Can iOS apps communicate via sockets?

Question

I'm going to develop few apps for iOS. Can they communicate to each other via sockets? Let's say one app runs as server (even in background mode) and another as client connects to server app and perform some communication. Does it violate any App Store rules? Any available IPC in iOS if my idea is not working for some reason?

Answer 1

As long as your apps are in the same app group, then yes, socket IPC is allowed. If not, then no. Sockets map to file descriptors (Berkeley sockets), and these files are sandboxed to the app or app group. More info: http://ddeville.me/2015/02/interprocess-communication-on-ios-with-berkeley-sockets