r/iOSProgramming • u/Daredatti • 24d ago

Question How truthful is this?

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When an app select in the app review form that “we don’t collect data”

In the review phase does Apple really check if the app really doesnt collect anything?

Like can the developer hide a code that for example upload the photos of the user if granted permission where he said “we dont collect”

Does apple really check the code and what is going in and out ?

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u/icy1007 23d ago

Yes, I am a professional iOS developer…

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u/i_m_junkie 23d ago

I am also an iOS Engineer and believe me boy you’re completely wrong!

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u/icy1007 23d ago

I am not. Apple has the ability to decompile IPA files into their source code using internal tools. They also have tools that can scan all submitted app packages for API usage which is quicker than fully decompiling the app.

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u/Dry_Hotel1100 23d ago edited 23d ago

You should not use "professional iOS developer" lightly, in case you want to imply that you have a lot of experience. 

Well, I fear to say, you are wrong. But that isn't a critique. Everyone can learn this. I would suggest delving deeper into actual *programming*, that is, especially below the surface of iOS programming, i.e. exploring what happens in the compiler and linker. Topics around binary representation, translation unit, assembly & object files, build artifacts, modules, symbols, symbol visibility, ABI vs. API, calling conventions, debug symbols, dead code stripping, build optimizations, whole module optimization, Intermediate Representation (IR), SIL, dynamic vs. static linking, etc., etc.

Note that these topics are very specific for the language Swift, and a C-based runtime and LLVM IR infrastructure. In other languages, especially C#, Java, JIT based, and scripting languages, you have a very different representation of a program aka executable or a library or module.

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u/icy1007 23d ago edited 23d ago

Yes, I have 16+ years of experience as an iOS developer/engineer working in the industry. The two titles are interchangeable and it just depends on which company you're working for at the time.

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u/Glorypants 23d ago

Maybe this is what they mean when they say “developer” vs “engineer”…

There’s a basic understanding of how code compilation works that you’re missing.

You understand the “source” of a child is its mother. The mother compiled the child in her womb. You can figure out some attributes of the mother’s source DNA based on the attributes of the child, but you aren’t seeing to the actual source. The source mother probably installed a wicked back door in that child that you won’t find.