Apple announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2023 in June new initiatives to increase transparency about mobile app privacy. All mobile app developers will be required to submit a privacy manifest that details data collection practices and usages when they add or update an iOS app in App Store Connect, the platform used for publishing and tracking performance in the App Store.

Currently available in beta, the NowSecure Observer developer tool simplifies mobile privacy and security during the coding stage. It provides real-time visibility into how sensitive data is being used, stored and transmitted by first- and third-party code. It also enables developers to quickly resolve security and privacy issues and avoid App Store surprises and rejections.

Once developers add it to their iOS project, the NowSecure Observer SDK collects telemetry as the developer codes and at runtime during pre-prod testing. The SDK feeds information to the NowSecure Observer web app so you can see data flows, observe dependencies that have been introduced over time and generate Apple privacy manifests and mobile Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) reports. In addition, line of code-level detail and backtrace context ease remediation so developers understand what issues are critical to address and how. Developers can also receive guidance through the app store submission process in the form of a customized publication checklist to avoid rejections, and secure code training from NowSecure Academy.