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Allow WhatsApp as a personal app with iOS Business Container while blocking other appsSolved

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elliot
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Hexnode UEM
11 hours ago Oct 23, 2026

We’re setting up Business Container for iOS devices. Our current policy blocks the App Store and prevents users from installing personal apps, which we want to keep in place.

The requirement is a bit specific: WhatsApp should remain a personal/unmanaged app, while the rest of our work apps should stay managed inside the container. At the same time, users should not be able to install any other personal apps from the App Store.

Is there a way to allow only WhatsApp as a personal app while keeping all other personal app installs blocked?

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mary_romero
Hexnode Expert
1 hour ago Oct 23, 2026
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For iOS Business Container behavior, any app deployed directly through Hexnode is treated as a managed app. So, if WhatsApp is pushed from Hexnode, it will be installed as a managed app and will be part of the managed app context.

For WhatsApp to remain a personal or unmanaged app, the user must install it manually from the App Store. Since the App Store is currently blocked, users will not be able to install WhatsApp as a personal app under the existing restriction.

A practical workaround is to use iOS app allowlisting:

  1. In the iOS Restrictions policy, allow app installation so that users can access the App Store.
  2. Go to Policies > iOS > App Management > Blocklist/Allowlist.
  3. Select Allowlist.
  4. Add WhatsApp, the App Store, all approved managed apps, and any required native iOS apps to the allowlist.

With this setup, users can open the App Store and install WhatsApp manually, so it remains unmanaged. If they install any app that is not on the allowlist, iOS will hide the app and prevent it from being used.

Regards,
Mary Romero

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