Configure Helperbird on iPhone and iPad with MDM

Use managed app configuration to supply Helperbird settings to school or work iPhones and iPads. This can activate an organization subscription and control selected features without asking every user to enter a key.

Looking for an iPad .mobileconfig? Helperbird's Mac profile uses managed preferences. On iPhone and iPad, deliver a configuration dictionary to the managed app through your MDM instead. Installing the Mac profile on an iPad will not set these values.

Before You Start

• An enrolled iPhone or iPad running iOS or iPadOS 15 or later.
• An MDM that supports managed app configuration, such as Jamf Pro or Jamf School.
• Helperbird installed as a managed app, using a signed build with the 2026.9.6 managed-settings support and its app-sharing entitlement.
• An organization subscription key if you want to supply Pro access.

Confirm the supported build with your deployment contact and test on an enrolled device first. Installing a configuration does not update the app or enable its Safari extension.

This guide covers the legacy AppConfig delivery route. It needs the Helperbird app to open periodically. For eligible fleets that need configuration delivered directly to the extension, use the declarative management guide.

Step 1: Create the App Configuration

1. Open the Helperbird policy builder.
2. Choose Safari on iPhone & iPad.
3. Under Configuration format, select Managed App Configuration (.plist).
4. Enable organization control, then set your subscription key and any feature policies.
5. Select Download file.

For a simple policy without a managed subscription, use this complete plist. It enables management and blocks Word Prediction:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
  <dict>
    <key>isAdminControl</key>
    <true/>
    <key>disableFeatures</key>
    <true/>
    <key>disabledFeatures</key>
    <array>
      <string>WordPrediction</string>
    </array>
  </dict>
</plist>

To supply a subscription, add the string field subKey using the builder. A missing or empty key leaves feature management active and allows an existing personal subscription to be used.

Apple values are flat. Do not add Google Admin's Value wrappers or an outer com.apple.configuration.managed dictionary. iOS creates the managed configuration container itself.

The supported Apple settings table also applies to this route, including website exclusions, toolbar defaults and read-aloud highlighting.

Step 2: Deliver It to Helperbird

Open Helperbird's managed app record in your MDM and find its app configuration settings. Target the containing app's bundle ID:

com.helperbird.Helperbird

In Jamf School, follow its managed app configuration workflow (opens in a new tab). In another MDM, use its equivalent managed application configuration screen.

Upload the plist, paste its dictionary, or enter typed fields according to the format your MDM expects. A field expecting a dictionary should receive the contents of <dict>, not the whole XML document. Preserve booleans as booleans and feature lists as arrays.

Scope the app and configuration to one test device. Deliver the app configuration, then confirm that the MDM reports successful delivery. Keep any files containing your organization's key private.

Step 3: Open the App and Check Safari

1. Open the Helperbird app from the Home Screen once after configuration arrives.
2. Enable the Safari extension using the iPhone and iPad setup guide.
3. Open an ordinary website in Safari and open Helperbird.
4. Check one managed feature, such as the Word Prediction restriction.
5. If you supplied a key, check the subscription status with an internet connection.

The containing app passes the managed settings to its Safari extension. Opening only the Safari popup does not refresh this legacy handoff.

Open the Helperbird app at least once within each seven-day period. Its managed snapshot expires after seven days without a refresh, so managed Pro access needs the app to be opened again. This is separate from the subscription service's online validation.

Update or Remove Managed Settings

Deliver the changed app configuration, open the Helperbird app, then reopen its Safari extension. Follow that sequence for key rotation, feature changes and removal.

To release all organization settings, deliver this dictionary through the same managed app configuration route:

<dict>
  <key>isAdminControl</key>
  <false/>
</dict>

Open the containing app after delivery. Removing the configuration also releases management once that change reaches the app and its handoff refreshes. Personal settings and subscriptions are not erased by releasing the policy.

An offline or unopened app may still have the previous snapshot. Do not treat MDM removal as instant revocation on every device.

Troubleshooting

Settings arrived but Safari has not changed: open the Helperbird Home Screen app, then try Safari again.

The Mac profile did nothing: use managed app configuration targeted to com.helperbird.Helperbird. The Safari extension's Mac preference domain is a different route.

Pro stopped after a week: open the containing app to refresh the managed snapshot, then check connectivity and the subscription key.

The floating button can still be changed: floatingButton is a starting preference. To block it, enable disableFeatures and add FloatingButton to disabledFeatures.

A previously declarative-managed device ignores this configuration: do not layer the two delivery routes. See the declarative management guide before switching back.

Need Additional Help?

Contact Helperbird support with your MDM, iOS or iPadOS version, and Helperbird version. For classroom reading setup, see Helperbird on iPad in the classroom.