title: DRM protection, "Forward Lock" for image files sent over SMS, iMessage, MMS on iOS devices
body: <p>I have done a lot of googling but cannot seem to find a reliable answer. I am looking for a way to implement DRM protection for images (JPG, PNG) sent through iMessage, SMS, MMS. I am looking to do this on iOS devices right now only. Are any of you aware of third party solutions or otherwise, to this issue? I am building an app that allows people to share images but the app relies on restricting the ability to share the sent image freely.  What I have turned up is a third party called NowSMS, which seems to be some derivation of OMA. here is the blurb "Forward Lock” is the most basic level of DRM. When </p>
  
  <p>“Forward Lock” is enabled, this indicates that the receiving device should not allow any non-text objects in the message to be forwarded off of the device. The device may allow the user to extract pictures, videos or sounds from the message and save them on the phone. However, any such objects remain forward locked, such that they cannot be forwarded to another user or transferred to another device. More advanced DRM restrictions can be applied to limit the number of times that the user can access an object, or start and end dates can be specified to limit how long the user can access an object. The restrictions can only be applied when using either “Combined Delivery” or “Separate Delivery”. When using either “Combined Delivery” or “Separate Delivery”, a rights object is associated with the DRM protected object. This rights object defines permissions and constraints for how the DRM protected object may be used by the receiver. “Combined Delivery” means that both the protected object and the rights object are delivered simultaneously. The protected object and its rights object are packaged as a multipart/related MIME object, which is usually retrieved by the receiving client via HTTP download or as part of the content of an MMS message. “Separate Delivery” means that the protected object and the rights object are delivered separately. The protected object is retrieved by the receiving client via HTTP download or as part of the content of an MMS message. However, the protected object is locked and cannot be used until a rights object is separately delivered. In this case, the rights object is usually sent via WAP Push over SMS (sometimes premium rate SMS). When using “Forward Lock” or “Combined Delivery”, the DRM protected object is not actually encrypted. The protocol was designed in this lightweight fashion in order to allow DRM to be implemented on low end devices with limited capabilities. Only when a DRM protected object is sent using “Separate Delivery” can the protected object actually be delivered to the device in an encrypted format." </p>
  
  <p>This all seems like old info and and I cannot find any equivalent service providers. Ideally I would like to not pay a third party but implement it myself. Is it even possible to forward lock an image file on iOS? I have heard conflicting reports. Thanks in advance!</p>