I am developing a WiFi scanner application for both iOS and Android.
Now I recently found out that Apple is not allowing page of their WiFi scanner APIs in iOS applications.
What is the actual reason for this restriction? Has Apple officially commented on it? Also, are there any workarounds?
To make the WiFi scanning capabilities public would be to compromise on security. The app could theoretically leak your WiFi SSIDs; something you would not want to happen.
Apple could come up with a privacy system similar to how access to photos work on iOS; by asking the user first hand. However, I'm guessing that the applications of these APIs are too niche to be considered as a proper component of iOS's user-controllable privacy system, and hence the APIs remain private.
To workaround this problem you could consider publishing your app on the Cydia store, exclusively for jailbroken devices, where usage of private APIs are a common thing. Personally, I think you'd find your target market there as well. However, this would involve a big time investment in understanding the ins and outs of 'jailbroken development'.