My app got rejected for not setting the “do not back up” attribute to two internal files I use (and store in /Documents). I’ve set the attribute, and it no longer backs up those files (~11.5MB).
It is still backing up 28kb of some data though. I removed all data from the /Documents folder and placed them to /tmp just to make sure that nothing in Documents could possibly be backed up. I verified /Documents is empty for my app after that change, and yet iCloud manages to find 28kb of data to back up.
How can I determine exactly what this data is to prevent the backup? I don’t want to get rejected again so I’d like to verify that the app takes 0kb of backup storage on iCloud.
Thanks
This was the rejection notice:
2.23
We found that your app does not follow the iOS Data Storage
Guidelines, which is required per the App Store Review Guidelines.In particular, we found that on launch, your app stores 11.53 MB. To
check how much data your app is storing:
- Install and launch your app
- Go to Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > Manage Storage
- If necessary, tap “Show all apps”
- Check your app’s storage
The iOS Data Storage Guidelines indicate that only content that the
user creates using your app, e.g., documents, new files, edits, etc.,
may be stored in the /Documents directory – and backed up by iCloud.Temporary files used by your app should only be stored in the /tmp
directory; please remember to delete the files stored in this location
when the user exits the app.Data that can be recreated but must persist for proper functioning of
your app – or because customers expect it to be available for offline
use – should be marked with the “do not back up” attribute. For NSURL
objects, add the NSURLIsExcludedFromBackupKey attribute to prevent the
corresponding file from being backed up. For CFURLRef objects, use the
corresponding kCFURLIsExcludedFromBackupKey attribute.For more information, please see Technical Q&A 1719: How do I prevent
files from being backed up to iCloud and iTunes?.It is necessary to revise your app to meet the requirements of the iOS
Data Storage Guidelines. For discrete code-level questions, you may
wish to consult with Apple Developer Technical Support. Please be sure
to prepare any symbolicated crash logs, screenshots, or steps to
reproduce the issues for when the DTS engineer follows up. For
information on how to symbolicate and read a crash log, please see
Tech Note TN2151 Understanding and Analyzing iPhone OS Application
Crash Reports.
It turns out the pre-compiled Google Analytics library keeps a small database called googleanalytics.sql in the /Library directory. Once I discovered this, I set the flag to “do not back up” for that file and it worked: I get 0kb backup.