Clever on iOS: An Overview

Clever supports a seamless login experience on iOS, ensuring students and teachers can access your app with minimal friction, whether they are using a shared classroom iPad or a personal iPhone.

There are three primary ways users interact with your app through Clever on iOS:

Universal Links (The "Gold Standard")

Universal Links allow iOS to recognize that a Clever login attempt is meant for your native app. When a user clicks your app icon in the Clever Portal (either in Safari or the Clever iOS app), the device automatically intercepts that web link and launches your native application instantly.

User Experience: Seamless transition from the Clever Portal to your app.

Setup Requirement: Requires hosting an Apple App Site Association (AASA) file on your domain and configuring "Associated Domains" in Xcode.

The Clever "App-to-App" Flow

Many students use the Clever iOS App as their home base. When they tap your app icon inside the Clever app:

• Clever checks if your native app is installed.
  • If installed, it "hands off" the user to your app.
  • If not installed, it can direct the user to the App Store or open your web-based experience in an embedded browser.

Clever Badge Secondary Login

For younger learners who struggle with passwords, the Clever iOS app can act as a "system-level" authenticator. Students scan their physical Clever Badge using the iPad’s camera. Once the student is logged into the Clever app, they are automatically signed into any integrated "Learning App" on that device without having to type a username or password again.

Key Integration Principles

Regardless of how the user arrives at your app, your integration should follow these iOS best practices:

Use ASWebAuthenticationSession: This is Apple’s recommended framework for handling OIDC/OAuth logins. It ensures that the user's session is shared securely between Safari and your app, enabling "Instant Login."

Support the "Back to Clever" Breadcrumb: iOS automatically provides a small link in the top-left corner to return to the Clever app; ensure your app's UI doesn't obscure this system navigation.

Graceful Web Fallback: If a user doesn't have your native app installed, your integration should be able to route them to a mobile-responsive web version of your platform so learning isn't interrupted.

Review our additional iOS pages for more details on this integration.