We would like to note a number of things for you to speak to your developer about when upgrading to our latest SDKs, v6.2.0 for both Android and iOS.

Deprecation of Automatic App Review Requests

As a reminder, Apple has made a change to their policy on automatically requesting app reviews and ratings from end users. As a result of this new compliance requirement, Helpshift has removed the ability to schedule automatic app review requests from the App Settings in your Helpshift Dashboard.

If the app rating API (showAlertToRateAppWithURL:withCompletionBlock:) is used in your SDK, your developers should remove it when upgrading to v6.2.0, as it will be non-operational. Please see the app rating API (iOS, Android) section of our developer documentation for more information on this change.

In your App Settings, under Mobile SDK Configurations, there is a setting for “On app update, ask for an app rating after” that will no longer work for iOS apps. This feature will only be applicable to Android apps.

Please review the following FAQ for more details on this change, and alternate options available to you and your developer: How do I request app store reviews from iOS users?

Other Deprecations and API Changes

Since the release of v6.0.0 and v6.1.0, there have been many changes your developer will need to observe while upgrading. If you are still on v6.0.0 or previous builds, please have your developer review the following documents:

Latest OS Compatibility

This SDK update will bring you up-to-date with iOS 11 and Android Oreo compatibility. If you need to wait to upgrade to v6.2.0, please be assured that v6.1.0 will still be safe to remain on.

If you use Unity, Cocos2d-x, or Xamarin, our latest SDKs contain v6.1.0 as well, which will support your users on their updated OS. Please review our latest developer documentation for these SDKs in our developer portal.

Android Storage Permissions Now Optional

This update also includes the ability to remove “Write External Storage” requirements in the SDK without interference with the attachment function within Helpshift Conversations. We have implemented a way to allow that functionality without the need for additional permissions. Please share our app permissions documentation with your developer if this has been a concern.

Android Oreo Notification Channels Support

With Google’s Android Oreo release, the new “notification channels” feature was introduced. This allows you to create a user-customizable channel for each type of notification you want to display. You can read more about this feature in Google’s documentation on managing notification channels.

In v6.2.0, we have added support for Android Oreo notification channels. Our FAQ describes how Helpshift handles this feature:
Does Helpshift Support Notification Channels For Android O?

Fixes Detailed in the SDK Release Notes

There are various resolved crashes, bug fixes, and additional changes you and your developer should review in our release notes.

Please feel free to let us know if you have any questions about these releases by reaching out via our contact form.