Investigate sign-in and newsletter subscription status in the mobile app

[georgerichmond]

Background

Currently, the mobile app always shows the signed-out state for newsletter sign-up, even for users who are actually signed in via the native app authentication. This is because the code relies on getIdentityAuth().isSignedInWithAuthState() from @guardian/identity-auth-frontend, which uses Okta and only works for web sessions. In the mobile app, identity is handled natively, so this mechanism fails or gives no result. As a consequence, the sign-in state is never detected in the app, and signed-in features (such as showing a user's email) are not rendered.

While newsletter form submissions work (as the email input is plain HTML and does not depend on Okta), mobile app users do not get the intended signed-in user experience.

Investigation Scope

• Determine options for detecting if a user is signed in from within the mobile app, considering the app wrapper's native authentication system.
• Explore technical or product-level options for hooking into the app's authorisation profile to:
  • Correctly detect signed-in state within the app
  • Support rendering the correct signed-in UI (user's email)
  • Support subscribing users to newsletters as signed-in users
• Identify any APIs or interfaces from the app team that could be used for these tasks.
• Collaborate with the mobile/native app team to clarify technical options, boundaries, or limitations.

Acceptance Criteria

• Clearly document technical feasibility and required actions (if any) for supporting signed-in state and newsletter subscription through the mobile app.
• Summarize any blockers, open questions, or collaboration needs.
• No production change to app/web behaviour until investigation is complete.