Lock iPads permanently to a single web page

[anothermacguy]

We need to have some new iPads (~250) be permanently locked to a web page, so that the end users can only ever see that web page - no closing of the app. These iPads have previously been doing this without Casper management by using Guided Access mode on a Web Clip.

Ideally we would like a way to open a Web Clip in single app mode; is that possible yet (without a unique bundle identifier)? Alternatively, what might our options be?

Web filtering to a single URL and then setting Safari to single app mode seems like a clunky way to do it, since we don't want users to see an address bar, bring up keyboards for text entry, etc. Are there some other non-Safari browsers that might allow something similar, that could be easily configured via Casper?

[davidacland]

I'm not sure if you can do that completely with a configuration profile. You can lock the iPads into Safari and you can specify the domains Safari can get to, but I don't think it is possible to manage a homepage like you can on a Mac.

Can anything be done on the wireless access points or controller to specify a particular web page?

[jarednichols]

Creating a custom app for this is dead easy. So easy that Hacking With Swift's 4th project covers exactly this.

Code it, build it, deploy it and Single App mode your custom app.

As an aside, if you're looking to get into iOS app development, Hacking With Swift is the best jump start straight into applicable tutorials I've seen. After doing only 2 lessons I had everything I needed to create a very basic Bingo game. Highly recommended.

[grecopj]

I just recently did something like this with using app Kiosk Pro Lite in conjunction with guided access. I'm not sure if there is a way to roll this into a configuration but it allowed the device to be on only the site specified and guided access locked them out of quitting the app etc.. While I did this only with 15 iPads, not sure if it would be advisable doing it with 250 as I had to "touch" each one to get it going. Was pressed for time so I could not investigate it further.

Please share if you find a solution.

[jarednichols]

The upside of going with a Single App mode solution would be that you can control it via MDM vs having to touch each device for Guided Access.