We’re working to extend our Ghost blog as mobile app and as part of that, sorting out how users would subscribe and login. I dont see any guides or tutorials around this, so I have questions and want to check my assumptions. Thank you in advance if you can offer any insight!
Regarding how subscribers would log in, I am aware of SSO solutions, and having implemented an alternate solution for In-App browsers (Facebook, Instagram), I know those things are possible but I’d like to explore other options for users logging in.
With Universal Links for iOS and App Links for Android, cant the Ghost emailed magic links be funneled to a webview in the native apps to trigger the logging in?
Also, are Universal Links/App Links behind the behavior I see on some mobile apps (CNN, Reddit) where opening a link will bring up a dialog to ask if I want to open a link in the website or in the native app (I am on iOS)? Or is that a separate custom solution?
As for the subscription aspects, I expect that there are multiple possible configurations but that ultimately, its possible to offer subscriptions via the website (and on Android) with Portal, and on iOS (only) via their in-app purchase.
A reading of Apple documentation suggests you can choose to forgo Apple in-app-purchase (and their profit sharing terms) so long as there is no Portal link seen in the iOS app. Not sure I would want to do this, but I wonder if its an option. Are there Ghost based native apps that do this?
I am a bit surprised there is not more resources around taking Ghost into the native realm. Sure, there is a Content API we can use to get and display content, but seems unnecessary to recreate what Ghost views are already doing. Or is maybe avoiding the webview make for a noticeably smoother app performance? Would there be a magic link → universal/app link solution possible without a webview serving the Ghost directly?