Apple will allow iPhone users in the European Union to download apps from websites, rather than the App Store, as it complies with the latest change to the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
However, developers will still have to adhere to Apple’s strict rules about security protections and how apps are distributed through websites.
“Apps offered through web distribution must meet notarization requirements to protect the integrity of the platform, like all iOS apps, and can only be installed from a website domain that the developer has registered with App Store Connect,” Apple said. , also confirming that it will authorize developers after meeting certain criteria and committing to ongoing requirements that help protect users.
Developers must be part of Apple’s developer program and registered in the EU.
New developers or those who did not achieve at least one million downloads in the EU last year will not be eligible.
To qualify, a developer must be “a member in good standing of the Apple Developer Program for two continuous years or more and have an app that had more than one million first annual installs on iOS in the EU in the previous calendar year,” Apple said .
The new web distribution feature is expected to be available with a software update in the third quarter of this year.
