Apple Limiting Alternative App Stores and Payments to EU Due to Malware, Fraud and Scam Risks

In developer documentation outlining systemwide changes to the App Store in the European Union, Apple explains why alternative app stores, alternative payment options, and other updates are being limited to the EU.

iPhone Security Feature 1
Apple claims that these changes are introducing notable risks for users and developers, introducing "new avenues for malware, fraud and scams, illicit and harmful content, and other privacy and security threats."

Further, Apple says that the updates compromise its ability to "detect, prevent, and take action" against malicious apps, and also to support users impacted by issues with apps that are downloaded outside of the ‌App Store‌.

"We're limiting these changes to the European Union because we're concerned about their impacts on the privacy and security of our users' experience - which remains our North Star," Apple writes.

To limit risk, Apple is requiring alternative app stores to undergo a notarization process that will check for malware and viruses, but Apple will not evaluate an app's content. Though notarization will add safeguards, Apple says there is risk involved with the alternate app store system.

If not properly managed, alternative distribution poses increased privacy, safety, and security risks for users and developers. This includes risks from installing software from unknown developers that are not subject to the Apple Developer Program requirements, installing software that compromises system integrity with malware or other malicious code, the distribution of pirated software, exposure to illicit, objectionable, and harmful content due to lower content and moderation standards, and increased risks of scams, fraud, and abuse. Apple has less ability to address these risks, and to support and refund customers regarding these issues. Even with safeguards, many of these risks remain.

Going forward, Apple plans to engage with the European Union, developer community, and EU users about the impacts of alternative app stores.

Outside of the EU, app developers must continue to use the ‌App Store‌ and in-app purchase system as usual.

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Latest iPhone 17 Series CAD Images in Line With Redesign Rumors

Friday February 28, 2025 2:51 am PST by
Apple is expected to embrace a new camera system design for some models in its upcoming iPhone 17 series, and the latest purported CAD images don't deviate from what we have been hearing lately about Apple's new lineup. If you do not like the sound of an iPhone with a Google Pixel-style camera bar, look away now. Seasoned leaker Sonny Dickson shared the following images in a post on X...
iphone 16e usb c feature

Apple Provides Reason for iPhone 16e's Lack of MagSafe

Friday February 28, 2025 4:39 am PST by
Apple has offered a reason why the iPhone 16e doesn't include MagSafe, one of the more notable omissions from its latest entry-level smartphone. According to Apple representatives who spoke to Daring Fireball's John Gruber, MagSafe is not included in the iPhone 16e because "most people in the iPhone 16e's target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging...
apple intelligence black

These New Apple Intelligence Features Are Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday February 28, 2025 3:17 pm PST by
iOS 18.4 was supposed to bring new Apple Intelligence Siri features, but Apple ended up needing to pull those capabilities from the update to continue testing. There are fewer new Apple Intelligence additions now, but there are still some new features that will make the update worth installing when it comes out in April. Priority Notifications Apple introduced Priority Notifications back at ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Rumored to Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Saturday March 1, 2025 11:00 am PST by
iOS 19 is still around three months away from being unveiled, but there are plenty of rumors about the upcoming update. Below, we recap iOS 19 rumors so far. Redesigned Camera App A leak earlier this year allegedly revealed a redesigned Camera app coming with iOS 19. On his YouTube channel Front Page Tech in January, Jon Prosser shared a video showing what the new Camera app will...
cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
airpods pro purple

Here's When AirPods Pro 3 Are Rumored to Launch

Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year. The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time. Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
apple c1

How Fast is Apple's First-Ever 5G Modem? The Results Are Surprising

Friday February 28, 2025 10:08 am PST by
iPhone 16e reviews are now out, and Apple's custom-designed C1 modem has been put to the test. The results so far are quite surprising, as the C1's speeds are not as slow compared to Qualcomm modems as originally expected. While the C1 does not support ultra-fast mmWave 5G in the U.S., it appears to offer comparable 5G performance to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X71 modem found in the iPhone 16,...

Top Rated Comments

Kazgarth Avatar
14 months ago
Yes protect us with the 30% commission ?
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ItsASpider Avatar
14 months ago
There are no "malware, fraud, and scam risks" related to any of these issues. Unless Apple is saying here that macOS is also a globally insecure platform.

Let's just name it what it is; Apple is scared that they'll actually have to bother providing compelling services to developers instead of getting by default 30% of the revenue of anything and everything even if not only they don't do a single thing to earn that, but the party that has to pay them 30% is left with all other costs as well...


most customers don't give a flying **** about this. only the whiney minority is asking for this so they can pirate apps and install emulators because they miss their 90's childhood.
I don't care for emulators, nor do I care to pirate apps. I just want to be able to install apps that I should just be able to install and not be blocked from using my device for whatever I want to use it just because Apple has some arbitrary policy that blocks apps if it even remotely threatens their 30% cut for doing nothing. The fact that they are adjusting rules globally as well to allow services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce already shows what this is about; they are afraid that these would otherwise only be available through alternatives and that they'd be pushing their users to install these alternatives because they know they cannot beat them without accepting them as well.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ItsASpider Avatar
14 months ago

The worst of all is that the EU won’t get blamed for the issues this will cause - instead, people will complain to Apple because they didn’t get a refund, can’t install an app, etc.
The problem with this statement here is that none of that is based in reality and since every other platform has always worked this exact same way we know that this isn't the case. When Steam has issues, people don't complain to Microsoft they didn't get a refund, when an app installer fails on Android, people don't complain to Google that it doesn't work. This is just nonsense and you repeating talking points...
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
stefanovago Avatar
14 months ago
Lucky EU users
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
falainber Avatar
14 months ago
Apple explains why alternative app stores, alternative payment options, and other updates are being limited to the EU. Apple claims that these changes are introducing notable risks for users and developers, introducing "new avenues for malware, fraud and scams, illicit and harmful content, and other privacy and security threats."

They are lying. We all know that they do it in EU only because only EU demanded them to allow alternative app stores and other countries did not (not yet).
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ItsASpider Avatar
14 months ago

Time to first iOS major malware/ransomware attack in EU... .02 seconds after 17.4 goes live.

Note to app developers: I *WILL NOT* download and install apps from other app stores. Offer it in Apple's mostly trustworthy App Store or I won't use it.
If iOS security breaks down due to this, that really is just Apples fault and would indicate some serious security issues that they just didn't bother to fix. That *would* in fact imply iOS is rotten to the core.

Not to mention that Apple regularly has to kick out scams and other fraudulent apps from the App Store, so there is that too.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)