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Determining App Categories for Safelist and Blocklist for Jamf School

Updated over 3 weeks ago

Description

The Safelist and Blocklist device profile allows apps falling into specific categories to be permitted or restricted on a device. The category an app is listed as having in the App Store is only the Primary App category; however, there are secondary app categories that are not readily visible and could affect a Safelist and Blocklist profile.

Using Google Chrome as an example, this guide will detail how we can see these secondary categories to determine if they are causing an app to be safelisted or blocklisted.

Finding Secondary App Categories

  1. Look up the app in Apple School Manager and select App Details to open the App store page.

  2. Look at the URL for the app in the Search Bar - for example, https://apps.apple.com/us/app/google-chrome/id535886823.

  3. Copy the value after id.

    This photo shows where you are able to find the AdamID in your URL.

    This is also the AdamID for the application listed under the Application Details in Jamf School.

    This photo shows an alternate way to find the AdamID under the Application Details in Jamf School.

  4. In the search bar navigate to https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=<adamID>&country=US, replacing <adamID> with the id copied in Step 3, for example https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=535886823&country=US.

  5. This will trigger the download of a .txt file that contains all of the app information. Open the downloaded .txt file and search for the term "genre."

  6. Note the full list of Genres that the app is assigned under the Genres key.

    If one of these genres is being restricted as a category in a Jamf School Safelist and Blocklist profile, the app will not display on the device.

  7. Remove the restriction blocking the app as necessary.

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