Accounts & Apps
What's the difference?
Platform Account
A platform account holder has access to the platform authoring & publishing tools.
Depending on their role, this user can author & publish stories, manage groups and teams, and interpret analytics.
Platform App
To publish content, you need a platform app.
You will either publish to your own app (linked to your account), or to a shared app (where you have permission to publish to another platform account holder's app).
App Account
An App Account holder is an end-user who creates an account on a platform app. They can:
Create an account on a public app.
Creating/activating their account when being invited to an invite-only app.
When a user signs up to your app, they can use that account on any other app created on the platform.
Types of Apps
Your app can be made available for Android, Apple, and/or web users.
Apps can be made available as needed:
Public (anyone can sign up through Apple & Google)
Invite-Only app (you control access)
Public App
Public apps allow anyone to sign up to the app; the app is available for download via Google Play and can be published to the App Store (but must be approved by Apple). Public apps can have both public and private users (private users will be added to groups and invited, and public users will sign up and may have access to public stories).
Public apps can either be published using our Developer accounts, or your own Apple Business Manager, Apple Enterprise, or Apple Business Manager accounts.
Public apps are required to adhere to the developer guidelines as provided by the app stores.
Invite-Only / Private App
Invite-only apps do not allow users to create their own app account. There is only a sign-in option.
Users can be invited to your app via groups, allowing them access to selected content. Invite-only apps are available for download via Google Play (with a sign-in option only) but are not available on the public App Store.
For private distribution, we can use your own Apple Enterprise or Apple Business Manager and Google Play Developer accounts. You will need to allow access to these accounts in order for the platform to publish your app.
Web App: Browser access
A Web App is hosted on a "website" that acts and behaves like an app and is accessible as a URL from any device (mobile, tablet, phablet, desktop) using a compatible web browser.
This option is preferable if mostly desktop or Android devices are being used, or if there is no need to publish to Apple's App Store.
N.B. Web Apps on Apple devices don’t support push notifications and offline capabilities.
Read more about progressive web apps, here.
Although it's possible to choose the Web App only option, all apps are compiled with a Web App.
Where can I get my app?
Good question!
Login to your Platform Account. You will see an app icon in the top menu (third icon from the right). Select this icon to view the apps linked to your account.
A list of your Account Apps will open. On the far right, use the second icon to copy the link URL. Anyone with whom you share this URL can access your app.
The URL will detect which device the user is on and will direct them accordingly: Apple mobile users: will be directed to the Apple App store or to a private download link. Android mobile users: will be directed to the Google Play Store. Desktop users: will be directed to Progressive Web App (PWA).
An invite-only app will not be publicly available on the App Store (Apple) but can be distributed using a private link. Anyone with this link could install the app but won't be able to sign up, and can't sign in without credentials.
Invite-Only vs Public App
App & Platform Updates
The platform is regularly updated as new features are added and improvements and fixes are made. The account Agent will be notified via email. Big platform updates typically happen 1-2 times per year, whilst rapid updates may be more frequent. Subscribers may experience temporary platform downtime during an update.
App updates are also necessary to keep up with the ever-changing tech chameleon. When a platform subscriber's app is updated, all users (your audience) will receive an email and/or push notification, prompting them to update. Web/desktop users will automatically see the update, Android users' app will auto-update (if auto-update is enabled), and Apple users will need to follow the download link (or download on the App Store if the app is available there).
All app users will receive an email to update their app when there is a new release.
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