AltStore PAL Rolls Out Support for Sideloading Third-Party Apps on iPhone in the EU

AltStore PAL – the alternative app marketplace for the iPhone – is rolling out support for hosting third-party apps, it announced via a social media post on Wednesday. With the app's latest update, users in the European Union (EU) can sideload apps on their iPhone from other developers by adding sources, including those that are not allowed on Apple's App Store due to its regulations. AltStore PAL is initially offering four new default third-party apps for users to download.

AltStore PAL Third-Party Apps

In a post on the decentralised social media platform Mastodon, the official AltStore account announced the app marketplace's 2.1 update. It brings third-party apps to the store, starting with four apps from “Recommended Sources”: UTM SE, qBitControl, iTorrent, and PeopleDrop.

As per the platform, users can now add more sources to AltStore PAL, in addition to the apps offered by its developer – Riley Testut. The new apps are claimed to have been “explicitly reviewed” to meet the safety standards.

Third-Party App Sources on AltStore PAL
Photo Credit: Mastodon/AltStore PAL

While UTM SE enables running virtual machines on the iPhone, qBitControl is said to let users run torrents remotely on their home network. iTorrent is another torrent app which brings features like Files app support and downloading P2P files. Meanwhile, using PeopleDrop, iPhone users can discover others in their vicinity, similar to the StreetPass feature on Nintendo 3DS. These apps join existing ones including Delta, the retro video game console emulator, and clipboard manager Clip on the AltStore PAL.

The developer says the app marketplace will get updated to the latest version in the background. Users simply need to add the third-party developers from the Sources tab and the new apps will show up on the Browse screen.

This move builds upon the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) legislation which allows users in the region to sideload apps on their iPhone from alternative marketplaces, instead of just depending on the Apple App Store. In essence, the DMA requires big technology companies, who act as “gatekeepers”, to offer their services to other companies and developers.

While Apple App Store head Phil Schiller spoke at length about the privacy and security risks linked to allowing third-party app stores on iPhone in February, several marketplaces have emerged since the EU's decision, including MacPaw's Setapp.