Necessity of React native

[I-am-Pritam-20]

Recently I was exploring and trying to compare the security side of a React Native App with Native Apps.

Found that:

• The apk built with React Native are the most vulnerable to security attack as the .js bundle can be easily unzipped from the bundled apk and source js/ts code can be modified easily .
• Native apps or even Flutter apps are more secure as the source codes are compiled to machine binaries in compile time itself.

Also performance of React Native app is lower than that of a Native App , or even a Flutter App

Then why to use React Native? Only for good UI that can be build easily?

Just want to clarify my doubts. And any suggestions are appreciated.🙂

[kraenhansen]

It seems to me you're asking a question and providing a statement:

1. Regarding the security side of React Native (on Android specifically?) What's your treat model? I mean, if the attacker already has access to modify the .js bundle, making the argument that React Native is less secure because it contains code which is not necessarily compiled to machine code, is leaning into security through obscurity territory. Technically, the assumption that the JS bundle is not compiled is also incorrect - in the case of Hermes JS bundles, these aren't plain text JS, but again this doesn't really matter in the context of its security properties.
2. Your suggesting the performance of React Native apps is lower than that of a Native or Flutter app: You can build bad, slow, non-performant apps with all of these. Are you referring to some benchmark or specific study when you claim a difference in performance?

Then why to use React Native? I think the best would be go to 𝕏 and start asking developers working on some of the apps listed on the links below, why they've chosen React Native:

• https://reactnative.dev/showcase
• https://github.com/ReactNativeNews/React-Native-Apps
• https://evanbacon.dev/blog/expo-2024