Required keys for info.plist file on Mac and iOS

When you build an application for MacOS or iOS, you may need to set some keys for info.plist. Apple requires for newer MacOS and iOS versions that applications have the info.plist entry and are code signed. If some malicious software would trick itself into getting loaded into a process and try to access your data, the app crashes if the entry is not in info.plist.

In FileMaker, you can add those entries right away in Xcode for your iOS app made with FileMaker iOS SDK. Sometimes for some things, you may even need to add the info.plist entries to the FileMaker Pro app itself.

In Xojo, you can create an info.plist file and drop into the project. Xojo will merge your info.plist file into the one for the application. This is a great way to automatically add the right entries. Other way is to use defaults app in a shell script, which can do that right away when you do code signing.

e.g. in a build script:
Dim App As String = CurrentBuildLocation + "/" + CurrentBuildAppName + ".app"
Call DoShellCommand("/usr/bin/defaults write " + App + "/Contents/Info ""NSCalendarsUsageDescription"" ""Exports events to your calendar.""")

The following table shows possible entries:

Key	Name	Description	Platforms
NFCReaderUsageDescription	NFC Reader Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to use the device’s NFC reader.	iOS 11 and later
NSAppleMusicUsageDescription	Media Library Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to use the media library.	iOS
NSBluetoothPeripheralUsageDescription	Bluetooth Peripheral Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to use Bluetooth.	iOS 6.0 and later
NSCalendarsUsageDescription	Calendars Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to access the user’s calendars.	iOS 6.0 and later, EventKit on macOS
NSCameraUsageDescription	Camera Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to access the device’s camera.	iOS 7.0 and later
NSContactsUsageDescription	Contacts Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to access the user’s contacts.	iOS 6.0 and later, OS X v10.8 and later
NSFaceIDUsageDescription	Face ID Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to use Face ID.	iOS 11 and later
NSHealthClinicalHealthRecordsShareUsageDescription	Clinical Health Records Share Usage Description	Specifies text that provides justification for accessing a user’s clinical health records.	iOS 12.0 and later
NSHealthShareUsageDescription	Health Share Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to read the user’s health data.	iOS 8.0 and later
NSHealthUpdateUsageDescription	Health Update Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to make changes to the user’s health data.	iOS 8.0 and later
NSHomeKitUsageDescription	HomeKit Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to access the user’s HomeKit configuration data.	iOS, watchOS
NSLocationAlwaysUsageDescription	Location Always Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to access the user’s location information at all times.	iOS 8.0 and later, macOS 10.10 and later
NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription	Location When In Use Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to access the user’s location information while your app is in use.	iOS 8.0 and later, macOS 10.10 and later
NSMicrophoneUsageDescription	Microphone Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to access any of the device’s microphones.	iOS 7.0 and later
NSMotionUsageDescription	Motion Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to access the device’s accelerometer.	iOS 7.0 and later
NSPhotoLibraryAddUsageDescription	Photo Library Additions Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to get write-only access to the user’s photo library.	iOS 11 and later
NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription	Photo Library Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to access the user’s photo library.	iOS 6.0 and later
NSRemindersUsageDescription	Reminders Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to access the user’s reminders.	iOS 6.0 and later, EventKit on macOS
NSSiriUsageDescription	Siri Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to send user data to Siri.	iOS 10 and later
NSSpeechRecognitionUsageDescription	Speed Recognition Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to send user data to Apple’s speech recognition servers.	iOS
NSVideoSubscriberAccountUsageDescription	TV Provider Usage Description	Specifies the reason for your app to access the user’s TV provider account.	tvOS