Manage applications in the Apps section. In this section, you can upload applications, approve Google Play Store applications, and more.
There are five types of applications you can authorize on your devices:
- Esper Android Apps(APK files): You can upload Android Packages (APKs) for Enterprise applications to the Esper Cloud. An APK is the package file format used by the Android operating system to distribute and install mobile applications.
- iOS Enterprise Applications (IPA files): You can upload IPA files for Enterprise applications to the Esper Cloud.
- Play Store: Compatible with GMS devices. You can approve—or unapprove— applications from your managed Google Play store.
- VPP Apps: You can assign apps in Apple Business Manager which will appear in the Esper iOS Apps section. Custom apps also appear here.
- Special Apps: These applications do not follow the show, hide, disable, install, or uninstall flows of other application types. They may be system apps, or integral to system or device management.
You can manage apps in a variety of ways:
- Deploy apps and update them using a blueprint: Good for updating apps and dozens of other settings at the same time.
- Manage an individual device's or a group's apps: Good for targeted or small-scale management.
- Use a pipeline to manage apps: Good for large-scale deployments when updating in stages.
- Use our developer tools to handle app management
Special Applications
These applications do not follow the usual flow for app management. This table outlines how to manage these apps.
Application | OS Availability | How to Install/Uninstall | How to Show/Hide/Disable |
Google Play Store | Android GMS devices | Preloaded on Android GMS devices. Cannot be uninstalled. | Hidden by default. Can be shown with the Google Play Store Visibility setting in a blueprint or template. |
Apple App Store | iOS devices | Preloaded on iOS devices. Apple allows uninstallation for some users, but it is not recommended. | Can be shown or hidden with the Allow Local App Installs blueprint setting. |
Esper Agent App | iOS and Android devices | Installs on devices when they are provisioned to Esper. Cannot be uninstalled unless the device is factory reset. | For Android devices, this app runs in the background. This app is always in the "Show" state for iOS devices. |
Android Settings | Android devices | Preloaded on Android devices. Cannot be uninstalled. | Can be shown by enabling the Android Settings App in a template or blueprint or by using the Android launcher. |
Esper Settings | Android devices | Installs on devices when they are provisioned to Esper. Cannot be uninstalled unless the device is factory reset. | Can be shown by enabling the Esper Settings app in a blueprint or template. |
iOS Settings | iOS devices | Preloaded on iOS devices. Cannot be uninstalled. | Cannot be hidden or disabled. |
iOS Phone | iOS iPhone devices | Preloaded on iOS devices. Cannot be uninstalled. | Cannot be hidden or disabled. |
Supervisor Plugin | Certain Android devices | Installed through Esper. Learn more about supervisor setup criteria. Contact Esper Support to uninstall. | This app runs in the background. |