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This question is not really technical in nature but it is clearly answerable with yes/no and so I hope its fine if I ask it here on StackOverflow.

My scenario is as follows: In order to share code between iOS and Android I'm using C++ for much of the app's logic. I'm about to start writing network code for both platforms and I plan to utilize OpenSSL or one of its derivates (LibreSSL / BoringSSL) to be able to do HTTPS calls.

OpenSSL/LibreSSL/BoringSSL would be statically linked into my app and periodically be updated by releasing a new app version.

However, I'm unsure about whether Apple would accept such an app in its app store or not. As far as I know they take a closer look at what is inside the app and I want to prevent a situation where all code is written but eventually rejected when attempting to publish the app to the app store.

I'm looking for a clear yes/no answer whether Apple accepts such apps nowadays (2019). Preferably this answer is coming from someone who actually knows the answer i.e. from someone having done the same recently (2018/2019).

Did anyone recently succeed in publishing such an app into Apple's app store?

ackh
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  • I have published a softphone application to the app store with openssl statically linked without any problems. Although this was about 2-3 years ago, so I can't give you a recent yes/no answer. But I don't see why they would not allow you to as it's not breaking any of there rules as far as I know. – Shane Powell May 24 '19 at 19:49
  • That's helpful anyway. I wasn't sure whether Apple would allow that so it's good to know that they accepted it the past. – ackh May 24 '19 at 20:35

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Not only does Apple allow this, that's exactly how one is supposed to use OpenSSL in an iOS app. The operating system doesn't provide OpenSSL for the apps, so the apps need to bring their own one.

You'll probably need to declare the use of encryption to comply with encryption export regulations. It is, however, required even when using the system encryption like TLS.

eofster
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