With the release of the second beta of iOS 17.5, the possibility of downloading applications directly from developer websites to European iPhones arrives. A download that happens without going through an app store —from Apple or third parties— and that changes the application landscape in Europe very substantially.
Since March, Apple has been developing the necessary infrastructure to support the download of applications from web pages. Developers interested in offering their applications in this way must meet certain criteria designed to provide a minimum level of security on our iPhones. Apps distributed from the web, for example, must have passed Apple’s Notarization and the developer must have been a member of the Apple Developer Program uninterrupted for two years.
In addition, to prevent the proliferation of spam and malicious apps, only applications with one million annual downloads in the EU the previous year can be installed in this way. Finally, it should be clarified that developers can only offer applications from their developer accounts — otherwise, the alternative would be to open a third-party store — and they are required to publish their data collection policies.
Although these measures aim to ensure quality and safety, the system is not without risks. Allowing the installation of applications from any website opens up a possible avenue for malicious actors to try to bypass traditional security controls or privacy measures that apps distributed from the App Store must adhere to. Therefore, if we do not want to install apps through this method, we will have the option to prevent it.
Just like we can block the installation of third-party app stores, in Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions we can go to App Installations and Purchases and choose Don’t Allow under the Web section. With this, we can be sure that all the apps we decide to install on our iPhone will come from the App Store and, therefore, will have gone through all the checks that Apple applies to them.
In the previous version, iOS 17.4, the possibility was opened for developers to offer their applications through alternative markets. Now, the option of direct download from websites offers a new method of downloading, although not without risks.
Just because of these risks, downloading apps from the web is only available on the iPhone and only for residents of the European Union. This is due to the requirements of the Digital Markets Act, the new European law that, however, does not apply to the iPad. Regarding this, Apple has already explained that it does not plan to extend the changes to the rest of the world nor to the iPad, since the new requirements prevent it from guaranteeing the security of the devices as it has been doing until now.
