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Branded apps are Android, iPhone, or iPad apps developed to meet an organization’s specific business needs. They are distributed privately and securely to members of the organization as unlisted apps. 

Mobile teams submit branded apps through Google Play or App Store Connect. Then the customers can assign those apps to the Apple Business Manager, MDM/Google EM, or any other EMM account. Once approved, they are available to the organization so that only the assigned employees can view and access them.

Creating a branded app

To create the Custom/Branded app, Simpplr requires the following components to be provided: 

• App name
• App icon
• Authorization letter
• Splash and other screens
• Theme color
• Web intranet screenshot

Simpplr org required information:

1. Simpplr app url. This is the url you receive on the home page of Simpplr.
   
2. Your company's main website domain name. For example, simpplr.com. If you have multiple websites or domains, provide those as well. This allows us to enable both the universal and branded apps. 

App name

1. The mobile app name can be anything you'd like, as long as it's available on the Apple or Google Play Store. However, the name should reflect exactly how you want your intranet name to display in Apple and Google Play. For example, if you want your name to be theHub, then you should tell us it's called theHub, not "The Hub".

App icon

Reference: 

https://blog.clevertap.com/fixing-notification-icon-for-android-lollipop-and-above/

1. One logo/icon in PNG format. Dimensions: 1024x1024 pixels (shouldn’t be transparent). It will be used as an application icon for the home screen/ app drawer of the mobile device.
2. A 256x256 pixels transparent icon with logo/artwork in white to be used as an icon in the notification bar on Android. (Only needed for Android app). *This icon must be white and transparent.*

Authorization letter

Simpplr is encountering increased scrutiny and impersonation policy checks from Google. To proactively address this and avoid any delays or rejections, we recommend including a signed authorization letter on your company's letterhead confirming Simpplr’s right to use your brand assets (logo, name, content, etc.) for the purpose of building and publishing the branded mobile app.

This will ensure that all stakeholders are aligned, and customers are informed upfront to avoid blockers in the mobile app submission process.

The letter can be written as such:

To Whom it May Concern,

[Company Name] is the owner of certain trademarks similar to the logo on this letterhead. [Company Name] has hired Simpplr to provide company intranet services, including an accompanying mobile app that will only be distributed to [Company Name] employees. Simpplr is authorized to use [Company Name] logos, content and brand assets, the title [Your Intranet App Name] (which refers to the name of our intranet platform), and [Your Intranet App Name] logos in fulfilling the terms of our contract.

Splash and other screens

1. One image logo/art-work (non-transparent) in PNG format with dimensions 2732x2732 pixels centered with the center square dimension 1000x1000 px. This image will be used as a Splash Screen, shown upon opening the app. Note this image will only take up about 25% of your phone's screen. You'll also see a "Powered by SIMPPLR" label at the bottom.
   

Theme color

Provide your desired theme color code for branding. It is used to display the base color in the application. This should be in the form of a hex code based on your primary color, e.g., #1cbc9c.

Web intranet screenshot

We require your web environment’s home dashboard screenshot. We use this to create the Android app listing on Google Play store.

Process

Once all the details are received, the Simpplr Dev and QA team require 2-3 weeks to build, test and upload the app.

To test the mobile application, Simpplr will need:

1. An active user in your Simpplr instance with Application management permission sets
   assigned to them. An existing App manager should create a standard user using the email address -
   onboard@simpplr.com so as not to interfere with a real person's profile in your org. 
2. If you are using a SSO and want the application to support the SSO, create an
   account with an email address that your IT and Executive teams have access to. This account should be mapped to the user created in the previous steps.

App distribution

• In case of iOS, you can distribute the app to users as unlisted.
• In the case of Android, you can keep the app public and let users download the app from the Google Play store directly or in case of the private app, user can choose to distribute through Google Enterprise (EMM) or with any MDM.

Note that in order to use the Simpplr mobile app, the minimum required versions of iOS and Android are as follows: 

• iOS: Minimum version 17
• Android: Minimum version 10