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How to install a TestFlight beta app on your iPhone
TestFlight is Apple's app for trying software before it reaches the App Store. A developer invites you, and you install the pre-release version through TestFlight instead of the App Store. This guide covers installing a beta someone has already invited you to, on an iPhone. It doesn't cover setting up a beta as a developer.
What you'll need: An iPhone signed in to the App Store with your Apple Account, and the invitation the developer sent you — a link, an email from TestFlight, or a redeem code.
Install TestFlight from the App Store
Open the App Store, search for TestFlight and install the one published by Apple. It's free, with a blue icon showing a white propeller.
Open the invitation on your iPhone
Tap the invitation link, which usually starts with testflight.apple.com/join/. If the developer emailed you instead, open that email on your iPhone and tap View in TestFlight.
Either way, the link needs opening on the iPhone itself, not on a computer. It should hand over to the TestFlight app on its own.
Accept the invitation
TestFlight shows the app's name, its icon and the developer's name. Tap Accept.
Install the app
Tap Install. The download runs in the background and the button changes to Open once it finishes.
The app also appears on your Home Screen like any other app, with an orange dot before its name. The dot marks it as a beta.
Turn on automatic updates
Developers put out new builds often. In TestFlight, tap the app's name to open its page, then turn on Automatic Updates so each new build installs without you having to come back here.
Leave it off if you'd rather be asked. New builds then show in TestFlight with an Update button, and the app may also prompt you when you open it.
Send feedback when something breaks
Beta software is expected to have problems, and reporting them is the point of testing. In TestFlight, open the app's page and tap Send Beta Feedback. Describe what happened and, if you have one, attach a screenshot.
You can also take a screenshot while the beta app is open and tap Share Beta Feedback in the screenshot preview. That sends the picture straight to the developer with your notes.
Variations
Open TestFlight and tap Redeem in the top-right corner. Type the code exactly as it was sent to you, then tap Redeem again. The app's page opens with an Install button, as in step 4.
TestFlight also runs on iPad and on Macs with macOS Monterey or later. Install TestFlight from the App Store on that device and open the same invitation link there. Some betas are built for iPhone only, in which case the iPad or Mac shows the app as unavailable.
In TestFlight, open the app's page, scroll to the bottom and tap Stop Testing. That removes the beta and stops further invitations for it. If the app has a normal App Store release, install that from the App Store afterwards.
Troubleshooting
Public TestFlight links have a cap on the number of testers, and this one has been reached. Nothing you do on your side changes that. Ask the developer to invite you directly by email, which doesn't count against the public limit, or to raise the limit on the link.
That happens when TestFlight isn't installed yet. Go back to step 1, install it, then tap the invitation link again. If the page has a Start Testing button, tapping that after installing TestFlight also works.
Each TestFlight build works for 90 days from the day the developer uploaded it, then stops. Open TestFlight and check the app's page: if a newer build is listed, tap Update and the app works again. If nothing newer is there, the developer has to upload a fresh build before you can carry on.
Installing the beta replaces the App Store version on your iPhone. Your data normally carries over, but there's no guarantee, and going back later means reinstalling from the App Store. If the app holds anything you'd miss, back it up in whatever way the app offers before you install the beta.
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