The code only allows Apple to store unauthorized iPhone applications and download them to an URL on the company's server, said Jonathan Zdziarski, an independent developer and iPhone author who discovered the code, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The code's function as a kill switch was unconfirmed.

The code "could trigger World War III, or it could cause some computer somewhere to spit out recipes for buttermilk pancakes," Zdziarski says on his Web site. "Personally, I'm rooting for the pancakes theory."

The code, however, has developers worried Apple could delete programs at will.

Recently, Apple has pulled several iPhone programs from the company's App Store listings.

Among the blacklisted programs was one that turned the phone into a wireless modem and another that turned the iPhone into a virtual Star Wars light saber, complete with sound effects, The Daily Telegraph reported.