Should Apple Allow 'Sideloading' Apps on My iPhone?

2 minute read | Last updated 23-Jun-2021 |Apple, Security

Apple is under fire on a number of fronts. The biggest issue this week is several bills introduced in the US. A key issue? The ability to “sideload” apps on your iPhone.

Is that safe? What’s the downside? Learn more in this short…

Transcript

Apple is currently on a PR offensive in response to several bills tabled in the US.

Now there’s a lot to cut through, but one thing that’s come up is a push to allow “sideloading” of apps on your iPhone.

[00:00:10] Sideloading is when you load an app from a different third party app store or just from a website. Apple’s pushback here is that this will break the privacy and security protections on the iPhone.

And that’s actually mostly true.

[00:00:22] For all of its flaws, the App Store is the central point that all developers need to publish through. This allows apple to enforce rule around App Tracking Transparency, soon Mail Privacy Protection, and other users safeguards.

[00:00:35] Now if we look at Android, which currently allows sideloading, less than 0.2% of the millions of Android malware detections per year are delivered via Google Play.

[00:00:44] Now for all its faults, the App Store does help ensure that the entire Apple ecosystem is safe for users. A safe place to conduct business?

That’s another story.

References

• The WSJ on the push in the US Congress and the EU
• Ars Technica interview with Tim Cook
• My post on new privacy features from WWDC21