What is an app clip and how to use it?

Apple introduced App Clips at WWDC 2020, and they have since become a standard part of how people interact with iOS apps. If you have ever scanned a code to rent a scooter, pay for parking, or order a coffee without installing anything, you have used an App Clip.

This guide explains what an App Clip is, how it works, and how your business can use app clips to remove friction for first-time users.

What is an App Clip?

An App Clip is a small, standalone part of an iOS app that lets someone use one specific feature instantly, without installing the full app from the App Store. It loads in seconds, does one job (paying, booking, checking in), and then gets out of the way.

Think of it as a single useful slice of your app that a person can open the moment they need it, instead of going through the usual download, register, and set up steps.

App Clip vs. the Clips app: not the same thing

People often search for "clip app" or "clips app" and land on two different things. Apple's Clips app is a video-making tool for creating short social clips. An App Clip is the feature this article covers: a lightweight piece of another app that runs on demand. Same words, completely different purpose.

How App Clips work

There are three things to understand about how an app clip works:

1. You need a full app first. An App Clip is part of an existing iOS app, not a replacement for one.
2. App Clip experiences are URLs. Normally tapping a link opens a browser. When you build an App Clip experience and a user opens its URL on iOS, an App Clip handles it instead of the browser.
3. The App Clip itself is the small part of your app that performs one task without the user installing the full app.

In practice it behaves like a temporary feature on the user's phone: they get the job done in a couple of taps, with no need to install, register, and wait.

How to configure and link your App Clips

App Clip experience

The App Clip experience is the entry point. It is how people discover your clip and reach the one part of your app they need.

You register the experience through App Store Connect. You can use a default App Clip link generated by App Store Connect, or your own associated domain. Once it is live, the clip can surface through Siri suggestions, App Clip Codes, QR codes, NFC tags, Maps, Messages, and Safari.

So when you see one of Apple's App Clip Codes, you know you can scan or tap it and start using the feature in seconds.

Building the App Clip

The whole point of an App Clip is speed, so keep it small. When App Clips launched the binary had to stay under 10 MB. Since iOS 16 the limit rose to 15 MB uncompressed, and since iOS 17 App Clips opened from digital invocations (links, Messages, Safari) can be up to 50 MB, while those opened from physical codes such as NFC tags and App Clip Codes still stay within 15 MB. Whatever the ceiling, the principle is unchanged: include only what the single task needs.

The App Clip is part of your app, but you build it as a separate target that handles one App Clip experience. You build it, make sure it works with its parent app, and submit it for App Review. Once it is live, users can launch it on its own, separate from the full app.

Make sure the App Clip is fully usable the moment it launches. It should carry all the assets and data needed to finish the task without installing the main app.

image source: Apple.com

What is the difference between a mobile app and an App Clip?

A full app gives you many features and screens. An App Clip does a single action. That is the whole distinction.

A normal app architecture looks like this:

While an App Clip is just one small part of that app:

However a user discovers it, an App Clip can be opened through:

• NFC tags you tap your iPhone on;
• Visual codes such as QR codes and Apple's App Clip Codes;
• Links in Messages;
• A banner in Safari;
• A place card in Maps, for location-based clips;
• The Recently Used App Clips list in the App Library.

Example: mobile app vs. App Clip

Think about renting a shared e-scooter. Normally you would have to install the company's app, register with your email and name, confirm the account, add payment details, and only then scan and start the scooter.

With an App Clip, you scan the scooter, the clip opens instantly, you sign in and pay with your Apple credentials in one tap, and you ride. Five steps become one.

How to use App Clips for business

Here is how an App Clip can work across a few industries:

• App Clips for transportation: rent an e-scooter, call a ride, or buy a metro or bus pass on the spot, without installing the transport app.
• App Clips for fintech: simplify payments and donations. A fundraising or checkout flow can run from a single tap instead of a full install.
• App Clips for education: a university or library can place location-based clips that hand visitors courses, books, or resources instantly.
• App Clips for airlines: boarding passes or airport Wi-Fi access without downloading a separate app for every carrier.
• App Clips for gaming: scan a real-world code to earn in-game rewards, unlock a skin tied to a physical product, or download the full game.

The pattern is the same everywhere: the user reaches the feature they need in seconds, whatever the app or industry.

A day with App Clips

It is early morning and you want a coffee waiting when you arrive. Instead of installing the coffee shop's app, you use its App Clip to order a flat white and pay with Apple Pay while the elevator arrives.

You drive off and reach a parking spot, but you do not have the city parking app. You scan a code and pay for your space with Apple Pay in seconds.

Then you try a new co-working space for a few meetings. Everything is self check-in, so instead of registering and paying at a desk, you tap the NFC tag on a free desk, sign in with your Apple ID, and pay, all in a few taps.

Other App Clip benefits

• Time-limited notifications: an App Clip can ask to send notifications for up to 8 hours after launch, enough to keep the user informed without spamming them. You can also request permission for longer-term notifications.
• Location verification: a dedicated API lets an App Clip do a one-time check that the scanned tag is actually where it claims to be.
• Multiple App Clip experiences: one app can run different experiences for different contexts, for example a restaurant chain or an e-scooter operator tailoring the flow per location.

App Clip privacy

Instant access raises a fair privacy question. Apple designed App Clips so their data is removed if the clip is not used for a period of time. App Clips also cannot reach your health, media, or messages data, so the services you tap into only get what the single task requires.

Build your App Clip with Wolfpack Digital

App Clips are one of the simplest ways to turn a first-time visitor into a user, because they remove the install step entirely. If you are weighing up a full app, an App Clip, or both, it helps to understand how much it costs to build an app before you start.

If you want to develop an app or an App Clip for your product, drop us a line and the Wolfpack Digital team will walk you through it and help you build a fast, reliable App Clip.