Many people really misunderstand what sideloading is and what it brings.
- it will not bring jailbreaking
- it will not compromise security, because apps will keep running in the sandboxed environment like any other apps do, sideloaded apps will not have escalated privileges compared to other apps
- sideloading is there already, in the form of Apple Developer program - for $99 per year
- so this whole thing just means you will not have to pay $99 per year to install custom app. This functionality is already there, just paid.
- with that in mind - if the argument about security compromise by sideloading would be correct, it would mean the security is already compromised, because the possibility to sideload is already there, just behind $99/year paywall
Seems like many people do not realise the points mentioned.
I have changed my mind on sideloading in some regards. I don’t think the EUs legislation is good, I don’t think it’s the place of government to force businesses to offer services they don’t want to. I say let the free market decide. But beyond that, I do think it would overall be good if Apple just adds app sideloading worldwide in a secure manner. Put toggles in Settings that need enabled, add pop-up screens that need clicked through, that way people aren’t duped into enabling it without being aware of the risks. Similar to what macOS already does, where when you go to open a sideloaded app, it tells you it was installed from the internet, and asks you if you want to allow it. Add some additional systems to make it more secure. At this point I’m mostly in favor of app sideloading and want it allowed everywhere.
I will, however, push back on the idea that sideloading already exists behind a $99 paywall. While it’s true that you can install any app on your iPhone of you’re a paid developer (and even free developers can do this too btw), the
intention of this feature is that you’re using it to test your own apps. So it lacks most of the safety measures I would hope would be in place with publicly available sideloading for installing apps from the internet. When you’re testing your own apps, you’re not worried about malware being snuck into it, and warning popups don’t make any sense. Public sideloading should have more restrictions and warnings that way people aren’t duped into it without realizing it.
That's only half-true.
Selfsigned apps are limited to three per device and are valid only for 7 days until they need to be re-signed again. Which means it's unusable for any practical use.
Sideloadly auto-renews apps before the 7 days.
Yeah I wonder if there’ll be a big swing towards subscriptions given piracy will be so much easier? Although pirating developers apps would be a good way to punish them for pushing this stuff on us.
Punish developers for offering you software and apps to make your life more convenient? 😡. Piracy is never good, and punishing developers isn’t good either.
This exactly how Macs have been for ages. I understand why Apple wants their monopoly to continue (there are many upsides with it) but why not let us users decide if we want to install apps outside of Apple’s store? I mean, Fortnite users haven’t been able to play on iOS for like 4 years. With this, Epic can again offer Fortnite (+other games) to iOS users again. Sure you have to use another store but still, it’s better for the end user.
While I’m not totally opposed to sideloading, Epic absolutely could offer Fortnite to iOS users today. They choose not to because of their greed, and unwillingness to just follow the rules like other developers do. Do I think sideloading could be beneficial? Sure. But that doesn’t mean that Epic was just fighting for “consumer choice” and not for their own greed and wanting to use Apple’s platform without following Apple’s rules.
Interesting how that's not happening on the Android or macOS where "sideloading" or let's say - possibility to install app from any source - is already many years present.
Sorry to say it, but it is just yours and
@iOS Geek (of course) projection. There will be no such dark scenario like some of you are trying to picture.
The reality is that sideloading will be relevant for a niche users, actual geeks (pun intended). There's no indication sideloading will be used by majority of users. For most iOS users nothing is going to change. App Store is the source of their apps. Case closed.
And again - sideloading is there already - just behind paywall of $99 per year for Apple Developer program.
I’m actually mostly for app sideloading being implemented worldwide, but it absolutely is happening on macOS. There are many apps that aren’t even available in the App Store, but are mission-critical apps. Facebook doesn’t offer an App Store app on the Mac. There are many apps that simply aren’t available on the App Store and have to be sideloaded. I can easily see some of these big companies moving to their own sideloaded app stores, even if at an increased cost, so they can mine user data without having to disclose their data collection practices in their app stores.
And the feature that $99 developer accounts have access to really isn’t sideloading, at least that isn’t the
intention of that tool. And the $99 isn’t just to access that feature, it’s for a developer account with a bunch of extra features. Its purpose is for a developer to test their own software. A developer obviously isn’t worried about their own software containing malware, mining their data, etc. Because it’s simply a tool for testing one’s own software, it lacks practically all of the security measures I would want from a publicly accessible sideloading feature. Publicly accessible sideloading should require at least one toggle to be enabled in Settings, and should include popups informing a user that they’re enabling sideloading, that they’re installing software from the internet, etc. At least similar to what gatekeeper on macOS does.
In a good way though. Finally some proper alternative browser and YouTube with SponsorBlock integration.
And the best thing it's optional. You can easily ignore it. And one more thing - it's not a new feature. Sideloading is already implemented and readily available, but for $99 per year or free but you have to refresh your installed apps every 7 days (and its limited to three installed apps at a time).
So nothing new, nothing to worry about. Just improvement of already existing iOS feature!
Again, the $99 developer account gives you the ability to install
your own software that you’re coding on your devices, that’s the intent of it. Can you use it to install software from other sources? Sure, but painting sideloading as an already existing feature buried behind a $99 a year paywall is a bit disingenuous. And it’s not really the same in most ways as what publicly accessible sideloading would be. For one, the developer testing tool requires installing the software to the iPhone from a Mac. That is not the same as sideloading, where the installation is done directly from the web to the iPhone. Sure, the end result is somewhat similar, but it isn’t the same thing, and using the developer testing tool in this way is using it outside of its intended use and scope. Also, publicly accessible sideloading should have more safety measures in place, since it will be an entirely different feature from the Developer testing tool (which doesn’t need to safeguard against malware because it’s intended use is testing your own apps), where a public sideloading feature will be used for running software from other sources, and be a potential threat to average consumers if it doesn’t provide proper warnings and other such safeguards.
