Apple to Allow Alternative App Stores and More on iOS in Brazil by April

[MacRumors]

Due to regulatory action, Apple has agreed to allow alternative app stores, third-party payment systems for in-app purchases, and in-app links to external offers on iOS in Brazil, according to legal news website MLex and Brazilian blog Tecnoblog.

This means that iPhone users in Brazil would gain access to options beyond Apple's App Store, such as the AltStore from Riley Testut and Shane Gill.

The changes must be implemented within 105 days, so Apple has until early April to roll them out. That timeframe might align with the release of iOS 26.4.

Apple has already allowed alternative app stores and/or third-party payment systems on iOS in the EU, Japan, and South Korea, and it will likely be forced to do so in the UK and Australia too, due to similar regulations across those regions.

AltStore​

Apple has opposed alternative app stores due to privacy and security concerns.

"If you prefer using apps that have met all of Apple's App Review Guidelines, including Apple's standards for privacy, security, and quality, you can use the App Store," says Apple, in a support document about alternative app distribution.

Article Link: Apple to Allow Alternative App Stores and More on iOS in Brazil by April

 

[k1121j]

Only where they have to. 🙄

 

[sw1tcher]

Apple has opposed alternative app stores due to privacy and security concerns.

"If you prefer using apps that have met all of Apple's App Review Guidelines, including Apple's standards for privacy, security, and quality, you can use the App Store," says Apple, in a support document about alternative app distribution.

Is this the same Apple that allowed these apps onto their App Store? Asking for a friend.

Bitcoin Scam App Approved by Apple Robs iPhone User of $600,000+

A scam bitcoin app that was designed to look like a genuine app was accepted by Apple's App Store review team and ended up costing iPhone user Phillipe Christodoulou 17.1 bitcoin, or upwards of $600,000 at the time of the theft, reports The Washington Post. Christodoulou wanted to check on his...

www.macrumors.com

Pig-butchering scam apps sneak into Apple’s App Store and Google Play

In online confidence scams, appearance is everything—and app stores can help with that.

arstechnica.com

Fake LastPass App Sneaks Past Apple's Review Team

Popular password management app LastPass is warning customers about a fraudulent app that uses a similar name and icon to attempt to trick LastPass customers into using the fake app instead of the real app (via Bleeping Computer). The "LassPass Password Manager" app was somehow approved by...

www.macrumors.com

Facebook Removing Onavo VPN From App Store After Apple Says It Violates Data Collection Policies

Facebook today removed VPN app Onavo Protect from the iOS App Store after Apple decided that it violates App Store data collection policies, reports The Wall Street Journal. Apple earlier this month told Facebook officials that the Onavo app, which serves as a virtual private network, violates...

www.macrumors.com

Apple’s tightly controlled App Store is teeming with scams

Apple claims its App Store is carefully curated so that only the best apps get through. The truth is, the App Store is littered with scams and "fleeceware," which uses fake user ratings to trick customers into paying for something they don't want.

www.washingtonpost.com

After backlash, Apple removes fake Threads app, unethical loan apps from App Store - The Mac Security Blog

After facing public backlash, Apple finally removed some unethical apps from the App Store, including a Threads lookalike app and Indian lending apps with ridiculous fees.

www.intego.com

Indie Developer Dogged By Scammy Clone Apps Again Highlights the Holes in Apple's App Store Review Process

Apps that copy concepts and features from other apps are nothing new in the ‌App Store‌, but scammy like-for-like clones of genuine apps remain a perennial problem that Apple still hasn't resolved, as indie developer Kevin Archer recently discovered. Archer is responsible for 2Stable's...

www.macrumors.com

Beware of scammers! Dangerous apps in the App Store

Dangerous investment-apps in the App Store take users’ personal data and hand it to phone scammers.

usa.kaspersky.com

Scam iOS Apps Still Raking in Millions in Revenue on App Store [Updated]

The problem of scam iOS apps has dogged Apple's App Store for some years now, but over last two weeks the developer Kosta Eleftheriou has taken to Twitter to highlight that the problem remains as big as ever in at least some app categories – and also offered iOS users a way to spot them.

www.macrumors.com

Security Researchers Discover 10 App Store Apps Engaging in Ad Fraud

Security researchers discovered 10 "adware" apps on the App Store that were engaging in ad fraud, according to a report from Bleeping Computer. The apps were designed to generate revenue by impersonating legitimate apps and presenting a deluge of ads to iPhone users.

www.macrumors.com

Developer Highlights How Fake Apps Scam Users Via Apple's In-App Purchasing System

Apple hosts millions of apps on the App Store, calling the platform a "safe and trusted" place to discover apps. While mainly true, Apple has come under criticism for hosting many different scam apps on the platform, some even raking in millions in revenue. In February, developer Kosta...

www.macrumors.com

 

[AppleTO]

So I guess they really are going to do this one region at a time… as required by law.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Dragged, kicking and screaming, one jurisdiction after another.

I hope the next CEO takes a different approach, as this one is all played out.

 

[Zenman12]

Well the App Store is fine with rampant insidious in-app purchases scams and game-gambling that has brought in regulators. I’m sure they’re really looking out for the consumers.

 

[Zenman12]

Dragged, kicking and screaming, one jurisdiction after another.

I hope the next CEO takes a different approach, as this one is all played out.

A CEO that resists and tries to circumvent regulators to gain more profit? You’d be better off hoping pigs can fly before you hope for this.

 

[tonmischa]

I feel the need to inform certain posters that Brazil is NOT part of the EU.
Just looking out for your blood pressure!

*i will show myself out now*

 

[mxsweb]

Somehow I agree with the principle of choice, but I already see the future:

I will try to stay as pure as possible and not even look at alternative App Store, until the day that one app I use is no longer on Apple's App Store and I need to get it through the Alt one... Imagine Microsoft and Google having their own App Store when these policies becomes global. It will be a nightmare. All to have their own piece of the pie.

It's working now, why breaking it? I think Apple should fight this more. Blocking the App Store in those countries could leverage the user base to protest for them. My 2 cents..

 

[Octavius8]

Don’t USA consumers want that also?
you still think that choice a bad idea?.

 

[attohs]

Don’t USA consumers want that also?
you still think that choice a bad idea?.

You have a choice of what phone to purchase.

 

[Octavius8]

Why so hard for everyone to respect other countries laws and regulations?.
If you want choice, dint install 3rd party stores.
For me, Apple is long due to opening NFC and allowing consumers to decide how to use our paid devices!. Apple is not our nanny.

 

[I7guy]

Is this the same Apple that allowed these apps onto their App Store? Asking for a friend.

Bitcoin Scam App Approved by Apple Robs iPhone User of $600,000+

A scam bitcoin app that was designed to look like a genuine app was accepted by Apple's App Store review team and ended up costing iPhone user Phillipe Christodoulou 17.1 bitcoin, or upwards of $600,000 at the time of the theft, reports The Washington Post. Christodoulou wanted to check on his...

www.macrumors.com

Pig-butchering scam apps sneak into Apple’s App Store and Google Play

In online confidence scams, appearance is everything—and app stores can help with that.

arstechnica.com

Fake LastPass App Sneaks Past Apple's Review Team

Popular password management app LastPass is warning customers about a fraudulent app that uses a similar name and icon to attempt to trick LastPass customers into using the fake app instead of the real app (via Bleeping Computer). The "LassPass Password Manager" app was somehow approved by...

www.macrumors.com

Facebook Removing Onavo VPN From App Store After Apple Says It Violates Data Collection Policies

Facebook today removed VPN app Onavo Protect from the iOS App Store after Apple decided that it violates App Store data collection policies, reports The Wall Street Journal. Apple earlier this month told Facebook officials that the Onavo app, which serves as a virtual private network, violates...

www.macrumors.com

Apple’s tightly controlled App Store is teeming with scams

Apple claims its App Store is carefully curated so that only the best apps get through. The truth is, the App Store is littered with scams and "fleeceware," which uses fake user ratings to trick customers into paying for something they don't want.

www.washingtonpost.com

After backlash, Apple removes fake Threads app, unethical loan apps from App Store - The Mac Security Blog

After facing public backlash, Apple finally removed some unethical apps from the App Store, including a Threads lookalike app and Indian lending apps with ridiculous fees.

www.intego.com

Indie Developer Dogged By Scammy Clone Apps Again Highlights the Holes in Apple's App Store Review Process

Apps that copy concepts and features from other apps are nothing new in the ‌App Store‌, but scammy like-for-like clones of genuine apps remain a perennial problem that Apple still hasn't resolved, as indie developer Kevin Archer recently discovered. Archer is responsible for 2Stable's...

www.macrumors.com

Beware of scammers! Dangerous apps in the App Store

Dangerous investment-apps in the App Store take users’ personal data and hand it to phone scammers.

usa.kaspersky.com

Scam iOS Apps Still Raking in Millions in Revenue on App Store [Updated]

The problem of scam iOS apps has dogged Apple's App Store for some years now, but over last two weeks the developer Kosta Eleftheriou has taken to Twitter to highlight that the problem remains as big as ever in at least some app categories – and also offered iOS users a way to spot them.

www.macrumors.com

Security Researchers Discover 10 App Store Apps Engaging in Ad Fraud

Security researchers discovered 10 "adware" apps on the App Store that were engaging in ad fraud, according to a report from Bleeping Computer. The apps were designed to generate revenue by impersonating legitimate apps and presenting a deluge of ads to iPhone users.

www.macrumors.com

Developer Highlights How Fake Apps Scam Users Via Apple's In-App Purchasing System

Apple hosts millions of apps on the App Store, calling the platform a "safe and trusted" place to discover apps. While mainly true, Apple has come under criticism for hosting many different scam apps on the platform, some even raking in millions in revenue. In February, developer Kosta...

www.macrumors.com

I can't wait until the first alternative app store app is a scam app that does some damage and then I'll be like to all that throw the baby out with the bathwater people.

 

[mikethebigo]

When Steve Jobs used to talk about Apple’s “core values,” one I underappreciated at the time was stubbornness lol.

 

[Mikep976]

I will once again remind everyone:

1. If you don't like this, feel it's a security issue, or hate the idea. Cool. Do. Not. Use. It. There are some of us that would love to be able to get apps - say something like Parallels or running MacOS or Windows VMs on Windows, that the AppStore doesn't allow

2. The AppStore is not as "Clean" as you think. There have been a number of scam apps that have made their way through.

3. Android has been open since it's existance, and with the exception of Fortnite, no large app maker (Amazon, Microsoft, etc) have ever made their app exclusive or branched out and created their own app store. For these companies, the fees they pay are a drop in the bucket and smaller companies worry about being found without being on the store, so they play ball too.

Choice is good people. You should realize that what may not impact you at all, may improve the experience for others.

And don't hit me with "well then get an Android." Sod off with that. It's a poor response that ignores some of us love everything about our Apple devices but would also like to own and do what we want on our devices we paid for.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

It's amazing how Apple elected to fragment their own platforms like this. Greed really is all-consuming.

 

[sw1tcher]

You have a choice of what phone to purchase.

Let me see if I understand what you're trying to say...

Giving someone choices in what phones they can purchase is good.

But giving someone choices of where to get iOS apps is bad.

Is that right?

 

[canadianreader]

These mini app stores can’t really compete with F-Droid’s free and open source apps.

 

[switz]

Unfortunately, we, the end users, have no (expletive) way to determine which app on the Apple App store is the one waiting to steal our personal information for profit or just be a pain in the backside.

Best solution for major software used to be go to the maker of the product. But even that is no guarantee as one recent program update that came included seven infected files.

First line of defense is anti-virus software.

 

[roklanhavok]

Apple should allow alternative app stores with no security so people's phones get bricked and then just be like, "Welp, I guess alternative app stores is a bad idea. Nice try socialist regulators."

 

[UliBaer]

Lucky Brazilians then! 👍

 

[sw1tcher]

Apple should allow alternative app stores with no security so people's phones get bricked and then just be like, "Welp, I guess alternative app stores is a bad idea. Nice try socialist regulators."

... just like all those bricked Macs which have had alternatives to Apple's App Store since like forever.


.

 

[bmark]

Well the App Store is fine with rampant insidious in-app purchases scams and game-gambling that has brought in regulators. I’m sure they’re really looking out for the consumers.

Apple is looking out for themselves. If they were looking out for the consumer then iOS 26 would have never came out and there would be alternative app store access everywhere.

 

[turbineseaplane]

... just like all those bricked Macs which have had alternatives to Apple's App Store since like forever.


.

It's true. I'm unbricking my Mac right now.

I was in the shower and came back and poof!

Just like that ..
Mac bricked.

Scary world out there.

/s