Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
TL; DR
- Apple posted a guide online warning people of the dangers of sideloading apps on iOS.
- It claims that sideloading would lead to more malware on the platform.
- It is said that features such as parental control options would be affected by practice.
Apple has been on the warpath lately as the company is under scrutiny for its practices related to the App Store and other businesses. Side-loading apps on the iPhone is the company’s newest focus. CEO Tim Cook spoke out against the practice in an interview last week.
Now Apple has published a guide on its website (h / t: 9to5Mac) titled “Building a Trustworthy Ecosystem for Millions of Apps”. In it, the Cupertino-based company outlines all the reasons why consumers do not have alternative app stores or the option of loading apps from the side.
For starters, the iPhone maker cites a 2020 report from Nokia that found Android devices are far more likely to be infected with malware than iPhones.
“One study found that Android devices had 15 times more infections from malicious software than iPhone. One of the main reasons for this is that Android apps ‘can be downloaded from almost anywhere’, while normal iPhone users can only download apps from one source: the App Store, ”says an excerpt from the guide.
It’s interesting to see Apple citing the Nokia 2020 report after CEO Tim Cook claimed last week that Android devices had “47 times more malware” than iOS, apparently citing a 2019 Nokia report . We noticed Cook’s use of a statistic that might be out of date at the time, but it looks like Apple updated it. Of course, the company’s point of view is that Android devices are much more susceptible to malware.
Like Apple says things could go wrong
“Allowing sideloading would compromise the security of the iOS platform and expose users to serious security risks not only in third-party app stores but also in the app store,” claims the Cupertino-based company. It adds that even users who specifically want to download apps only from the App Store could be tricked into downloading malicious apps from the site.
According to Apple, sideloading would lead to more malicious actors investing in attacks on iOS because of the huge installation base and sensitive information stored on iPhones. The company also gives some hypothetical examples of how side-loading apps could go wrong, such as:
Apple also focuses on kids when it comes to why there can’t be alternative app stores on its platform and why developers should just pay. Sideloading would make it difficult for users to take advantage of parental control features like Ask To Buy and Screen Time.
It’s worth noting that the Mac platform allows users to sideload apps, but Apple claims that iOS requires a more locked-down approach. The company says a different approach is needed for iOS because “the population of users and their behavior and expectations are different”. It also prompts users to think again about the kids, and claims that iOS devices need to be secure enough for kids to use without supervision. Does that mean Macs aren’t safe enough for kids to use on their own?
The company also outlined all of the measures it has taken to protect users from malicious apps on the App Store, such as: These include checking 100,000 apps per week, automatically scanning submitted apps for malware, and built-in protections for users such as sandboxing. Of course, these measures and a ban on sideloading are no guarantee that malware and sketchy apps will not be a problem.
The Washington Post recently reported that nearly 2% of the top 1,000 top-selling apps were fraudulent. It’s also worth noting that the 2020 Nokia report cited by Apple also saw an increase in iOS malware, despite making up 1.7% of all devices with malware (from less than 1% in 2019).
Do you think Apple should allow easier sideloading on iOS for users who wish to do so? Let us know via the poll above.