From March 4th, Apple will have to open iOS to sideloading at the behest of the European Union and its Digital Markets Act. However, the Cupertino giant has been emphasizing the risks of sideloading apps on iOS for its users for several months: now, the company has even released a long paper that delves into the question.
The document, 32 pages long and titled “Measures to make us compliant with the Digital Markets Act”, presents an in-depth explanation of sideloading apps in iOS 17.4 and the risks this procedure poses for users. The document is primarily intended for developers, but within it there are several interesting ideas also for anyone who owns an iOS device.
For example, Apple explains that apps launched on alternative marketplaces they are not subject to the same review processes of those adopted on the Cupertino App Store. This means that software present on third-party stores has a greater risk of turning out to be malware or scams, although we must point out that not even Apple’s systems are perfect: in the past, in fact, it has happened several times Apple let malware slip on its App Store, albeit in a very limited number of cases.
In any case, the company has confirmed that will introduce authentication systems for apps which will also concern software distributed through third-party marketplaces and which should somehow prevent the spread of scams and malware on users’ iPhones. These systems will be partly human and partly executed automatically, while developers will have to explain in depth the reasons behind access requests to some “sensitive” features of the smartphone, such as the microphone, camera and Face ID.
However, Apple’s authentication systems they will not look directly at the content of the apps: this means that software with controversial content, linked for example to adult content, drugs and intellectual property protected by copyright and used illegally, could proliferate on alternative marketplaces. In this case, the individual app stores will decide whether implement guidelines for developers or whether to leave them total freedom.