I've been reading through Apple's Developers site to better understand how they plan to handle iOS apps that are distributed outside of the App Store.

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Apple will encrypt and sign all iOS apps intended for alternative distribution to help protect developers’ intellectual property and ensure that users get apps from known parties.

Source: Update on apps distributed in the European Union

One of the big concerns I have is that all iOS applications will be required to be encrypted, making them impossible to use through a 3rd party compatibility layer (without needing to rely on a jailbroken device).

As someone who currently works on a compatibility layer (called Darling) that allows users to run macOS software on Linux, I believe it is important that users have the ability to obtain decrypted copies of software they legally purchased or obtained, without needing to rely on a hacked/jailbroken device.

I'm planning to send an email to EC-DMA@ec.europa.eu to voice my concerns. With that being said, I'm curious to read how an iOS developer feels about providing decrypted copies of iOS apps to their customers.

#ios #iosdev #dma #jailbreak #darling