General: Forums subtopic: App & System Services > Networking DevForums tag: Network Extension Network Extension framework documentation Routing your VPN network traffic article Filtering Network Traffic sample code TN3120 Expected use cases for Network Extension packet tunnel providers technote TN3134 Network Extension provider deployment technote TN3165 Packet Filter is not API technote Network Extension and VPN Glossary forums post Debugging a Network Extension Provider forums post Exporting a Developer ID Network Extension forums post Network Extension Framework Entitlements forums post Network Extension vs ad hoc techniques on macOS forums post Network Extension Provider Packaging forums post NWEndpoint History and Advice forums post Extra-ordinary Networking forums post URL filter: WWDC 2025 Session 234 Filter and tunnel network traffic with NetworkExtension URL filters documentation Filtering traffic by URL sample code Setting up a PIR server for URL filtering sample code Using the Bloom filter tool to configure a URL filter sample code PIR Service Example open source server sample and specifically its documentation Wi-Fi management: Understanding NEHotspotConfigurationErrorInternal forums post See also Networking Resources for general networking resources, including information about Wi-Fi. Share and Enjoy — Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

Hello, We are developing a macOS application with many different components that are required for our business features. We distribute the product outside the App Store and sign it with our Developer ID certificate. Rebranding an app is a rare case, but sometimes it happens. My question is: Does Apple have any guide or recommendations on how to rebrand an app properly, other than distributing a completely new product? I am asking because our application has a complex structure: UI app (MyApp1, bundle ID = com.myApp1.osx.app) Helper tool (MyApp1HelperTool, bundle ID = com.myApp1.osx.HelperTool) Privileged daemon (MyApp1Daemon, bundle ID = com.myApp1d) System Extension, Transparent Proxy (MyApp1Proxy, bundle ID = com.myApp1.osx.proxy) As you can see, the brand name is used not only in the bundle and product names, but also in the bundle IDs. At some point, I need to change the product name from MyApp1 to MyApp2. Ideally, I would also like to change the bundle IDs to match the new brand. After rebranding, end users should not see MyApp1 anywhere in the system, only MyApp2. Also, components that are already installed and approved (System Extension, proxy configuration, helper tool, etc.) should stay approved. We would like to avoid showing the approval prompts again to all our end users. I did some research and found that bundle IDs technically cannot be changed. To solve this, I would need to release a new app and implement an in-app update mechanism that updates MyApp1 to MyApp2. However, even with a new app and an in-app update mechanism, I did not find a way to avoid user prompts for approving the new extension, the proxy, and possibly the privileged helper tool. For macOS, these will be new components that require explicit user approval. MDM is not a solution for us: some of our customers use MDM, but many of them do not. We want the update to be as smooth as possible. Thank you!

On macOS 27.2 beta 1/2 our URL filter never starts: the session loops starting -> stopping. The same build works on macOS 27.0 (26A428). Both our TestFlight and notarized standalone builds fail. Prefilter and PIR registration succeed. The PIR status request then fails: NWPath is satisfied, the connection is configured proxy fail closed, proxy strict fail closed, the proxy fails (event: proxy:children_failed), and the error is NSURLErrorDomain -1009 / POSIX 50 "Network is down" with _NSURLErrorPrivacyProxyFailureKey=true. NEMembershipCheckerErrorDomain Code=3 -> NEAgentURLFilterErrorDomain Code=3; the app sees serverSetupIncomplete. The privacy-proxy allow-list entry is identical on macOS 27.0 and 27.2 beta (com.adguard). Disabling the VPN, rebooting, and recreating the URL filter configuration do not help. Log excerpt: neagent: updatePrefilterWithCompletionHandler - result 1 neagent: <NEPIRChecker> - Register with PIR Server (group <com.adguard.safari.AdGuard> ... PrivacyProxyFailOpen <0> ...) -> completed registration ciphermld: [C3 ...] proxy fail closed, proxy strict fail closed ciphermld: [C3.1.1 ... failed proxy (satisfied (Path is satisfied), interface: en0[802.11], ipv4, dns, uses wifi, flow divert agg: 2, LQM: good)] event: proxy:children_failed ciphermld: queryStatus: NSURLErrorDomain -1009 / POSIX 50 "Network is down", _NSURLErrorPrivacyProxyFailureKey=true, NWPath=satisfied neagent: Failed to startFilter <Error Domain=NEMembershipCheckerErrorDomain Code=3 "(null)"> nesessionmanager: NEURLFilterPlugin(com.adguard.safari.AdGuard[url-filter][inactive]): setStatus:error: - err Error Domain=NEAgentURLFilterErrorDomain Code=3 Filed as FB24933164.

Hi Apple Developer Support / community, I am seeing a URL filter startup failure only in TestFlight builds. The same code path works in development and Ad Hoc builds. App setup: Host app bundle id: com.expleo.protectus.filter.main URL filter control extension bundle id: com.expleo.protectus.filter.main.buf Extension point: com.apple.networkextension.url-filter-control Using NEURLFilterManager / NEURLFilterControlProvider on iOS 26.x App Group and network extension entitlements are configured on host + extension Observed behavior: Extension process starts successfully (pid created) Status changes to starting Then updatePrefilterWithCompletionHandler runs Immediately after, plugin transitions to stopping with error 3 System retries in a loop Key logs: Error Domain=NEAgentURLFilterErrorDomain Code=3 Failed to startFilter NEPIRChecker start block reports: Error Domain=com.apple.CipherML Code=1100 Underlying Error Domain=com.apple.CipherML Code=1800 Message says details are redacted Example sequence: NEURLFilterPlugin ... started with pid ... status changed to starting updatePrefilterWithCompletionHandler enter acceptAgentClients enter setStatus:error ... NEAgentURLFilterErrorDomain Code=3 status changed to stopping with error 3 extension disposed / teardown repeats Important detail: This failure is reproducible in TestFlight only. Same code and configuration works in development and Ad Hoc builds. What we already checked: Extension launches and is discovered correctly by neagent App/extension bundle identifiers are correct App group and network extension entitlements are present in source and archive checks We tested startup gating around local bloom/prefilter readiness We still get NEMembershipCheckerErrorDomain Code=3 with CipherML 1100/1800 in TestFlight Questions: Is NEMembershipCheckerErrorDomain Code=3 in this startup path known to indicate PIR membership/status validation failure in distribution context? Are there TestFlight-specific prerequisites or server-side requirements for PIR/CipherML path that differ from development/Ad Hoc? Is there any supported way to get non-redacted diagnostic details for CipherML 1100/1800 (beyond sysdiagnose submission)? Are there recommended fail-open/fail-closed startup patterns when PIR status is temporarily unavailable? If needed, I can provide: Full sysdiagnose timestamped bundle Exact iOS version and device model Repro steps from clean install Full log stream around NEPIRChecker and NEURLFilterPlugin transitions Thanks in advance.

Steps to reproduce: Open captive network (DHCP + DNS → portal, hotspot-detect.html returns 302). Scan the Wi-Fi QR code with Camera and tap "Join". Stay in Camera. Expected: CNA is presented after a Camera-initiated join, as it is after a join from Settings > Wi-Fi. Actual: CNA is not presented until the user manually opens Settings > Wi-Fi. Impact: In-flight Wi-Fi with no internet, where the portal is mandatory. QR codes are the only onboarding method, and most users stay in Camera. Environment: iOS 18.7, iPhone 15 Pro max Questions: Is there any supported way to have the CNA presented after a Camera-initiated Wi-Fi join, without requiring the user to open Settings or Safari? If not, is this expected behavior, or a bug worth tracking?

Hi Apple engineers and developers, I am developing a consumer digital-wellbeing app called Ghostie and am trying to determine the correct Apple-supported architecture for its iOS version before continuing implementation. Ghostie's core functionality is to let the user temporarily disconnect selected third-party apps from the Internet while keeping the rest of the device online. For example: WhatsApp: blocked Instagram: blocked Slack: blocked Maps: remains online Banking: remains online Music: remains online On Android, this is implemented using VpnService with per-app traffic handling. For iOS, I have been researching Network Extension, including: NEFilterDataProvider / NEFilterControlProvider content-filter-provider NETunnelProvider / packet-tunnel-provider per-app VPN configurations Apple's current documentation appears to indicate restrictions around per-app configurations and content filtering on iOS, including managed/supervised-device requirements in certain cases. My question is specifically about a normal consumer application distributed through the App Store, where the user owns and controls their personal device and Ghostie is not an MDM/enterprise product. Is there currently an Apple-supported API, entitlement, or Network Extension architecture that would allow Ghostie to: identify selected installed third-party apps; prevent those selected apps from establishing network connections; leave all other apps' network connectivity unaffected; and allow the user to turn this blocking on and off from Ghostie? If this is not possible for an ordinary consumer App Store application, could an Apple engineer please confirm which specific iOS restriction prevents it and whether there is any alternative supported architecture? I am trying to establish the technically and commercially viable architecture before implementing the iOS version. Thank you!

Title: NEFilterDataProvider — fail-closed behaviour after provider crash or suspension I'm investigating the documented failure behaviour of NEFilterDataProvider on macOS. For a content filter handling outbound socket flows: If the data provider process crashes, is terminated, or disconnects unexpectedly, what happens to existing allowed, paused and partially released flows? If the provider is suspended or its callback queue stops making progress, does macOS retain existing verdicts indefinitely, block further data, or apply some other behaviour? Can an existing passBytes allowance remain usable after the provider becomes unavailable? Is there a supported mechanism for independently confirming that all relevant existing flows and outstanding release allowances have been fenced? I'm particularly interested in documented guarantees, rather than implementation behaviour observed in individual tests. Any relevant Apple API documentation or technical clarification would be appreciated.

Hello, I am writing about a Network Extension URL Filter configuration submitted through the Identity & Trust section of the CloudKit Console on 5 September 2026 Status shown: In Review / Waiting for Approval Last Modified: 5 September 2026 (unchanged since submission) It has now been 37 days with no response — no approval, no rejection, and no request for changes. The PIR server , Privacy Pass issuer and HTTP/2 OHTTP gateway have been live and serving since the day of submission, configured per the Onboarding.md guidance in Apple's PIR service example, including the apple-url-filter DNS TXT record on the service URL and the url-filter-test validation entry. Could anyone please let me know: Whether this configuration is actually in a review queue, and the expected timeframe; Whether anything further is required from our side — if so, we will act on it the same day. The URL filter is a core protection feature of our app, which is currently in App Store review; the feature stays disabled for users until this registration is approved, so the delay is holding up what we can ship. Thank you for your help.

We're moving our VPN client's firewall off pf (TN3165) and, following the advice in https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/781996, relying on enforceRoutes plus a content filter. That works well for keeping traffic in the tunnel, but it has a side effect we can't work around. We add excluded routes at runtime (hostname-based split tunnelling), so the provider calls setTunnelNetworkSettings while connected. With enforceRoutes = true, any connected socket to a tunnelled destination (TCP, or UDP after connect()) that sends during the update gets EPIPE and stays broken until the app reopens it. It happens with identical settings too, and the EPIPE raises SIGPIPE, so apps that don't ignore it are terminated. From a sysdiagnose, every update logs "Resetting the virtual interface", the utun's address is removed and re-added about 5 ms later, and a socket that sends in that gap is marked defunct by necp_socket_find_policy_match ("Marking socket in state 258 as defunct"). With enforceRoutes = false nothing dies, but packets for tunnelled destinations leave on the physical interface during the update. It reproduces on macOS 15.7, 26.5, 27.0 and 27.2 beta 3 (26B5101f). I filed FB25176278 with a minimal sample (a packet tunnel provider that echoes UDP, so no server is needed) and a sysdiagnose from 27.2 beta 3. Two questions: Is there a supported way to change excludedRoutes on a running tunnel without the interface reset? If not, is there anything a provider can do to avoid this today, short of not updating routes while connected? Thanks!

We're seeing a recurring kernel panic across six Mac17-family Macs (Mac17,2 / Mac17,4 / Mac17,8; T8142 and T6050) in a managed fleet. 34 panic logs collected 30 Sept – 9 Oct, all with the same signature: panic(cpu N caller ...): Kernel tag check fault (expected tagged address: 0x...028), esr 0x96000011 Faulting address is always at offset 0x28 of the object Same crash PC per build: kernel text exec base + 0x48da38 on 27.0/27.0.1, + 0x46a784 on 26.7, + 0x466ee0 on 26.5 Panicked task is "Google Chrome Helper" in all 34 cases, thread Chrome_ChildIOThread (Chrome's IPC/network I/O thread) Always 3–60 s after wake from sleep, usually a dark wake with the lid closed (overnight or after a 3–18 min sleep) No third-party kexts loaded; "Post-boot loaded kexts" lists only Apple drivers Affected builds: 26.5 (25F71), 26.7 (25G229), 27.0 (26A428), 27.0.1 (26A434). Not a regression from one update: a machine still on 26.5 panics identically. Only Mac17-family hardware is affected. Older Apple silicon Macs with the same software stack are fine. Present on every affected machine: Chrome PWAs (Gmail/Chat/Meet) running in the background, keeping Chrome's network service alive across sleep. On one machine Microsoft Edge is the primary browser and never panics; only Chrome Helper does. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint with its network filter (content filter) extension, MDM-managed. This looks related to thread 821372, where DTS described a kernel networking panic on M5-family hardware with a Network Extension present (r.172793638 / FB22401652), fixed in 26.5b2. We appear to be seeing a tag-check-fault variant on 26.5 release and later. Questions: Is this a known issue, and is it the same root cause as r.172793638? Is there a build where it's fixed? Any recommended mitigation beyond preventing sleep and quitting Chrome? Feedback Assistant: FB25128015 with panic logs and sysdiagnose. Happy to collect more data or test a build. Backtrace from a 27.0.1 panic (kernel text exec base 0xfffffe003aa54000), panic PC first: lr: 0xfffffe003aee1a38 lr: 0xfffffe003aeec580 lr: 0xfffffe003b12cf34 lr: 0xfffffe003b12dc50 lr: 0xfffffe003b07b1f8 lr: 0xfffffe003b07c758 lr: 0xfffffe003b237ff4 lr: 0xfffffe003ac787f0 lr: 0xfffffe003aa576ac lr: 0x000000018747a57c (userspace)

Hi, My NEURL Filter configuration (ID 9f3cbff8-63de-4c69-bf68-c19cd1c5d842) was approved on August 5, 2026, but it turned out to be attached to the wrong Apple Developer Team — an old individual account (S5VDH23BBZ) I no longer have access to, instead of my actual organization team, KRKJ76BC7W (SCOTTO), which owns and signs the app (bundle ID com.dropbet.DropBet). I contacted Developer Support, who said they couldn't transfer it and suggested replying to the original approval email — I did (on 08/08, then several times) with no response. I then tried resubmitting the same configuration under the correct team (KRKJ76BC7W), but the portal rejected it with: "A configuration with the same PIR Server Domain already exists." So a fresh submission is technically impossible while the original stays attached to the wrong account — the only real fix is transferring or re-attaching the existing approved configuration to KRKJ76BC7W. Has anyone dealt with this kind of Team ID mix-up before, or know who on the Network Extension / NEURL Filter team could help reassign an approved configuration? Happy to provide any additional details. Thanks in advance.

We are developing a DLP agent that uses a NETransparentProxyProvider to perform traffic inspection and modification. Our architecture currently includes: LaunchAgent, which monitors user session activity (login/logout, session activation) Container App, which: installs and activates a System Extension creates and saves the NETransparentProxyManager configuration starts the transparent proxy via startVPNTunnel. We would like to automate the startup of the Transparent Proxy for all users, including newly created users, in a way that is fully supported by macOS. We are looking for official guidance on the correct and supported mechanism for starting a user‑level Network Extension (specifically NETransparentProxyProvider) automatically at user login. Questions: What is the recommended and supported way to automatically start a NETransparentProxyProvider at user login? Are there any constraints or best practices we should follow when designing an automatic startup flow for a Network Extension such as NETransparentProxyProvider? We would appreciate official clarification on the supported deployment patterns for starting a user‑level Transparent Proxy Network Extension automatically in multi‑user enterprise environments.

I've been investigating memory consumption issues with a network extension. It seems as though the "leak" exists within the network extension framework. Looking at a memory graph, there appears to be a _socketFlows dictionary or similar in the network extension framework that holds all of the flows and they continue to pile up and consume memory. The problem seems to be particularly bad when I leave my MacBook plugged in and running over the weekend and come back on Monday. For instance, in that time period, the memory consumption grew from <100MB to >1GB. To try to narrow this down to see if it was an "us" problem or truly in the framework, I installed Objective-See Foundation's Lulu tool, which also uses a network extension. It similarly saw memory grow from around 30MB or less to 600MB in the same time frame. Has anyone else seen this? We do have an open feedback ticket FB18731867 that might be related that has to do with seeing multiple instances of the same data filter provider started and maybe running in a network extension.

Hello, It seems that starting Xcode 27, the logs from NetworkExtensions do not show up in the Xcode Console anymore. They still show in Console.app somehow. I have filed a bug report (FB24985332) about it, if you encounter the same issue, please upvote this so that the NetworkExtension team can fix this faster, thanks !

I’m developing a macOS VPN app distributed directly with Developer ID. Its NEPacketTunnelProvider is packaged as a System Extension (packet-tunnel-provider-systemextension). On macOS 15.6 (24G84), I installed a configuration profile containing: A com.apple.security.acme payload with HardwareBound=true, Attest=true, and a P-256 key. A com.apple.vpn.managed payload whose PayloadCertificateUUID references that ACME payload. VPNSubType and ProviderBundleIdentifier identify my app and provider. macOS issued the certificate, and the managed VPN starts the provider. In startTunnel, protocolConfiguration.identityReference is non-nil (20 bytes). However, resolving it in the provider returns -25291 (errSecNotAvailable): `let query: [CFString: Any] = [ kSecClass: kSecClassIdentity, kSecValuePersistentRef: identityReference, kSecUseDataProtectionKeychain: true, kSecReturnRef: true, kSecMatchLimit: kSecMatchLimitOne ] var result: CFTypeRef? let status = SecItemCopyMatching(query as CFDictionary, &result) The containing app receives the same non-nil reference, but its identity query returns -25306. Neither binary currently has the com.apple.managed.vpn.shared keychain access group; I understand that this group requires a separate managed capability. An Apple Device Management Engineer states that third-party processes cannot access hardware-bound ACME identities in the Data Protection Keychain, with an exception for VPN extensions. The NETunnelProviderManager documentation says that apps and Packet Tunnel Providers need com.apple.managed.vpn.shared to use credentials supplied by configuration profiles. Is com.apple.managed.vpn.shared the supported way for a Developer ID Packet Tunnel System Extension to resolve this specific hardware-bound ACME identity? If granted, should the provider use the query above, or another public API? Does the VPN-extension exception apply when the System Extension runs outside the logged-in user’s keychain context? If this is unsupported for a System Extension, what is the supported approach for a directly distributed Developer ID VPN app to perform client authentication with this non-exportable key? I need a usable SecIdentity or signing operation, not the private-key bytes.

I’m developing a macOS VPN app distributed directly with Developer ID. Its NEPacketTunnelProvider is packaged as a System Extension (packet-tunnel-provider-systemextension). On macOS 15.6 (24G84), I installed a configuration profile containing: A com.apple.security.acme payload with HardwareBound=true, Attest=true, and a P-256 key. A com.apple.vpn.managed payload whose PayloadCertificateUUID references that ACME payload. VPNSubType and ProviderBundleIdentifier identify my app and provider. macOS issued the certificate, and the managed VPN starts the provider. In startTunnel, protocolConfiguration.identityReference is non-nil (20 bytes). However, resolving it in the provider returns -25291 (errSecNotAvailable): let query: [CFString: Any] = [ kSecClass: kSecClassIdentity, kSecValuePersistentRef: identityReference, kSecUseDataProtectionKeychain: true, kSecReturnRef: true, kSecMatchLimit: kSecMatchLimitOne ] var result: CFTypeRef? let status = SecItemCopyMatching(query as CFDictionary, &result) The containing app receives the same non-nil reference, but its identity query returns -25306. Neither binary currently has the com.apple.managed.vpn.shared keychain access group; I understand that this group requires a separate managed capability. An Apple Device Management Engineer states that third-party processes cannot access hardware-bound ACME identities in the Data Protection Keychain, with an exception for VPN extensions. The NETunnelProviderManager documentation says that apps and Packet Tunnel Providers need com.apple.managed.vpn.shared to use credentials supplied by configuration profiles. Is com.apple.managed.vpn.shared the supported way for a Developer ID Packet Tunnel System Extension to resolve this specific hardware-bound ACME identity? If granted, should the provider use the query above, or another public API? Does the VPN-extension exception apply when the System Extension runs outside the logged-in user’s keychain context? If this is unsupported for a System Extension, what is the supported approach for a directly distributed Developer ID VPN app to perform client authentication with this non-exportable key? I need a usable SecIdentity or signing operation, not the private-key bytes. so, how can I access a hardware-bound ACME identity？

macOS 26.6, 26.7, 27.0 and 27.2 beta 1/2. Reproduced with Apple's SimpleURLFilter sample ("Filtering traffic by URL", WWDC25 session 234), built and run as a macOS app. The sample never sets localizedDescription, so I added one line to ConfigurationModel.save(configuration:) before saveToPreferences(): sharedFilterManager.localizedDescription = "Sentinel Filter Name" The property holds the value in memory: after loadFromPreferences(), the logged LocalizedStringResource still has key: "Sentinel Filter Name". But the effective configuration the system starts the session with has no localizedDescription — the session is named after the app: name = SimpleURLFilter applicationName = SimpleURLFilter application = com.example.apple-samplecode.SimpleURLFilterTC3Q7MAJXF (the rest of the nesessionmanager dump is the urlFilter dictionary, and it has no localizedDescription key). System Settings > Network > Filters shows the filter as URLFilter, not "Sentinel Filter Name". The stored configuration (/Library/Preferences/com.apple.networkextension.plist) has no localizedDescription key either, and injecting one by hand does not survive a nesessionmanager restart. Re-saving, removing and re-creating the configuration, and rebooting the Mac do not change the displayed name. Expected: the docs describe localizedDescription as "A string containing a description of the URL filter", and WWDC25 session 234's code sample ("Configure and manage URL Filter") sets it this way (manager.localizedDescription = "Alice's URL Filter"). For comparison, a NETransparentProxyManager configuration on the same Mac persists localizedDescription as the configuration's Name in the same plist, while the URL filter configuration has no such field. Filed as FB24987420.

We're building an iOS and Android app that transfers files to and from a device over a Wi-Fi network the device creates. That network has no internet access. The app gets the Wi-Fi credentials from the device (over Bluetooth, or from a QR code on its screen) and joins with NEHotspotConfiguration. Android works reliably. On iOS, partway through a session the phone leaves the device's network and joins a saved network that has internet, which breaks our connection to the device. Setup: iPhone 13 Pro, iOS 26.x NEHotspotConfiguration(ssid:passphrase:isWEP: false) with joinOnce = false. With joinOnce = true, iOS usually stays on the current internet Wi-Fi and never joins the device's network. WPA2. The device is at 192.168.4.1, and its DHCP server hands out the device as router and DNS. Device traffic: NWConnection (TCP) with prohibitedInterfaceTypes = [.cellular]. Server traffic: a separate NWConnection with requiredInterfaceType = .cellular. Wi-Fi Assist is off. Example: we read an 8 MB file from the device (30 s, no problem), then post it to our server over cellular (93 s). During the post, the device connection carries only a small message every ~15 s. 28 s into the post, NWPathMonitor shows Wi-Fi drop out for 3 s, and when it returns the phone is on the our primary network. Occasionally iOS shows a prompt asking whether to stay connected without internet, but usually it switches without asking. We haven't seen it switch during the file read, while the device connection is busy. Questions: Is there a supported way to keep iOS on a device's no-internet network for a whole session? Does traffic on the Wi-Fi interface (such as an active NWConnection) affect whether iOS switches away? Would a DHCP configuration without a router or DNS server change how iOS treats the network? Is joinOnce = false right for this, or can joinOnce = true join when the phone is already on an internet-capable Wi-Fi?

We are designing a bounded local macOS operation with a supervisor, controller and helper. All three must be unable to cause prohibited network effects, including attributable delegated requests, before admission and until quiescence. Unrelated applications must retain their normal network access. We are seeking an API contract clarification, not reporting a reproduced OS bug. No NetworkExtension provider has been activated for this design. Our reviewed SDK is MacOSX27.0.sdk; its presence is not a runtime qualification. Please identify the supported macOS versions for your answer. The design must tolerate provider crash, termination, disconnection and unresponsiveness, and operation lease expiry/revocation. Administrative filter disablement or privileged reconfiguration is a separate unresolved threat-model case, not something we assume ordinary failure handling covers. We reviewed content-filter deployment in TN3134 and the nullable/delegated audit tokens in NEFilterFlow. We understand that NEURLFilterManager.shouldFailClosed concerns URL-filter decisions, not an established guarantee for arbitrary content-filter traffic. EndpointSecurity AUTH deadlines are also a separate mechanism. The VPN routing article documents dropping during specific transitions, but has system exceptions; TN3120 excludes using a packet tunnel as a dropping content filter. We therefore have not adopted that workaround. For macOS NEFilterDataProvider / NEFilterPacketProvider, is there a supported configuration that keeps prohibited operation traffic denied when the provider crashes, is killed, disconnects, hangs or cannot deliver a decision? Please distinguish new flows, existing/previously permitted flows, queued data, restart intervals, and configuration disable/removal. What supported admission and teardown guarantees allow releasing the first protected process only after enforcement is effective, then retaining denial through lease revocation and shutdown? An enabled configuration alone would not demonstrate that barrier. How should this guarantee cover operation-caused DNS and delegated system-service traffic, including absent/ambiguous audit tokens, without denying unrelated host traffic? If content filters cannot meet that scope, can App Sandbox without network entitlements provide the independent denial boundary for these roles, and what documented exclusions or additional constraints apply? A reference to the supported contract, or a precise statement of the requirement that needs to change, would let us select an architecture before implementing and activating a native provider. We are not requesting private APIs or an unsupported packet-tunnel filter.

I am developing a consumer iOS app for App Store distribution and would like to confirm the appropriate public API for the following use case. The app needs to measure the amount of network traffic passing through the device over short time intervals, for example once per second or more frequently. The app does not need to inspect packet contents, block or filter traffic, or provide a remote VPN service. It also should not generate dedicated network traffic solely for speed measurement. The goal is only to observe device-wide network traffic volume and convert that information into a simple real-time indicator for the user. I am currently investigating the Network Extension framework. Would NEPacketTunnelProvider be an appropriate API for this use case? If not, is there another supported Network Extension provider or other public iOS API intended for measuring device-wide network traffic in this manner? I would like to choose an architecture that is technically supported by Apple and appropriate for a consumer app distributed through the App Store before beginning implementation.

I'm developing a macOS security tool using NEFilterDataProvider as a system extension. On macOS 26 beta (25E241), sysextd consistently rejects my extension with: sysextd: no policy, cannot allow apps outside /Applications Configuration: App installed in /Applications/ Signed with Developer ID Application (693DSH8GN5) Entitlement: com.apple.developer.networking.networkextension = content-filter-provider com.apple.developer.system-extension.install = true Developer Mode enabled on test machine Comparison with Little Snitch: Little Snitch runs correctly on the same machine. Key differences I found: Little Snitch uses content-filter-provider-systemextension instead of content-filter-provider Little Snitch has com.apple.security.app-sandbox = false Both signed with Developer ID Application When I switch to content-filter-provider-systemextension, Xcode rejects every provisioning profile because none match that entitlement value, and the Developer Portal doesn't expose fine-grained control over the Network Extensions array values. Questions Is content-filter-provider-systemextension the correct entitlement for system extensions on macOS 26? How should the provisioning profile be configured to support it? Is there a known sysextd issue on macOS 26 beta causing this regardless of configuration? Is there - somewhere! - a guide on how to build such an extension? Thanks in advance for your help.