Check if user has other iOS app installed in SwiftUI

I’m building a companion app for Flighty in SwiftUI, and I wanted to detect whether Flighty app was already installed on the user’s device, in order to ask them to open it and export their flight data. I have written instructions how to do this in the app's onboarding, but providing a direct link to the app provides a way smoother UX. Since Flighty itself isn’t my app, I need to

If Flighty is installed, I can show a shortcut that opens it directly. If it isn’t, that option stays hidden.

The basic idea

iOS allows apps to check whether another app is installed by asking the system if it can open a specific URL scheme.

There are some important constraints:

• You must declare the URL schemes you want to query in Info.plist
• Apple expects you to have a legitimate reason for checking
• Querying lots of unrelated apps can lead to App Review questions

Used carefully, this is a supported and documented approach.

Step 1: Identify the app’s URL scheme

Many apps expose a custom URL scheme, either publicly documented or discoverable through testing. Flighty exposes the flighty:// scheme, which makes this possible. If you write that in your browser and press enter, it should prompt to open Flighty. On iOS you can then call the scheme with canOpenURL to see if the app is installed – as long as you've registered the scheme in your app first.

Step 2: Register the scheme in Info.plist

You must explicitly add this scheme to your apps' Info.plist file, using Queried URL Schemes (key is LSApplicationQueriesSchemes). You can do this either through Xcode or by editing the Info.plist directly.

In Xcode navigate to Targets → You app name → Info tab → Custom iOS Target Properties:

Alternatively, editing Info.plist directly, add this:

<key>LSApplicationQueriesSchemes</key>
<array>
    <string>flighty</string>
</array>

This flags tells iOS that your app is allowed to ask whether flighty:// can be opened. Without this, canOpenURL will always return false.

Step 3: Check if the app is installed

With the scheme registered, the runtime check is simple. Here’s the property I use in my SwiftUI app:

private var isFlightyInstalled: Bool {
    guard let url = URL(string: "flighty://") else { return false }
    return UIApplication.shared.canOpenURL(url)
}

If this returns true, the app is installed on the device. I use this in my app to conditionally render UI, showing a button that opens Flighty only when it’s actually available.

Opening the other app

Once you know the app is installed, opening it is straightforward:

private func openFlighty() {
    if let url = URL(string: "flighty://") {
        UIApplication.shared.open(url)
    }
}

A note on privacy and App Review

You should be careful when checking for other apps, there used to be no limitations on this but some ad SDK apparently abused this method. But if you're doing it for a legitimate purpose, Apple is generally fine with this pattern when:

• The integration is clear and user-facing
• You only query the specific app you integrate with
• You’re transparent about what you’re doing

Be explicit in your App Review notes and privacy policy about why you check for the other app. The goal here is user convenience, not tracking.

Final thoughts

This is a small feature, but it can make a big difference in the user experience. I like these kinds of UX "hacks", that you most likely won't even pay that much attention to, but which just make the life of the user a tiny bit easier when interacting with your app.