can enable debug logs for Synerise SDK by method Synerise.setDebugModeEnabled(_:).

Synerise.setDebugModeEnabled(true) // Enables logging for all modules

[SNRSynerise setDebugModeEnabled:YES]; // Enables logging for all modules

You can receive some logs about:

• Core: push notifications
• Tracker: auto-tracked events, declarative events, sending process
• Client: customer state, authorization
• Injector: campaigns, UI
• Promotions: promotions, vouchers
• Content: content widget, documents, recommendations

Background Tasks

Background Tasks is a mechanism to schedule and run code in the background to keep your app up to date.

Synerise supports using Background Tasks since SDK version 4.23.0. You can pass configured identifiers for Synerise SDK by using the Synerise.setBackgroundTaskIdentifiers(_:) method. The identifiers that you are going to pass have to be configured properly in the host app.

Benefits

Currently, the SDK uses Background Tasks only to refresh the registration token for Push Notifications every 20 days. In these situations, the SDK invokes the snr_registerForPushNotificationsIsNeeded(origin:) method or snr_registerForPushNotificationsIsNeeded() method.

Setting up

To configure Background Tasks in your app:

1. Go to Xcode project’s target’s Signing & Capabilities section.
2. In the Background Modes capability (you may need to add it), enable Background fetch and Background processing.
3. Go to Info.plist.
4. Add a row with the following array type value: Permitted background task scheduler identifiers.
5. Add string identifiers, each as a separate item to declare possible Background Tasks identifiers in your app.
6. Pass these Background Tasks identifiers to SDK by using the Synerise.setBackgroundTaskIdentifiers(_:) method. You must invoke the method BEFORE your app is launched (before the application(_ application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions:) method finishes).

Sample \*.plist configuration for Background Tasks:

Example code for passing Background Tasks identifiers to the SDK:

func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
    // ...
    Synerise.setBackgroundTaskIdentifiers(["YOUR_BACKGROUND_TASK_IDENTIFIER"])

    return true
}

- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions {
    // ...
    [SNRSynerise setBackgroundTaskIdentifiers:@[@"YOUR_BACKGROUND_TASK_IDENTIFIER"]];

    return YES;
}

Documentation is available at Apple Developer - Using background tasks to update your app.

IMPORTANT: To configure Background Tasks properly, you must set SyneriseDelegate before the SDK initialization.

Synerise.setDelegate(self)
Synerise.initialize(clientApiKey: "YOUR_CLIENT_API_KEY")
// ...

[SNRSynerise setDelegate:self];
[SNRSynerise initializeWithClientApiKey:@"YOUR_CLIENT_API_KEY"];
// ...

Privacy manifest

From 1 May 2024, Apple requires you to add a privacy manifest. It’s a file in your project that describes your reason and method for collecting data.

Third-party frameworks that track data should have a privacy manifest. When you create the application privacy report, these privacy manifest files are automatically aggregated into a single file.

Synerise supports privacy manifests since SDK version 4.17.0. When you use an SDK version older than 4.17.0, refer to the Synerise API usage requirements defined below when creating an Apple privacy manifest.

APIs usage

Tracking

Synerise does not track any data that is protected by the App Tracking Transparency framework.

Collected Data

Warnings and limitations

Be careful with keychain deletion operations due to the possibility of deleting Synerise data. All the SDK library data keys are named snr.[KEY_NAME].