Firebase Email Verification on iOS Devices

Firebase Authentication

Create a Firebase Project:

Go to the Firebase Console. Click on "Add project," and follow the prompts to create a new Firebase project.

Add Your App to the Firebase Project:

Click on the iOS icon to add an iOS app to your Firebase project. Enter your app's bundle ID. You can find this in your Xcode project's target settings. Download the GoogleService-Info.plist file and add it to your Xcode project.

Install Firebase SDK:

Open your Xcode project and navigate to the Podfile. Add pod 'Firebase/Auth' to your Podfile. Run pod install in your terminal to install the Firebase Auth SDK.

Initialize Firebase in Your App:

Import Firebase in your AppDelegate.swift or SceneDelegate.swift file: import Firebase.

Add FirebaseApp.configure() to your initialization method (application(_:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:) or scene(_:willConnectTo:options:)).

Real-Time Verification

To verify if a user has clicked the verification link in real-time, you can periodically check the user's Apple ID email verification status:

func checkVerification() {
  Auth.auth().currentUser?.reload { error in
    if let error = error {
      print("Error reloading user: \(error.localizedDescription)")
    } else if Auth.auth().currentUser?.isEmailVerified == true {
      print("Email is verified.")
      // Proceed with the app's flow
    }
  }
}

Handling Verification:

Guide the user to check their email  on their Mac, iPad, or iPhone device and click the verification link. Provide a button or mechanism in your app to allow users to request another verification email if needed. Implement a method to check if the user has verified their email before allowing them to proceed with certain features of your app found in the app store.

Testing and Deployment:

Test the email verification process thoroughly with different email accounts. Monitor for any issues or user feedback related to the email verification process and adjust your implementation as necessary.

Comparison Table of Firebase Authentication vs. Custom Verification Methods

Code Examples and Best Practices

Let's dive deeper into how to implement email verification with Firebase in an iPhone or iPad app, including a custom verification process (could be via user’s phone number) and real-time feedback for users. We'll focus on Swift code examples and best practices to ensure a smooth and secure implementation.

Firebase Email Verification Code Example

First, ensure you have completed the setup for Firebase in your project as outlined in previous steps. Then, you can proceed with the following implementation details.

User Registration and Sending Verification Email

import FirebaseAuth

func registerUserWithEmail(email: String, password: String) {
    Auth.auth().createUser(withEmail: email, password: password) { (authResult, error) in
    if let error = error {
        print("Error creating user: \(error.localizedDescription)")
    } else {
        // User created, verification email sent
    }
}
}

func sendVerificationEmail() {
    Auth.auth().currentUser?.sendEmailVerification { error in
        if let error = error {
            print("Error sending verification email: \(error.localizedDescription)")
        } else {
            print("Verification email sent.")
        }
    }
}

Custom Verification Process

While Firebase handles the email sending, you might want to customize the user experience around this process. For example, guiding the user through the verification process with customized screens or messages.

Guide for Custom Screens

Verification Screen: After the user signs up, navigate them to a screen that explains a verification email has been sent. Provide clear instructions on what they need to do next.

Resend Email Functionality: Offer the ability to resend the verification email. This is helpful if the email didn't arrive or was sent to spam by accident.

func resendVerificationEmail() {
    sendVerificationEmail() // Reuse the sendVerificationEmail function.
}

Real-Time Feedback Implementation

To enhance user experience, provide real-time feedback on the email verification status. You can do this by periodically checking if the user has verified their email.

Checking Email Verification Status

func checkEmailVerification() {
    Auth.auth().currentUser?.reload { [weak self] error in
        if let user = Auth.auth().currentUser, user.isEmailVerified {
            // Email is verified. Update the UI or proceed to the next screen.
            print("Email verified.")
        } else {
            // Email not verified. Keep user on the verification screen or show a message.
            print("Email not verified yet.")
        }
    }
}

To automate this, you might set up a timer to periodically call checkEmailVerification, providing real-time feedback to the user. However, be mindful of the user experience and network usage. 

Additional Resources

How to Include AbstractAPI’s Email Validation Into an iPhone or iPad App

Incorporating AbstractAPI into an iPhone or iPad application involves a few steps. The AbstractAPI Email Validation API provides a straightforward way to validate new Apple ID email addresses in real-time. Here’s a guide to help you integrate this functionality into your iOS 17 app:

Step 1: Obtain an API Key from AbstractAPI

First, you need to sign up for AbstractAPI and obtain an API key for the Email Validation API. This key is essential for making requests to their service.

Visit AbstractAPI’s Email Validation page. Sign up or log in to create a new API key.

Step 2: Setting Up Your iOS 17 Project

Ensure your iOS project is ready to make network requests. If you’re using URLSession, no additional setup is required. However, if you plan to use a third-party library like Alamofire for networking, ensure it is installed in your project.

Step 3: Making a Request to the Email Validation API

You can use URLSession to make a GET request to the AbstractAPI’s Email Validation endpoint. Here’s how you can do it with Swift:

import Foundation

func validateEmail(email: String, completion: @escaping (Bool, String?) -> Void) {
    let apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
    let urlString = "https://emailvalidation.abstractapi.com/v1/?api_key=\(apiKey)&email=\(email)"
    guard let url = URL(string: urlString) else {
        completion(false, "Invalid URL")
        return
    }

    let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url) { data, response, error in
        guard let data = data, error == nil else {
            completion(false, "Network request failed")
            return
        }

        do {
            if let json = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data, options: []) as? [String: Any],
               let isValid = json["is_valid_format"] as? [String: Any],
               let value = isValid["value"] as? Bool {
                completion(value, nil)
            } else {
                completion(false, "Error parsing response")
            }
        } catch {
            completion(false, "Error decoding response")
        }
    }
    task.resume()
}

Replace "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE" with your actual API key from AbstractAPI.

This function makes a network request to the Email Validation API and passes the result to a completion handler. It checks if the email is valid based on the response from AbstractAPI.

Step 4: Handling the Validation Response

Use the validateEmail function where you need to validate an email address. For instance, you might call it when a user submits a registration form:

validateEmail(email: "test@example.com") { isValid, errorMessage in
    DispatchQueue.main.async {
        if let errorMessage = errorMessage {
            print("Error: \(errorMessage)")
        } else if isValid {
            print("The email is valid.")
            // Proceed with registration or email verification.
        } else {
            print("The email is invalid.")
            // Show an error message to the user.
        }
    }
}