Torrenting Apps Now Available for iPhone Users in the EU

[MacRumors]

iPhone users in the European Union can now install torrenting apps, bypassing Apple's stringent App Store policies (via The Verge).

The alternative app marketplace AltStore PAL is now offering torrenting apps, a category that has historically been banned by Apple. This follows the introduction of the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which has reduced Apple's control over apps available in the region. As a result, iOS users can now download and use apps that are not available on the App Store without the need to jailbreak their devices.

The new offerings on AltStore PAL include iTorrent, an iOS torrent client, and qBitControl, a remote client for managing qBittorrent on desktop systems. These apps, along with PeopleDrop, a dating-focused social discovery app, and UTM SE, an app for emulating operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and macOS on iOS devices, mark the first batch of third-party apps to be released on AltStore PAL since its launch. Unlike the other apps, UTM SE has also been approved by Apple and is available on the official App Store, though it was initially rejected in June before gaining approval with assistance from the AltStore team.

Apple has consistently banned torrent apps from its App Store, citing that they are "often used for the purpose of infringing third-party rights," but the DMA has weakened Apple's ability to maintain its walled garden approach, allowing alternative app marketplaces like AltStore PAL to offer apps that do not meet Apple's guidelines.

Users interested in accessing the new apps on AltStore PAL will need an iPhone running iOS 17.4 or later. The service requires a subscription fee of €1.50 per year to cover Apple's fees. More information about the apps and the subscription process can be found on the AltStore website.

Article Link: Torrenting Apps Now Available for iPhone Users in the EU

 

[breenmask]

I'm sure most of us are going to use this for legitimate purposes right?...right?

 

[Zest28]

Good. If EU developers are so greedy that they don’t want to pay their fair share of sales commission to Apple, they deserve to be pirated.

I knew pirating would be coming once Apple is no longer in control as Apple did their best to not allow this.

 

[I7guy]

Good. If EU developers are so greedy that they don’t want to pay their fair share of sales commission to Apple, they deserve to be pirated.

I knew pirating would be coming once Apple is no longer in control as Apple did their best to not allow this.

Just waiting for other apps which facilitate activities apple would ban.

 

[stars_fan]

Argh, mateys

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I haven't downloaded a torrent in probably a decade, but good on them!

 

[dannyyankou]

I'm sure most of us are going to use this for legitimate purposes right?...right?

I use torrenting apps on my Mac for legitimate purposes. Lots of live bands I listen to that allow their audiences to record and share shows, and this is how the audio is distributed.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Just waiting for other apps which facilitate activities apple would ban.

I'm waiting for someone to build a call blocking app that will block unknown and blocked Caller ID calls without silencing all unknown callers.

Why Apple won't do that or let somebody else do that, I have no idea.

 

[randomsalad]

Good. If EU developers are so greedy that they don’t want to pay their fair share of sales commission to Apple, they deserve to be pirated.

I knew pirating would be coming once Apple is no longer in control as Apple did their best to not allow this.

This is not how it work.

 

[L92]

Good. If EU developers are so greedy that they don’t want to pay their fair share of sales commission to Apple, they deserve to be pirated.

I knew pirating would be coming once Apple is no longer in control as Apple did their best to not allow this.

You know that the holy Apple allows torrenting on the MAC, right? Like you can do it day n night.

 

[breenmask]

I use torrenting apps on my Mac for legitimate purposes. Lots of live bands I listen to that allow their audiences to record and share shows, and this is how the audio is distributed.

great.

meanwhile, most people probably wouldn't be doing that, especially on a phone.

 

[Poppleropples]

Torrents??? I didn’t even know they were still a thing, we’ll be side loading Limewire and Napster soon, anyway I’m off to update my MySpace

 

[ignatius345]

Torrents??? I didn’t even know they were still a thing, we’ll be side loading Limewire and Napster soon, anyway I’m off to update my MySpace

Just because you stopped paying attention to something for a while, that doesn't mean it's no longer, as you put it, "a thing".

 

[CraigJDuffy]

Being able to create bootable Linux USBs via an iPad would make work so much easier. Glad to see this happen, P2P is a great protocol for transferring large files.

 

[mdnz]

You know that the holy Apple allows torrenting on the MAC, right? Like you can do it day n night.

This, it’s always funny to me when people yell like their lives depend on it for the iPhone but meanwhile you can do it on a Mac since forever.

 

[arkmannj]

So tow EU folks can Torrent the coolest lightweight Linux Distro then run it in UTM SE.
Do these Torrent apps have any search capabilities, or built in VPN capabilities?

 

[jicon]

Good. If EU developers are so greedy that they don’t want to pay their fair share of sales commission to Apple, they deserve to be pirated.

I knew pirating would be coming once Apple is no longer in control as Apple did their best to not allow this.

How does developer store decision differ from Mac OS, where developers choose alternate sales options outside the Mac App Store? There's a point where the revenue cost using the store is high enough for developers to work outside of the store. There are methods of handling piracy concerns.

 

[uacd]

Nice! Torrenting comes to iOS when I no longer need it. They probably knew it

 

[dannyyankou]

great.

meanwhile, most people probably wouldn't be doing that, especially on a phone.

Ok, you asked

 

[Ctrlos]

Web3 bros in 2024: ‘Look at our decentralised web’

BitTorrent: ‘Hold my beer’

 

[JordanCautious]

Torrenting is quite literally only used for piracy. No matter how you spin this, it only makes piracy more popular.

Approved by the EU, of course. Anything to avoid paying the Apple Tax am I right? What’s next? Native 18+ apps?

 

[Ctrlos]

Good. If EU developers are so greedy that they don’t want to pay their fair share of sales commission to Apple, they deserve to be pirated.

I knew pirating would be coming once Apple is no longer in control as Apple did their best to not allow this.

They pay for their annual membership like everybody else. If I sell something at Best Buy I don’t pay Walmart any commission; would you call me greedy for sidestepping Walmart’s’ cut of the sales?!

 

[ThatsMeRight]

What’s next? Native 18+ apps?

Wouldn't be bad: trustworthy apps by big developers, as it would protect users from shady sites with viruses and phishing attempts.

 

[breenmask]

Ok, you asked

I asked about "most of us"

downloading recordings of bands via torrent is not something "most of us" do.

 

[dannyyankou]

I just want to explain something because this concept might be before a lot of people's time here- back in the 70s/80s/90s, people would be allowed to record tapes of live shows of lots of bands and share them via trade. Obviously the bands wanted it to be traded and not sold because they didn't want fans making money off their music.

But when the internet came along, that made physical tapes practically obsolete. So what many of these communities did was start sharing their recordings via torrent. This way, someone can download the show, but they're also sharing it with someone else by seeding it. And it kept the spirit of trading alive.