Is anything registered without my say?

Only after an Admin turns Hands free on for that project. After each run the account owner gets one email with what was registered, which profile was made and whether the build started, or what needs a person. Without Hands free, registration waits for the button.

What does Firebase App Distribution do here?

Firebase collects the UDID when the tester signs up and emails it to you. Registering it on Apple, the new profile and the new build stay with you.

Which plan do I need?

Team. The onboarding link and one click registration are on Pro and Team; Hands free is on Team.

AppForShare Create a free account

A new iPhone tester gets the build without you in between

Team, turned on by an Admin per project

Adding one iPhone tester to an ad hoc build takes four people steps: register the UDID, remake the profile, build again, tell the tester. Usually the tester waits a day because the developer was busy.

Hands free does those steps for one project. The tester sends the device through the onboarding link as before. A few minutes later AppForShare registers it on your Apple account with your App Store Connect key, makes the ad hoc profile again when your build reads one, and starts the project's iOS build on your GitHub Actions. When that build is uploaded, the tester gets the email with the install link.

Start free See plans

Example

Hands free, Shop app (iOS)

Registered on Apple3 iPhones
Ad hoc profileMade again with every device
GitHub iOS buildStarted
TestersEmailed when the build is uploaded

At most 10 devices a run and 20 a day. Every Apple call is logged.

Made for

Agencies whose client testers join in the middle of a test round
Teams that test ad hoc builds on real iPhones every week
Developers who already build iOS on GitHub Actions with AppForShare

What it ends

A tester who sent the UDID on Monday and installs on Wednesday
Registering one device in the Apple portal, then forgetting the profile
Starting a build just to add a single iPhone

How it works

Step 1
Get the pieces ready
The project needs its device onboarding link on, an uploaded iOS build so AppForShare knows the app, and an App Store Connect connection. A GitHub iOS build for the app lets the last step run too.
Step 2
An Admin turns it on
On the project's Testing tab, under the device onboarding card, an Admin switches on Hands free. Devices that arrived earlier are picked up by the first run.
Step 3
Testers send their iPhone
They open the onboarding link, enter an email and install the small profile, as before. AppForShare waits a few minutes so several devices go in one run.
Step 4
The run does the rest
Register on Apple, remake the ad hoc profile if needed, start the GitHub iOS build. You get one email per run with what was done; each tester gets the install link when the build is uploaded.

Which profile is made again

With manual signing in your GitHub iOS build, or with no GitHub build at all, AppForShare remakes the active ad hoc profile of the app with every registered device. With Xcode automatic signing, Xcode adds the new devices to its own profile during the build, so AppForShare leaves that profile alone.

Without a GitHub iOS build the run stops after the profile: you build and upload, and the testers are emailed then.

Safeguards

Apple allows 100 devices per device type in each membership year. That limit is checked before Apple is asked, and a run registers at most 10 devices, with at most 20 a day on the same Apple account; the rest wait for the next run. Every call to Apple is in the connection's activity log, and every run is a line in the workspace activity feed.

Only an Admin can turn Hands free on, because it uses your Apple account. Turning it off stops new runs at once.

Good to know

Only devices sent through the project's onboarding link are registered. Devices you import or add by hand still need the Register button.
AppForShare does not re-sign builds. The new build is made on your own GitHub Actions minutes, or by you.
Apple's device slots cannot be freed before your membership renews. A registered device keeps its slot.
Needs an App Store Connect key that can manage devices and profiles.

Questions

Is anything registered without my say?: Only after an Admin turns Hands free on for that project. After each run the account owner gets one email with what was registered, which profile was made and whether the build started, or what needs a person. Without Hands free, registration waits for the button.
What does Firebase App Distribution do here?: Firebase collects the UDID when the tester signs up and emails it to you. Registering it on Apple, the new profile and the new build stay with you.
Which plan do I need?: Team. The onboarding link and one click registration are on Pro and Team; Hands free is on Team.