Torrenting Apps Now Available for iPhone Users in the EU

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

altstore pal eu
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.

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Announces iOS 18.2 Launching Today With These New Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 5:23 am PST by
Apple has announced that iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 will be released today following more than six weeks of beta testing. For the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, the update introduces additional Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji for creating custom emoji, Image Playground and Image Wand for generating images, and ChatGPT integration for Siri. There is also ...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds Second Release Candidate Versions of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration

Monday December 9, 2024 10:06 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, a week after releasing the first RCs. The first iOS 18.2 RC had a build number of 22C150, while the second RC's build number is 22C151. Release candidates represent the final version of beta software that's expected to see a ...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb 3

iPhone SE 4 Said to Feature 48MP Rear Lens, 12MP TrueDepth Camera

Monday December 9, 2024 4:48 am PST by
Apple's forthcoming iPhone SE 4 will feature a single 48-megapixel rear camera and a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera on the front, according to details revealed in a new Korean supply chain report. ET News reports that Korea-based LG Innotek is the main supplier of the front and rear camera modules for the more budget-friendly ~$400 device, which is expected to launch in the first quarter of...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

MacBook Pros With OLED Displays Won't Have a Notch, Roadmap Shows

Monday December 9, 2024 7:36 am PST by
Apple plans to remove the notch from the MacBook Pro in a few years from now, according to a roadmap shared by research firm Omdia. The roadmap shows that 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models released in 2026 will have a hole-punch camera at the top of the display, instead of a notch. It is unclear if there would simply be a pinhole in the display, or if Apple would expand the iPhone's...
vipps nfc tap to pay iphone

World's First Apple Pay Alternative for iPhone Launches in Norway

Monday December 9, 2024 1:28 am PST by
Norwegian payment service Vipps has become the world's first company to launch a competing tap-to-pay solution to Apple Pay on iPhone, following Apple's agreement with European regulators to open up its NFC technology to third parties. Starting December 9, Vipps users in Norway can make contactless payments in stores using their iPhones. The service initially supports customers of SpareBank...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Friday December 6, 2024 4:42 am PST by
Apple is set to release 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. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls...
Apple Watch Series 10 lineup 240909 feature

Apple Watch Could Get Blood Pressure Monitoring in 2025

Tuesday December 10, 2024 11:51 am PST by
Apple is ramping up work on a blood pressure monitoring feature for the Apple Watch and it could be ready as soon as 2025, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Blood pressure monitoring is a health addition that Apple has been working on for the last several years, and based on rumors, Apple wanted to debut it in 2024. The feature would not provide exact systolic and diastolic blood pressure...
macOS Sequoia Night Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.2 With New Apple Intelligence Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:02 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.2, the second update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that was released in September. macOS Sequoia 15.2 comes over a month after the release of macOS Sequoia 15.1. Mac users can download the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Sequoia 15.2 adds Image Playground, an app that lets you create...

Top Rated Comments

ignatius345 Avatar
19 weeks ago

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".
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
L92 Avatar
19 weeks ago

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.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zest28 Avatar
19 weeks ago
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.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WarmWinterHat Avatar
19 weeks ago

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.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
randomsalad Avatar
19 weeks ago

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.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
breenmask Avatar
19 weeks ago
I'm sure most of us are going to use this for legitimate purposes right?...right?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)