To run your application on an iOS device, you need an iOS provisioning profile. The provisioning profile links the App ID, the signing certificate, and a set of devices together.
You can create different types of provisioning profiles based on your publishing strategy.
Development Provisioning Profile
This profile allows you to deploy your application on a limited number of predefined devices. It enables debugging the application on your device. You cannot use this profile to publish your applications to the App store.
Distribution Provisioning Profile
This profile type allows you to publish the application to the App store or to distribute it to a limited number of predefined devices for testing purposes. It disables debugging on device for your application.
You can create different types of distribution provision profiles based on your application publishing strategy.
Publishing an Application to the App Store
You need to use an App Store distribution provisioning profile to publish your application on the App store. When you create this type of distribution provisioning profile, you should select an iOS App ID and one or more production certificates.
Note: To create an App Store distribution provisioning profile, you do not need to have an iOS device registered to your Apple Developer profile.
Distributing an Application to a Limited Number of Devices
You should use an Ad Hoc Distribution provisioning profile to distribute your application to a limited number of devices. The application will run only on the devices listed in the provisioning profile. While creating this type of provisioning profile, select an iOS App ID, one or more production certificates, and one or more iOS devices registered to your Apple Developer account.