iOS temporary folder location

My app has just been rejected by Apple because it was storing temporary or cache files in the documents directory. Right. Their rejection message states:

Temporary files used by your app should only be stored in the /tmp directory

I suppose it is that besides the Documents and Library in the Application's folder.

I am now trying to debug this issue in the iPhone Simulator, and when I use NSTemporaryDirectory(), the value I get in the Xcode debugger is /var/folders/yj/gnz1c7156c7d6d4fj429yms40000gn/T/tempzip.zip, and not /Users/me/Library/Application Support/iPhone Simulator/5.1/Applications/8F71AB72-598C-427A-A116-36833D3209F7/tmp/tempzip.zip.

So: is NSTemporaryDirectory() having a different behaviour using the iPhone Simulator, and, is it possible to track the application's temporary directory at debug time ?

UPDATED 2016 ANSWER :

• Data which is explicitly accepted by the user as personal, and potentially backuped in his/her iCloud space, should be written in user's "Documents" directory

• Data that belongs and extends your application (an extension user can download for instance,...), but which is NOT in the bundle, should be written in a subfolder of "Application Support/" directory, having the title of your appID. It can also be the "Cache" directory.

• Data with short-life time can be stored in the tmp directory of your application. In this case, use of NSTemporaryDirectory() is possible to get the "tmp" directory. Check this link for additional help.

Check this official iOS developement Apple page in section "Determining Where to Store Your App-Specific Files" for explanations.

Below are 3 functions in Swift designed to return NSURLs to these directories and make your like simpler.

Swift:

func GetDocumentsDirectory()->NSURL{
    //returns User's "Documents" directory
    //something like this on a real device : file:///private/var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/APPID/Documents/
    //something like this on the simulator : file:///Users/MACUSERID/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Devices/SIMDEVICEID/data/Containers/Data/Application/APPUUID/Documents/
    let filemgr = NSFileManager.defaultManager()
    let docsDirURL = try! filemgr.URLForDirectory(.DocumentDirectory, inDomain: .UserDomainMask, appropriateForURL: nil, create: true)
    return docsDirURL
}

func GetApplicationSupportDirectory()->NSURL{
    //returns Application's support directory
    //something like this on a real device : file:///private/var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/APPID/Library/Application%20Support/YOURAPPBUNDLEID/
    //something like this on the simulator : file:///Users/MACUSERID/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Devices/SIMDEVICEID/data/Containers/Data/Application/APPUUID/Library/Application%20Support/YOURAPPBUNDLEID/
    let AllDirectories : [NSURL]
    var ApplicationSupportDirectory : NSURL=NSURL.init()
    var ApplicationDirectory : NSURL=NSURL.init()
    AllDirectories=NSFileManager.defaultManager().URLsForDirectory(.ApplicationSupportDirectory, inDomains: .UserDomainMask)
    if AllDirectories.count>=1{
        ApplicationSupportDirectory=AllDirectories[0]
    }
    if !ApplicationSupportDirectory.isEqual(nil) {
        ApplicationDirectory=ApplicationSupportDirectory.URLByAppendingPathComponent(NSBundle.mainBundle().bundleIdentifier!)
    }
    return ApplicationDirectory
}

func GetTemporaryDirectory()->NSURL{
    //returns Application's temporary directory
    //something like this on a real device : file:///private/var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/APPID/tmp/
    //something like this on the simulator : file:///Users/MACUSERID/Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/Devices/SIMDEVICEID/data/Containers/Data/Application/APPUUID/tmp/
    return NSURL(fileURLWithPath: NSTemporaryDirectory(), isDirectory: true)
}