MapKit Entitlements Oddity

Question

I have a simple Mac app, not intended for distribution of any kind; simply personal use. The app is an NSWindow which contains an MKMapView. As I don't have a Mac dev account, and don't want one (see "personal use only"), I'm not doing any form of code signing or provisioning.

However, on launch, I get a blank map and this error:

Your Application has attempted to access the Map Kit API. You cannot access this API without an entitlement. You may receive an entitlement from the Mac Developer Program for use by you only with your Mac App Store Apps. For more information about Apple's Mac Developer Program, please visit developer.apple.com.

Do I really need to buy a Mac developer account just to use MKMapView on OS X? If not, what am I missing?

Answer 1

Yes, you do. MapKit is restricted to App Store apps only, regardless of content usage.