Shield for iOS
ByteHide Shield for iOS protects your compiled applications from reverse engineering, code analysis, and tampering. It processes your IPA files after compilation, applying multiple layers of binary-level obfuscation and runtime security without requiring any changes to your source code.
Shield for iOS protects your compiled applications from reverse engineering, code analysis, and tampering. It processes your IPA files after compilation, applying multiple layers of protection directly to the Mach-O binary without requiring any changes to your source code.
What Is Shield for iOS?
Shield is a post-build protection tool that takes your compiled IPA and applies binary-level obfuscation and runtime security checks. It works with any iOS application built with Swift, Objective-C, or a combination of both.
Because Shield operates on the compiled binary, it integrates seamlessly into your existing build pipeline. You write your code normally, compile with Xcode, and Shield protects the output before distribution.
How It Works
Shield processes your IPA file through a local CLI tool. Your source code and binaries are never uploaded to any server. The protection is applied entirely on your machine during the build process.
Shield reads your configuration file, unpacks the IPA, applies the selected protections to the Mach-O binary, repacks the IPA, and outputs the protected application ready for code signing and distribution.
Key Capabilities
Shield provides protections across four categories:
Code Obfuscation transforms your binary to resist static analysis. This includes symbol renaming, control flow obfuscation, dead code injection, instruction substitution, opaque predicates, arithmetic obfuscation, register shuffling, and API hiding.
Data Protection secures sensitive data embedded in your application. String encryption protects hardcoded strings, Swift metadata stripping removes type information, class encryption secures Objective-C metadata, and resource encryption protects bundled assets.
Runtime Protections (RASP) detect and respond to hostile environments at runtime. This includes anti-debug detection, jailbreak detection, hook detection (Frida, Cycript, Substrate), trace detection, and tamper detection.
Polymorphic Builds ensure that each build produces a unique binary, preventing attackers from developing universal bypass techniques.
Privacy and Security
Your code never leaves your machine
Shield processes your IPA file locally on your build machine. Your source code, compiled binaries, and application resources are never uploaded or stored on ByteHide servers. The only data sent to the cloud is build metadata (protection analytics, configuration settings) and the mapping file for stack trace symbolication.
Requirements
- Python 3.8 or later
- macOS recommended for full Xcode integration (Linux supported for CI/CD)
- A ByteHide account with a Shield project token
- Your application compiled as an IPA file or Xcode .app bundle
Next Steps
Quick Start
Protect your first iOS application in minutes
Installation
Install Shield and set up your environment
Protections
Explore all 17 available protections
Configuration
Full configuration reference for shield-ios.json