How do IPA files work?

Question

I want to submit an iOS app to the AppStore but I have made some very cool technology and I want the code to be protected, is the IPA encrypted in any way or can anyone view my code? How can I encrypt it?

Answer 1

An IPA is just a zip file. Inside the IPA is your compiled app - it's encrypted. But it has to be decrypted to be used. If someone is interested then they can get a copy of your app, decrypt it and read through the compiled code (the machine code). You can't stop them doing this (well, only if you never release the app). People can't just read the code though. There's also no way you can prevent someone from looking at your app and going and creating their own version from scratch.