What does the /private prefix on an iOS file path indicate?

Question

I have a bug when my app runs on the iPhone but not when it runs on the simulator. I was using the length of the home directory path to extract the relative path of a file

Answer 1

A function (Swift 5) to remove an file from cache. I had a lot of problems and the use of the URL solved the /private issue.

class func removeFileFromCache( filePattern: String ) -> Bool {
    // find filename with pattern
     
    do {
        let cachePath = FileManager.default.urls(for: .cachesDirectory, in: .userDomainMask).first!
        let filePathUrl = URL( fileURLWithPath: filePattern )
        let originalFilename = filePathUrl.lastPathComponent
        let newFilePath = cachePath.appendingPathComponent( originalFilename ).path
       
        try FileManager.default.removeItem(atPath: newFilePath )
        print("file \( filePattern ) succesfull removed.",classname:URL(fileURLWithPath: #file).lastPathComponent )
        
    } catch let error as NSError {
        print("Error \(error)",classname:URL(fileURLWithPath: #file).lastPathComponent )
        return false // all is not well
    }
    
    return true
}