Build, Share, Secure: Updraft App Distribution News

We're thrilled to announce the release of Updraft Version 3.4, packed with new features and improvements designed to streamline your app distribution and mobile app testing workflows.

🔐 Seamless Single Sign-On (SSO) Integration

Secure and scalable user management is critical for successful app distribution, especially in enterprise environments with growing development and QA teams. With Updraft 3.4, we’ve made Single Sign-On (SSO) setup even more powerful and easier to manage – across both web and mobile platforms.

Why SSO Matters for App Distribution

SSO eliminates the need for manual account creation and separate credentials. Instead, users authenticate with their existing company login, enhancing security and simplifying onboarding. This is especially valuable when working across multiple apps, teams, and stakeholders.

Enterprise-Grade SAML Integration

Updraft supports SAML-based SSO integration with the most popular Identity Providers:

• Okta

• Azure Active Directory

• JumpCloud

• Ping Identity

• F5

🔗 → See our full SSO setup guide

How It Works

1. Centralized Identity Management
   Manage all your users from your existing Identity Provider (IdP). No need to manually add or update user accounts in Updraft.

2. Quick Configuration via XML
   Simply upload your organization’s SAML XML metadata in the Updraft dashboard to complete the integration.

3. Role Mapping with Permission Groups
   You can map SAML user roles directly to Updraft’s permission groups, ensuring the right access level for each user automatically.

4. Your Organization Login Page
   Your users are routed to your organization  login screen and redirected to your SAML provider for authentication.

5. Frictionless Access to the Updraft Dashboard
   Once authenticated, users are brought directly into the Updraft dashboard where they can see, download, or test their assigned apps.

Efficient user authentication is crucial for secure and streamlined app distribution, especially in enterprise environments. With Version 3.4, Updraft enhances its SSO capabilities to simplify access management:

• Direct SSO Access: New members invited to Updraft projects are now directed to the organization-specific login, ensuring a smooth onboarding experience.

• Enhanced Security: Support for signature enforcement with SSO providers adds an extra layer of protection.

• Mobile Compatibility: SSO login is now available in our mobile apps, providing flexibility across users devices.
  
  

🌐 Transition to new Domain

At Updraft, we’re constantly working to improve not just our features, but also the underlying infrastructure that powers your experience. You may have already noticed our refreshed landing page – but that’s not all.

As part of this ongoing evolution, we’ve migrated the application to a new domain. This change enhances both performance and reliability across the platform, allowing us to deliver updates faster, scale more efficiently, and respond more quickly to changes in your app distribution needs.

 

A unified domain structure enhances accessibility and integration. We've transitioned to a new domain to better serve our users:

• API: app.getupdraft.com/api
  
  

We redirect all endpoints from the CURL Upload, API Upload to the Download links. So no worries, everything should work as before. But in longterm we kindly ask you to change the domain and CI integrations accordingly. 

🛠 Build History Enhancements

Over the past year, we’ve expanded Updraft to support Windows applications – and it’s been great to see more and more customers on our Enterprise plan distributing their Windows desktop apps through the platform. Distributing Windows apps brings unique requirements compared to iOS and Android, and we've listened closely to your feedback.

One area that stood out was the need for better visibility in the Build History, especially when managing a wide variety of file types. That’s why we’ve added file extensions to build entries – so you can always see exactly what’s been uploaded at a glance. This is particularly helpful for Windows distributions, where formats like .msi, .misxbundle, .misxupload, .zip or .appxbundle all play different roles in deployment.

Clear and detailed build information is vital for effective app management. We've improved the build history to provide more clarity:

• File Extensions: Build entries now include file extensions, making it easier to distinguish between different uploaded build artifacts.
  
  

🔒 Introduction of Private App Distribution

Until now, distributing protected apps to larger groups of testers via the distribution page wasn’t possible — but that changes with this release.

With Updraft 3.4, you can now send out both single and beta releases of private apps to tester groups. When a tester clicks the distribution link, they’ll be required to authenticate and log in before accessing the build. This ensures that only authorized users can access sensitive apps — ideal for internal testing or pre-release distributions.

For the best experience, we recommend adding testers as registered Updraft users rather than just email-based app link sharing. This makes access control more reliable and improves the end-to-end experience for both testers and admins.

 

Controlling app access is essential for internal testing and enterprise deployments. Updraft now offers the possibility to distribute apps which are set to private. 

• Secure Private Distribution: Distribute 'private' apps securely within your organization, ensuring controlled access and compliance. Only users with access to your application will able to install them after successful authentication
  
  

📱 Updated Mobile Apps

Staying current with mobile platforms ensures optimal performance and user experience. We've released new versions of our mobile apps:

• iOS: Download on the App Store
  
  

• Android: Get it on Google Play
  
  

🧰 Additional Improvements and Fixes

Continuous enhancements are key to a robust app distribution platform. Version 3.4 includes:

• App Store Submission Optimizations: Smoother workflows for both Google Play Store and Apple TestFlight submissions.
  
  

• Release History Improvements: Optimized entry format and performance for faster loading and better readability.
  
  

• Dashboard Performance Optimization: Significant backend and frontend improvements ensure faster loading times and reduced latency across views.
  
  

• Tablet & iPad Compatibility: Apps now display correctly for tablet and iPad users, ensuring a consistent experience across device types.
  
  

• Stripe Payment Email Handling: When the owner of an organization is transferred, the Stripe payment email address is now automatically updated to reflect the new owner.
  
  

• Improved Email Reliability: Resolved issues affecting email delivery when using Outlook on Windows, ensuring better compatibility and delivery rates.
  
  

• Member Invitation & Error Feedback: Improved error messages when adding new members to a project, helping admins resolve issues quickly and efficiently

 

🚀 More to Come

We’re just getting started. There are many exciting features and improvements already in the pipeline — stay tuned for what’s next!

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us anytime at info@getupdraft.com.
For technical issues or bug reports, you can contact our support team directly at support@getupdraft.com.

We always appreciate your feedback — it helps us build a better Updraft for everyone. 💙