iOS 17.4 Beta Adds New App Verification Screen to App Store in EU [Updated]

Update — 10:09 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple says the App Store showing an app verification screen in the EU is a bug and will be fixed before iOS 17.4 is released to all users. Original story follows.

Starting with the latest iOS 17.4 beta, Apple asks iPhone users in the EU to verify an app's information before installing it from the App Store. The prompt was spotted by Dimitris Sartzetakis of @iSWUpdates and others.

Shazam Authentication App Store Feature 1
iOS 17.4 will allow iPhone users in the EU to install apps from so-called "alternative app marketplaces," and the verification screen will appear in those storefronts too. Apple is likely aiming to avoid anticompetitive complaints by also showing the prompt in its own App Store, should it remain in the public release of iOS 17.4.

Apple previously announced that iOS 17.4 will be released in March, and the App Store changes only apply in the 27 countries that are part of the EU, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and others. Notably, the UK left the EU in 2020.

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Releases First Betas of iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3

Monday December 16, 2024 10:06 am PST by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2. iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software update. There's no word yet on what's included in iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, ...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...
Apple TV 4K hero 221018 feature

Here is Everything New for the Apple TV in the tvOS 18.3 Update So Far

Tuesday December 17, 2024 6:25 am PST by
Apple on Monday seeded the first tvOS 18.3 beta to developers for testing. The update will likely be released in January. So far, there are only minor changes for the Apple TV, with one new feature and a few code changes discovered. Below, we outline what is new in tvOS 18.3 so far. Robot Vacuum Support in Home App First, tvOS 18.3 will add robot vacuum support to the Home app on the...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...

Top Rated Comments

SanderEvers Avatar
11 months ago
It's basically the same EU ideocracy as the "cookiebanner" each website has these days. Nobody reads them, just clicks on install. And the worst part is, it annoys most people.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mvwoensel Avatar
11 months ago
Under the Digital Markets Act, self-preferencing is illegal. That's why users will see this screen before installing apps from any app store, including Apple's own store.

However, users can disable this: "Users can manage their default marketplace through a new default setting. Certain platform features for finding and using apps like Spotlight are integrated with a user’s default marketplace. App installation sheets are automatically turned off for installations from a user’s default marketplace."
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KRBM Avatar
11 months ago

Under the Digital Markets Act, self-preferencing is illegal. That's why users will see this screen before installing apps from any app store, including Apple's own store.
Nothing wrong with forbidding self-preferencing here, the issue is that Apple is choosing to introduce scare screens. They could have adhered to just allowing third party stores but they went above and beyond to add a negative factor in the download flow - most likely to later tell everyone that the EU measures decreased downloads rate when they brought that on themselves.


It's basically the same EU ideocracy as the "cookiebanner" each website has these days. Nobody reads them, just clicks on install. And the worst part is, it annoys most people.
Again, there’s no directive from the EU that Apple has to do this - this is solely Apple’s choice.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iOS Geek Avatar
11 months ago

Nothing wrong with forbidding self-preferencing here, the issue is that Apple is choosing to introduce scare screens. They could have adhered to just allowing third party stores but they went above and beyond to add a negative factor in the download flow - most likely to later tell everyone that the EU measures decreased downloads rate when they brought that on themselves.
Verifying information is a scare screen? Sure, ok...:rolleyes: A scare screen would be warning the dangers of doing this. Not asking you to verify what you're downloading is what you intended to. Stop making things up.

Scary? No. Annoying pain in the neck? Absolutely. But serves the EU right! They meddled in something they should've stayed out of and now there's a worse experience because of it. Saw that coming from a mile away!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unami Avatar
11 months ago

Say it with me: This wouldn't have even been a possibility if the EU kept their noses out.

Sure...it was Apple's choice. But it is a choice that wouldn't have even been thought of if the EU left things alone. This can all be tied back to their incessant need to meddle in everything.
With the same logic you could say that Apple's unfair business practices forced the EU to act.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KRBM Avatar
11 months ago

Say it with me: This wouldn't have even been a possibility if the EU kept their noses out.

Sure...it was Apple's choice. But it is a choice that wouldn't have even been thought of if the EU left things alone. This can all be tied back to their incessant need to meddle in everything.
This borders on victim blaming. You’re saying that you deserved to be punched in the face because you gave someone an opportunity to think of the option.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)