Apple confirms it has fixed the ‘no longer shared’ app bug

Over last weekend, there was an issue with apps that led many iOS users scratching their head in confusion. Now, a couple of days later, the issue has been fixed.

As a quick refresher, last Friday there was an issue with newly-updated apps not opening when users tried to launch them. When they did try, a pop-up would indicate that “This app is no longer shared with you”. The additional text in the pop-up message indicated that the iOS users had to buy the app from the App Store to be able to use it.

A variety of applications suffered from the issue. That included social networks like Twitter and Facebook, and other apps like TikTok, WhatsApp, YouTube, and many others. Some users discovered that offloading the app and then reinstalling it could fix the issue, but, for many iOS users the problem was an annoyingly persistent one, made worse by a holiday weekend in the United States.

And then on Sunday Apple started re-releasing application updates, specifically for those apps that were impacted by the sharing bug. Some updates extended as far back as longer than a week before. It appeared the app updates were meant to address the sharing bug.

And it appears that is indeed the case, as Apple has confirmed to TechCrunch that the sharing bug has been fixed. Per the report:

Apple has now resolved the bug that was plaguing iPhone and iPad apps over the weekend, causing some apps to not launch at all. The issue was related to a bug with Apple’s Family Sharing system, it appears, as users reported error messages which said “This app is no longer shared with you,” and directed them to buy the app from the App Store in order to still use it.

Unfortunately, Apple did not provide any additional details on the matter, so whatever the root cause was we still don’t know.

However, as far as the apps are concerned, iOS users should be able to use them without any issues now.

Did you run into this issue over the weekend?