Hello, 

I was thinking about a GSoC 2012 project I could propose, and I came to the 
question of why there's no Tor iOS (iPhone / iPad / iPod touch) application 
distributed on the official iTunes App Store?

There's this "test package" of Tor for iOS available [1], but it has to be 
installed via Cydia and not everyone's phone is jailbroken. Distributing an 
application via the App Store has some benefits of its own too (additional 
marketing and visibility, easier installation, to name a few).

So, what is the problem?

* Would it comply with the iOS Developer Program License Agreement? I'm no 
lawyer, but last I read the document there's nothing in it that would prevent 
distributing an app which would create a "local" HTTP proxy to be used by the 
other applications.

* Since the iPhone 3GS, the applications can retain running in the background, 
so I guess we're fine on the purely technical side too.

* There are US Export laws that require a so-called CCATS review and approval 
to be done with each application that employs strong encryption. I don't think 
that's a blocker though.

* Maybe that Tor iOS application wouldn't reach various "interesting" markets 
such as PRC (for example, a commercial yet pricy "Covert Browser" [2] is not 
available in China's App Store) because of the legal restrictions. Still, I 
would argue that it is worth having such an application.

Regards,


[1]: http://sid77.slackware.it/ios/
[2]: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/covert-browser/id477438328?mt=8

-- 
Linas Valiukas
+370 687 65870
www.pypt.lt


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