iOS & macOS App Security Audits

Protect your users and business data. Thorough security assessments, vulnerability testing, and code review to ensure your application meets industry-best security standards.

Most app security problems are unglamorous and preventable: a token stored in plain UserDefaults instead of the Keychain, a network call without certificate pinning, an API key committed straight into the app bundle. An app security audit finds these before an attacker or an App Store reviewer does — a prioritized list of what is wrong, how bad it actually is, and what fixing it requires.

The review is white-box: reading the actual source rather than probing a black box from outside. That matters for mobile apps, because the interesting failures are rarely exotic exploits. They are a debug flag left enabled in a release build, a permission granted once and never revisited, a dependency added for one screen that ships an analytics SDK with it. Those are visible in code and almost invisible from the outside.

Every finding comes with severity, the concrete conditions under which it is actually exploitable, and what fixing it involves — so you can make a real decision about what to fix now, what to schedule, and what to knowingly accept. A report that marks everything critical is not useful.

What Gets Reviewed

Keychain & Data at Rest

KeychainNSFileProtection
The most common finding by far: auth tokens, refresh tokens or user credentials sitting in UserDefaults, which is an unencrypted plist any jailbroken device or unencrypted backup can read. Checks that secrets live in the Keychain with an appropriate accessibility class, and that local databases and caches carry file protection rather than defaulting to none.

TLS & Certificate Pinning

ATSURLSession
Verifies App Transport Security has not been globally disabled via a blanket NSAllowsArbitraryLoads (a common shortcut left in from development), that no traffic falls back to cleartext, and whether certificate or public-key pinning is warranted for the endpoints handling sensitive data.

Authentication & Session Handling

OAuthSign in with Apple
Reviews token lifetime and refresh logic, what happens to session state on logout and app backgrounding, and whether biometric gates are real authorization or just a UI check that can be bypassed by tampering with a local flag.

Secrets Management

Build configCI
Scans the bundle and git history for API keys, signing credentials and third-party tokens committed into source. A key checked in six months ago is still in history even after it is deleted from the working tree, and an API key shipped inside an app binary should be treated as public.

Permissions & Privacy Surface

Info.plistApp Privacy
Checks that requested entitlements and usage descriptions match what the app genuinely needs — over-broad permissions are both a rejection risk at review and an unnecessary liability — and that the declared App Privacy details actually match the data the code collects and transmits.

Third-Party Dependencies

SPMGradle
Inventories what the app pulls in, flags unmaintained or known-vulnerable packages, and identifies SDKs that quietly collect more than expected. Dependencies are the part of the attack surface teams most often have no visibility into.

Platform-Specific Hardening

SandboxEntitlements
On macOS: sandbox scope, entitlement breadth, and whether the app is correctly signed and notarized. On Android: exported components, intent handling and WebView configuration — the places where the platform defaults are the least safe.

How an Audit Runs

1

Scope

You share the repository and describe what the app handles and what worries you. Scope, timeline and cost are agreed before any work begins.
2

Static Review

Reading the codebase against the areas above — storage, transport, auth, secrets, permissions, dependencies and platform hardening.
3

Runtime Checks

Running the app against a non-production environment to confirm what the code implies: what is actually written to disk, what leaves the device, and what survives a logout.
4

Report

A written findings list ordered by real severity, each with reproduction conditions and remediation guidance — not a scanner dump.
5

Walkthrough

A call to go through the findings, answer questions, and agree what matters most. Fixes can be scoped as follow-on work if you want them done here.

Security Review Areas

KeychainTLS / Certificate PinningData EncryptionAuthentication ReviewCode ReviewApp Transport SecuritySecrets Management

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an app security audit cover?

Data storage (Keychain vs. plain UserDefaults, encryption at rest), network security (certificate pinning, TLS configuration), authentication flows, secrets management, permissions and third-party dependencies, plus a code review for common mistakes like hardcoded secrets or overly broad entitlements.

Do you audit apps you didn't build?

Yes — a security audit on an existing codebase is a standalone engagement, not conditional on having built the app. Most audits are on code written by someone else.

Do you fix what you find?

The audit itself is a report, prioritized by severity; fixing the findings can be scoped as a follow-on if you want the same team to close the gaps rather than hand the report to someone else.

What do you need from us to start?

Read access to the repository, a build that runs against a non-production environment, and a short description of what data the app handles and which parts you are most concerned about. No production credentials or real user data are needed.

How long does an audit take?

It depends on codebase size and how many platforms are in scope. A single-platform app is materially faster than an iOS, macOS and Android review of the same product. You get a scope and timeline estimate before any work starts.

Is this a penetration test?

No. This is a white-box review of the app codebase and its client-side security posture, not an authorized network penetration test of your servers. If you need formal pentest attestation for a compliance requirement, that is a different engagement with a specialist firm.

How much does a security audit cost?

Scoped and quoted per app, based on size and what it handles — a small utility with no backend is a different job from a fintech app with payment flows and third-party SDKs.

Will the audit slow down our release?

It is scheduled around your timeline, not the other way around — findings come as a prioritized list so you can decide what blocks release versus what gets fixed in a follow-up.

Do you provide a written report?

Yes — every finding includes severity, the concrete conditions under which it is exploitable, and remediation guidance. Not a raw scanner dump; something you can act on or hand to another developer.

Can you audit an Android app, not just iOS/macOS?

Yes. Android review covers the equivalent surface — exported components, intent handling, WebView configuration — alongside the iOS/macOS-specific checks like Keychain usage and App Transport Security.

Do you retest after fixes are made?

Yes, that is part of the walkthrough call — confirming a fix actually closes the finding rather than just changing the symptom, especially for anything that touched authentication or data storage.

Need a Security Review?

Send over the repository and what you're worried about. You'll get a scope, a timeline and a fixed cost before any work starts.
Request an AuditSee Our Work