Tonic opens an app using a link the app itself publishes, and Apple offers no other way. About 4 in 100 apps publish no such link, including some of Apple's own, like Voice Memos. For those, Tonic shows Apple's App Store card with an Open button instead. Your earned minutes count exactly the same.
How Tonic opens an app for you
When you tap through to an app from Tonic, Tonic asks iOS to open it using an address the app publishes for exactly this purpose. Think of it as a link that tells iOS "open me." Apple gives apps no other way to open each other, so that address is the only door Tonic can use.
Most apps publish one. A few don't publish any at all. Some of Apple's own apps are among them: Voice Memos, for example, has a private address that only Apple's software can use. With no address to follow, there is nothing Tonic can tap on your behalf to open the app.
What you see instead
For an app Tonic can't open directly, you get a short, clear ending instead of an error:
- Tonic dims and shows a short message.It says the app can't be opened directly and asks you to tap Open.
- The App Store card appears underneath.It shows the app's icon and an Open button. Apple draws this card, so the tap has to be yours.
- Tap Open.You go straight into the app. Swipe the card away or tap the dimmed screen to close it instead.
If no card appears, the message tells you to open the app from your Home Screen. Either way, time in the app counts toward your ritual exactly as it would if Tonic had opened it for you.
This one has no workaround on our side
An app with no published address can't be opened by Tonic, or by any other app outside Apple's own. Upgrading to Unlimited or updating Tonic won't change that, so we won't ask you to. If the app's makers ever add an address, Tonic picks it up automatically, with no update needed.
See which of your apps this affects
Go to Settings, then tap App Redirects. Any app Tonic can't open directly is marked Can't be opened directly. Everything else on that screen opens the usual way.
Still stuck? Email [email protected]. A real person reads every message.
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