gaelic-ghost iMessage App And Collaboration Workflow
Purpose
Build a user-driven iMessage app or an app-owned collaboration feature. This workflow covers Messages extensions and Shared with You, not a general iMessage bot or access to a person's Messages history.
Choose The Surface
- Use a Messages extension for an interactive composer experience, custom
text/sticker/media insertion, or an interactive
MSMessagein a specific conversation. - Use
MSSessionwhen participants update an app-defined interactive message; define the app's session state, merge rules, and stale-update behavior. - Use Shared with You when an app owns the shared item and its collaboration metadata; use the app's real identity and coordinator rather than creating a Messages-specific copy of collaboration state.
- Use an app-owned iOS or macOS client when the feature needs a standalone conversation list, account system, or collaboration workspace. Do not claim that this grants access to Apple Messages conversations.
Required Boundaries
- An iMessage app acts through a person in a Messages conversation. It does not provide unattended server-side iMessage sending or inbox automation.
- Keep message payloads small, versioned, and app-specific. Authenticate or authorize any server-backed state independently of the message payload.
- Treat iMessage app availability as iOS/iPadOS. Messages content may be viewed on other Apple platforms, but do not claim a macOS iMessage-app extension surface.
- Preserve participant consent, deletion behavior, collaboration membership, and user-visible failure recovery.
Validation
Test the extension with two independent accounts or devices, including initial insert, update, re-open, stale session data, unavailable backend, and a participant who lacks the containing app's account. Test Shared with You with the app's real shared-item identity and ensure it never exposes unrelated private content.