App Store code obfuscation?

Question

Just wanted to make sure: What has happen to all the strings, urls I have in my binary?

When I build the project and later I browse the contents of the binary (when the project is called something, the something.app is generated and inside the binary: "something") using Smultron or any other source editor I can easily find all the strings I'm using in the app, in this case - URL to the API and localization keys like "login TITLE" (linking to Localization.strings).

My application has been approved and I downloaded the app. Renamed the ipa to zip and extracted. To my surprise in the binary I couldn't find any string - neither URLs, nor any other.

Does it mean my App has been obfuscated or was it encrypted by Apple DRMs?

Regards Chris

Answer 1

You can indeed easily find those. But no worries, URL calls are also easily found by monitoring network connections. The trick is to communicate through SSL using POST.

the App Store build you make secures the app somewhat (DRM and what not), but I believe a simple HEX editor can get some stuff back. Reverse engineering is always an option.

I wouldn't worry about finding the URL's, I'd worry about how safe those calls are. People will always be able to find the things you like to hide. The trick is to make it impossible for them to (mis)use it.