What an App Clip Is
An App Clip is a small, focused slice of an iOS app that opens without a full install. A user scans a code on a parking meter, taps a card in Maps, or opens a link in Messages, and a card slides up offering to open the App Clip. One tap later they are paying for parking or ordering coffee, without visiting the App Store, creating an account or waiting for a download of the whole app.
Apple introduced App Clips in iOS 14. They are part of the same Xcode project as the full app, use the same frameworks, and ship together in one App Store submission. Each App Clip has its own bundle identifier, derived from the full app's.
How App Clips Are Invoked
App Clips start from an invocation, and every invocation carries a URL. Physical invocations include App Clip Codes, which are Apple's circular codes that can include an NFC tag, plus standard QR codes and NFC tags. Digital invocations include Safari's Smart App Banner, links shared in Messages, place cards in Apple Maps, and the App Library's recently used list.
The URL tells the App Clip what to show, for example a specific store, table or scooter. You register the URLs in App Store Connect as App Clip experiences: a default experience, plus advanced experiences for specific URL prefixes, each with its own card title, subtitle and image. The domain must be associated with the App Clip through the appclips key in your apple-app-site-association file.
Size Limits and Restrictions
App Clips have to be small so they download in seconds. Apple's limit on the uncompressed App Clip was 10 MB at launch and rose to 15 MB for App Clips targeting iOS 16 and later. For App Clips targeting iOS 17 and later, the limit is much larger when the App Clip is invoked only digitally, through Safari, Messages and similar surfaces, while physical invocations keep the smaller limit.
App Clips are also restricted by design. They cannot request App Tracking Transparency permission or track users across apps. Some frameworks and data are unavailable or limited, background activity is restricted, and the App Clip and its data are removed by the system if the user does not use it for a while. App Clips can ask for limited notification permission that lasts for a short period after launch, which suits order and pickup updates.
Converting App Clip Users to the Full App
An App Clip is often the first step toward a full install. It can show an overlay recommending the full app through SKOverlay, typically after the user finishes the task. When the user installs the full app, it replaces the App Clip, and a shared app group container lets the full app pick up data such as a sign-in, saved cart or preferences, so the user does not start over.
Sign in with Apple and Apple Pay are common in App Clips because they remove account and payment friction, which is where most quick tasks fail.
Measuring App Clips
Measurement in App Clips is limited by their privacy rules. You can see which invocation URLs opened the App Clip and what users did inside it through your own analytics, and App Store Connect shows App Clip metrics such as sessions and installs of the full app. Device-level ad attribution and cross-app tracking are not available.
The most useful measurement is often the handoff. Track how many App Clip sessions lead to full app installs, and how those users behave compared with users who installed directly. Use distinct invocation URLs for each location or placement, much like QR code attribution uses distinct links, so you can compare where the App Clip earns its keep.
When an App Clip Makes Sense
App Clips fit tasks that happen in a specific place or moment and take under a minute: parking, transit tickets, scooter rentals, restaurant orders, event check-in, trying a product before committing. They are less useful for apps whose value comes from repeated use and stored history. If your offline audience mostly already has your app, a QR code with a deep link may do the same job with less engineering work. Linkrunner QR codes open the full app or route new users to the store with deferred deep linking.