Share extension - App not showing in share menu on first attempt since iOS 14

Question

Created Oct ’20

Replies 28

Boosts 0

Views 19k

Participants 23

Something weird seems to start happening after upgrade to Xcode 12 and iOS 14.

App use to show fine in share menu option before, but suddenly it is acting weirdly and only showing on second attempt onwards.

My aim is to get web page url. Here's my share activation rule.

Code Block <key>NSExtension</key>
	<dict>
		<key>NSExtensionAttributes</key>
		<dict>
			<key>NSExtensionActivationRule</key>
			<dict>
				<key>NSExtensionActivationSupportsText</key>
				<true/>
				<key>NSExtensionActivationSupportsWebPageWithMaxCount</key>
				<integer>1</integer>
				<key>NSExtensionActivationSupportsWebURLWithMaxCount</key>
				<integer>1</integer>
			</dict>
			<key>NSExtensionJavaScriptPreprocessingFile</key>
			<string>fetch</string>
		</dict>
		<key>NSExtensionMainStoryboard</key>
		<string>MainInterface</string>
		<key>NSExtensionPointIdentifier</key>
		<string>com.apple.share-services</string>
	</dict>

I have even tried on new project and added share extension with activation rule above. It also does the same, and app only show in share option from second time onwards. This issue mainly happening in Safari.

It used to work fine before iOS 14, i also didn't find anything in iOS 14 change log regarding share extension that can cause the issue. Can anyone help me pointing out where it could be wrong or some possible reason.

Thanks in advance!!!

Boost

Answer 1

villager OP

Oct ’20

Did you get an answer on this?

1

Answer 2

appledelegate OP

Oct ’20

no, looks like an issue with iOS 14, i see few popular also disappear at the same time.

1

Answer 3

roach1750 OP

Oct ’20

I have the same issue, only works on second attempt of pressing the share button in Safari on iOS

1

Answer 4

joefromdoylestown OP

Oct ’20

This is definitely an issue and only seems to happen with Action Extensions on Safari. If you try this on Chrome the issue doesn't happen.

Here's the feedback I submitted to Apple.

URLs opened with UIApplication.shared.open that launch Safari as the default browser will not enumerate any of the action extensions that respond to URLs the first time you tap Share. If you tap Share a second time it will display the Action Extensions.

Install an app or apps that have an Action Extension that responds to a URL (i.e., Dropbox, GoodNotes, ClipDish)
Install and run the test app included here which calls open function.
In the app, tap "Tap Me"

This will open Safari. Then:

Tap the Share button
browse through the list and look for Dropbox, GoodNotes or ClipDish. You won't see them.
Close the share sheet
Open it again.
They will appear.

This just started happening in iOS 14.

If I change my default browser to Chrome this doesn't happen so I'm pretty sure it's related to Safari.

1

Answer 5

klim@shoptagr.com OP

Oct ’20

Are there any updates regarding the issue?

1

Answer 6

joefromdoylestown OP

Oct ’20

I've tried this on iOS 14.1 and still see the problem.

As another data point. URLs open Safari in two ways from within my app. Tapping a link from a webview opens Safari and my extension and other extensions that handle URLs work fine.

Tapping a UI element that calls UIApplication.open(URL('the url to open")) still causes the problem

1

Answer 7

maheshsai252 OP

Nov ’20

Is there any solution for this?

2

Answer 8

DvA013 OP

Nov ’20

I’m not sure if this is something for this thread, but I found out that I couldn’t share to a lot of apps, for example: Twitter, Facebook, pocket, etc.
i also couldn’t add them.

I changed my iOS 14.2 from Dutch language to English, and voila, there they were. When I switched back to Dutch, all stayed ok.

Maybe this info is useful.

7

Answer 9

stevesw OP

Nov ’20

I can confirm this issue is still occurring for us on iOS 14.2 and is exactly as you described. Our share extension does not show up in the share sheet the first time you tap the share button. But if you dismiss the sheet and tap the share button again, then it will appear the second time. Sounds like it might be a iOS or Safari bug.

Interestingly enough a very similar bug was introduced in macOS Catalina 10.15 which was ultimately fixed in 10.15.4. With that bug, share extensions that used the NSExtensionJavaScriptPreprocessingFile key simply didn't appear at all.

1

Answer 10

helikesit OP

Dec ’20

Still dealing with this issue on my end - really strange as it seems to work 100% of the time when using WKWebView in-app but not in Safari.

1

Answer 11

Alexis_Ardolino OP

Dec ’20

I have the same issue, only works on second attempt of pressing the share button in Safari on iOS. Very frustrating and troublesome, please fix.

2

Answer 12

tscbranco OP

Dec ’20

I've been having the same issue. Very odd, especially since it's been happening with multiple apps from the safari share extension.

0

Answer 13

CayZhang OP

Dec ’20

My action extension also disappeared (not only in Safari but in all share sheets). Switching system language worked for me.

1

Answer 14

ch_guenther OP

Jan ’21

Hey, we also have this problem - any answer to this topic?

1

Answer 15

alekseyho OP

Feb ’21

Same problem. Any updates?

1

Answer 16

genommax OP

Feb ’21

I have same problem. Share extension is missing in safari share sheet and in app share sheet. Any updates regarding the issue ?

1

Answer 17

madebysasha OP

Feb ’21

I was having this issue and it appears that after restarting my test device the extension shows up. I'm not sure if this behaviour persists after publishing the app to the App Store.

0

Answer 18

arainey100 OP

Mar ’21

This is still happening today iOS 14.4 (Chrome and Safari).

Opening the share sheet twice solves this. Very frustrating.

0

Answer 19

jeffhunterx OP

Mar ’21

I found a way to consistently reproduce this on iOS 14.4.1. If I go to a certain URL (which I would post, but the developer forum software will not allow it), then my sharing action in Safari doesn't show up the first time you open the share sheet, but does show up the second time you open it. This URL has an anchor on the end of it (i.e., it ends with a hash symbol followed by some text).

If I got to the same URL with the anchor removed from the end of it, my sharing action shows up the first time I open the share sheet.

I have filed FB8889913.

0

Answer 20

marcosatanaka OP

Mar ’21

I have seen similar issues when sharing from the Music app. Some users reported that my action extension disappeared from the share sheet, and the only way to make it reappear is to restart the phone.

0

Answer 21

mixable OP

Mar ’21

I also receive a lot of reports that my action extension disappeared after app updates. This is reported up to 14.4.1. A restart of the device always solves this issue.

I already filed a bug report some weeks ago. Really frustrating.

0

Answer 22

jeffhunterx OP

Mar ’21

Yes, we are seeing the same problem after app updates. Many of our users have to restart their devices to see our extension. These problems have been going on since iOS 14.0 was released. They never happened on iOS 13.x. I have filed FB8889913 and FB9045442 and have been hoping with each 14.x release that it will be fixed, but it still happens on 14.4.1.

0

Answer 23

arainey100 OP

Apr ’21

This is still affecting live users on iOS 14.4.2.

Kinda crazy this is still ongoing.

Has anyone had a reply from Apple on their bugs? (happy to file another, but just wondering)

0

Answer 24

pippi OP

May ’21

I filed a bug report on this (via Feedback Assistant) in November 2020 and never heard a thing back.

0

Answer 25

arainey100 OP

Jun ’21

Still nothing here and still affecting our apps on latest iOS.

Has anyone had an update on Apple bug tickets they have submitted?

0