Apple Worried: Don’t Sideload Apps On Your iPhone!

Google and Apple continue to express concern over recent laws forcing them to allow people to download apps to Android and iOS devices. But most of you already know that Android has always allowed apps to be installed from other app stores, which doesn’t sit well with Apple, and Tim Cook has repeatedly talked about the reasons.

Now the company is being forced to allow sideloading of apps, which is coming in early 2024, and Apple’s chief security officer is the latest Apple executive to speak openly about the issue and what the company fears when people get the choice to install apps from other platforms. .

Ivan Krstic is the director of security technology and architecture and was recently quoted in an interview talking about a “misconception” about iPhone users and how they may have to rely on other app stores to get some apps that aren’t available on the App Store.

“The reality enabled by alternative distribution requirements is that software that Europeans need – sometimes business software, sometimes personal software, social software, things they want to use – can only be available off-the-shelf, alternatively distributed,” Krstic was quoted as saying here.

He means that if Apple opens up iOS to other app stores, developers would then want to share their apps through other app stores or websites, which is what we’ve seen Epic Games do with Fortnite on Android.

He talks about security issues and how the company would be concerned about these third-party systems that might not be as secure in its App Store. While this is a reasonable point, the hidden agenda could also indicate that the company is worried about losing developer fees, which can reach up to 30 percent for hosting apps on the App Store and apps downloaded by millions of iPhone users.

The doublespeak has even prompted Google to speak out about it. Pichai recently received a warning about sideloading apps and that the company does not guarantee actions that could be dangerous to users due to potential malware infection or other abuse. In any case, Apple has to comply with EU rules, which suggests that the company may limit sideload support for iPhone users in the region.