diff --git a/common/xdg-app-run.c b/common/xdg-app-run.c
index eecba6fb..8492496e 100644
--- a/common/xdg-app-run.c
+++ b/common/xdg-app-run.c
@@ -1681,15 +1681,14 @@ job_removed_cb (SystemdManager *manager,
     g_main_loop_quit (data->main_loop);
 }
 
-void
-xdg_app_run_in_transient_unit (const char *appid)
+gboolean
+xdg_app_run_in_transient_unit (const char *appid, GError **error)
 {
-  GDBusConnection *conn = NULL;
-  GError *error = NULL;
-  char *path = NULL;
-  char *address = NULL;
-  char *name = NULL;
-  char *job = NULL;
+  g_autoptr(GDBusConnection) conn = NULL;
+  g_autofree char *path = NULL;
+  g_autofree char *address = NULL;
+  g_autofree char *name = NULL;
+  g_autofree char *job = NULL;
   SystemdManager *manager = NULL;
   GVariantBuilder builder;
   GVariant *properties = NULL;
@@ -1698,40 +1697,35 @@ xdg_app_run_in_transient_unit (const char *appid)
   GMainContext *main_context = NULL;
   GMainLoop *main_loop = NULL;
   struct JobData data;
+  gboolean res = FALSE;
 
   path = g_strdup_printf ("/run/user/%d/systemd/private", getuid());
 
   if (!g_file_test (path, G_FILE_TEST_EXISTS))
-    goto out;
+    return xdg_app_fail (error,
+                         "No systemd user session available, sandboxing not available");
 
   main_context = g_main_context_new ();
   main_loop = g_main_loop_new (main_context, FALSE);
 
   g_main_context_push_thread_default (main_context);
 
-
   address = g_strconcat ("unix:path=", path, NULL);
 
   conn = g_dbus_connection_new_for_address_sync (address,
                                                  G_DBUS_CONNECTION_FLAGS_AUTHENTICATION_CLIENT,
                                                  NULL,
-                                                 NULL, &error);
+                                                 NULL, error);
   if (!conn)
-    {
-      g_warning ("Can't connect to systemd: %s\n", error->message);
-      goto out;
-    }
+    goto out;
 
   manager = systemd_manager_proxy_new_sync (conn,
                                             G_DBUS_PROXY_FLAGS_DO_NOT_LOAD_PROPERTIES,
                                             NULL,
                                             "/org/freedesktop/systemd1",
-                                            NULL, &error);
+                                            NULL, error);
   if (!manager)
-    {
-      g_warning ("Can't create manager proxy: %s\n", error->message);
-      goto out;
-    }
+    goto out;
 
   name = g_strdup_printf ("xdg-app-%s-%d.scope", appid, getpid());
 
@@ -1755,11 +1749,8 @@ xdg_app_run_in_transient_unit (const char *appid)
                                                        aux,
                                                        &job,
                                                        NULL,
-                                                       &error))
-    {
-      g_warning ("Can't start transient unit: %s\n", error->message);
-      goto out;
-    }
+                                                       error))
+    goto out;
 
   data.job = job;
   data.main_loop = main_loop;
@@ -1767,6 +1758,8 @@ xdg_app_run_in_transient_unit (const char *appid)
 
   g_main_loop_run (main_loop);
 
+  res = TRUE;
+
  out:
   if (main_context)
     {
@@ -1775,16 +1768,10 @@ xdg_app_run_in_transient_unit (const char *appid)
     }
   if (main_loop)
     g_main_loop_unref (main_loop);
-  if (error)
-    g_error_free (error);
   if (manager)
     g_object_unref (manager);
-  if (conn)
-    g_object_unref (conn);
-  g_free (path);
-  g_free (address);
-  g_free (job);
-  g_free (name);
+
+  return res;
 }
 
 static void
@@ -2153,7 +2140,8 @@ xdg_app_run_app (const char *app_ref,
 
   /* Must run this before spawning the dbus proxy, to ensure it
      ends up in the app cgroup */
-  xdg_app_run_in_transient_unit (app_ref_parts[1]);
+  if (!xdg_app_run_in_transient_unit (app_ref_parts[1], error))
+    return FALSE;
 
   if (!add_dbus_proxy_args (argv_array, dbus_proxy_argv, error))
     return FALSE;
diff --git a/common/xdg-app-run.h b/common/xdg-app-run.h
index a06c2b3f..fad0957b 100644
--- a/common/xdg-app-run.h
+++ b/common/xdg-app-run.h
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@
 #include "dbus-proxy/xdg-app-proxy.h"
 #include "xdg-app-common-types.h"
 
-void xdg_app_run_in_transient_unit (const char *app_id);
+gboolean xdg_app_run_in_transient_unit (const char *app_id,
+                                        GError **error);
 
 #define XDG_APP_METADATA_GROUP_CONTEXT "Context"
 #define XDG_APP_METADATA_GROUP_SESSION_BUS_POLICY "Session Bus Policy"
diff --git a/common/xdg-app-utils.c b/common/xdg-app-utils.c
index 18f26659..812ff963 100644
--- a/common/xdg-app-utils.c
+++ b/common/xdg-app-utils.c
@@ -970,8 +970,7 @@ got_credentials_cb (GObject *source_object,
                           info->app_id = g_strdup (name);
                         }
                     }
-                  else if (g_str_has_prefix (scope, "session-") &&
-                           g_str_has_suffix (scope, ".scope"))
+                  else
                     info->app_id = g_strdup ("");
                 }
             }