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I've written a personal budgeting/cash flow model app for my iPad. I'm older and a retired software developer and I created this just cause I like to code. It's taken me over two years to create as a labor of "love" of the craft. Using cloc I get:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Language                     files          blank        comment           code
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Swift                          217           5523           3258          24990
CSV                             13              0              0          14680
Objective-C                      5            685            125           2076
SQL                              9            213             29            845
JSON                            15              0              0            510
C/C++ Header                     7           1107           1413            319
XML                              9              0              1            189
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUM:                           275           7528           4826          43609
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't have the resources to support an app published publicly in the app store so I'll not be submitting it to Apple to distribute. But, I'd like to be able to use it on my iPad and my wife's iPad. I've submitted it for TestFlight and my wife was running it like that for a while. But every 90 days I'd have to resubmit it and version it. So, right now I publish it via XCode off my Mac as a test app and that works fine so I know that is an option.

But, I may not purchase a developer license in perpetuity as I get older and don't regularly practice programming.

Is there a way that I can still run the app on our iPads even after I'm no longer a registered Apple Developer?

David Ansermot
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rpetruzz
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  • I think maybe you could try to find someone in the iOS developer community who could be interested to contribute to your app as open source project and to keep it alive that way. If it's a good app, you may very well find someone, esp junior devs, who may find it overwhelming to start the app from scratch, but may like the idea of having app in store with their name associated with it... – timbre timbre Nov 21 '22 at 18:16

3 Answers3

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I'm afraid you can as long as you are a registered Apple developer. Take a look here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/distributing-your-app-to-registered-devices

MannyCalavera27
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I'm not sure, but you can use your own app without purchasing a Developer account by installing JailBreak on devices(I'll say it again, I'm not sure ). Of course I wouldn't recommend it due to security vulnerabilities.

Omer Tekbiyik
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You do not need a developer license after Xcode 7. You can use Free Provisioning:

Launch Your App on Devices Using Free Provisioning (iOS, watchOS)

If you don’t join the Apple Developer Program, you can still build and run your app on your devices using free provisioning. However, the capabilities available to your app, described in Adding Capabilities, are restricted when you don’t belong to the Apple Developer Program.

  1. In Xcode, add your Apple ID to Accounts preferences, described in Adding Your Apple ID Account in Xcode.
  2. In the project navigator, select the project and your target to display the project editor.
  3. Click General and choose your name from the Team pop-up menu.
  4. Connect the device to your Mac and choose your device from the Scheme toolbar menu.
  5. Below the Team pop-up menu, click Fix Issue.
  6. Xcode creates a free provisioning profile for you and the warning text under the Team pop-up menu disappears.
  7. Click the Run button.
  8. Xcode installs the app on the device before launching the app.

In your case, you can perform this process for your iPad by connecting it to your Mac. Then repeat the process by unplugging it then plugging in your wife's iPad.

More details can be found in BoltClock's answer I copied this from in the related question

Daniel T
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