Does iOS Per-App VPN require MDM

Question

Does iOS Per-App VPN require use of MDM?

Is there any other way in which this feature can be utilized?

So far my finding has been that it can only be used with MDM. See Routing Network Data to the VPN Section

Thanks!

Answer 1

Yes, technically it is possible to configure an app to use a Per-App VPN without an MDM. However, this is purely for development of your own VPN plugin and will not work for apps pushed to the app store.

Testing Per-App VPN

As described above, an MDM server is required to configure Per-App VPN for VPN apps distributed via the App Store. To make testing Per-App VPN easier, it is possible to configure Per-App VPN without an MDM server during development by using the NETestAppMapping Info.plist key.

The NETestAppMapping Info.plist key can only be used to create app rules in apps that are signed with a Development provisioning profile. In apps that are signed with Distribution provisioning profiles the NETestAppMapping Info.plist key has no effect.

Source: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/networkextension/netunnelprovidermanager