---
title: Live Updates FAQ
description: Frequently asked questions about Capacitor and Cordova Live Updates — app store policies, MAU and data transfer billing, overages, self-hosting, and privacy.
faq: true
---

# FAQ

## General

### Are Live Updates compliant with app store policies?

Yes. Both Apple and Google explicitly allow downloading and executing interpreted code (such as JavaScript) inside a WebView, as long as it doesn't change the app's primary purpose or bypass platform security. Live Updates only update the web layer, so they stay compliant. See [How Live Updates Work](how-it-works.md#are-live-updates-compliant-with-app-store-policies) for the details.

### What changes can I ship as a Live Update?

Only **binary-compatible** changes — anything that lives in your web layer. Changes to native code, plugins, or native configuration require an app store release. See [Binary-Compatible Changes](binary-compatible-changes.md).

## Bundles

### How do I restrict bundles to specific native versions?

Use [versioned channels](channels.md#versioned-channels) or [versioned bundles](bundles.md#versioned-bundles).

### How do I roll back to a previous bundle?

See [Roll back a release](rollbacks.md).

### How do I roll out a bundle to only a subset of users?

See [Roll out gradually](rollouts.md).

### What is the maximum bundle size? How are MAU and data transfer billed?

See [Limits & quotas](limits.md) and [Estimate usage](estimate-usage.md).

### What happens if I delete a bundle?

It is no longer available for download. Devices that already downloaded it keep using it until they receive a new update. If other bundles exist in the channel, the previous one becomes the latest available bundle.

## Usage & billing

### How is my Monthly Active Users (MAU) count measured?

A device counts as one active user the first time it checks for an update in a given billing month. Additional checks by the same device that month don't add to the count, and [deleting a device](devices.md#delete-a-device) doesn't lower it. See [Limits & quotas](limits.md#monthly-active-users-mau) for details.

### How is data transfer measured? Is it only bundle downloads?

Data transfer is the bandwidth used to **deliver** bundles to devices — in other words, bundle downloads. Only downloads count toward your allowance; uploading bundles to Capawesome Cloud is free. See [Estimate usage](estimate-usage.md#estimate-data-transfer) to predict your consumption.

### What happens if I exceed my plan limits?

Both the MAU and data transfer limits are enforced. When you reach the MAU limit, no new devices can register. When you reach the data transfer limit, bundle deliveries stop. In either case, devices no longer receive Live Updates until you upgrade your plan. Devices keep running the bundle they already downloaded.

### Are there overage charges if I go over my allowance?

No. Allowances are hard limits, not metered overage, so you're never billed automatically for exceeding them. Once a limit is reached, the affected service pauses (see above) until you [upgrade your plan](../organizations/billing/manage.md#upgrading-your-plan).

### Can I see usage per app?

Usage is tracked at the organization level. Per-app usage reporting is currently in private beta — [reach out to us](../../support/index.md) if you'd like access.

## Self-hosting

### Which limits still apply when I self-host bundles?

The MAU limit still applies, because devices continue to check for updates through Capawesome Cloud. The data transfer limit does **not** apply — devices download bundles directly from your own server, so that bandwidth isn't measured by Capawesome. See [Self-host bundles](self-hosting.md).

### Is data transfer still measured if I host bundles in my own environment?

No. With self-hosting, bundles are served from your infrastructure (for example, your own AWS environment), so their download traffic never touches Capawesome Cloud and isn't counted. You can serve as many updates as you like.

### Are analytics, metadata, and administration still handled by Capawesome Cloud?

Yes. Only the bundle files move to your server. The update-metadata check, device and channel management, and everything in the Console remain hosted by Capawesome Cloud.

### Are there functional differences between cloud-hosted and self-hosted bundles?

The workflow is the same, with one current exception: [delta updates](bundle-size.md#delta-updates-manifest) aren't supported when self-hosting, so bundles are delivered as full `zip` artifacts. Everything else — channels, rollouts, rollbacks, and code signing — works the same way.

## Channels

### What happens if I delete a channel?

All bundles associated with the channel are deleted as well. Devices that already downloaded a bundle keep using it until they receive a new update.

## Devices

### What happens if I delete a device?

It is removed from the device list. The next time the device checks for an update, it is restored. Deleting a device does **not** affect your Monthly Active Users (MAU) count.

## Privacy

### Is any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) collected?

No. Only a device-generated identifier is sent to Capawesome Cloud, used to count Monthly Active Users (MAU). The identifier is only valid while the app is installed.