Apple has released a scaremongering, self-serving warning aimed at the Australian government, claiming that Australians will be overrun by a parade of digital horribles if Australia follows the European Union’s lead and regulates Apple’s “walled garden.” The EU’s Digital Markets Act is a big,...
You are missing the point. If you want to remain in the Apple infrastructure exclusively, nobody is forcing you not to. Those who want options will have them. So enjoy your walled garden all you want, and let each user decide if they want to keep being tools or not.
I respectfully disagree.
If I’m out at a restaurant with app-based ordering, or my Real Estate agent requires payment through their gateway, or to track my utilities usage, or am required to use any other number of niche apps that become only available through alternate app stores? Then I very well risk being put in a situation where I am otherwise forced to.
Let alone the headaches that will inevitably come from the older, less technologically savvy, and more vulnerable having their default app stores highjacked, and spoof apps stealing their credentials/credit cards.
Then we get into the more general issues of allowing unsigned code to be loaded and run on our smartphones - it will lead to the era of viruses, Trojans and ransomware.
I am reminded of this piece that Last Week Tonight did on Encryption, which is quite cogent given the topic at hand.
Best security practices involve minimising the number of places your sensitive (financial) data is stored. If a website doesn’t accept a known and reputable intermediary like Apple Pay, PayPal or a BNPL provider - I would refrain from using it.
If this is something that you want - then go ahead and Jailbreak your iPhone, or get an Android - more power to you; but please stop trying to enshittify iOS.
Again, I can understand where you come from, but it’s been proven, time and again, that using apps from the main app store (ios or Android, doesn’t matter) is not inherently safer or more dangerous than getting apps from other stores. The problems are the apps not the stores. Additionally, I have yet to see any company, institution or organization publish apps exclusively in alternative app stores,which means that, as far as I’m aware, every app “needed” will be in the platforms own store, which means that nobody has to get an alternative app store if they don’t want to.
These facts render your arguments to block giving owners of devices options completely invalid.
Yes, if you feel safer with the platforms’ default stores, you’re free to remain there and avoid anything else, as this is your device, and therefore your choice. But these arguments you bring take away CHOICE for absolutely no good reason.
What you want is basically a recipe for the web turning into an exclusively corporate wasteland. Lack of installation freedom doesn’t provide security from anything when the A/G app stores are already full of malware. Real security - security for users - lies in our ability to exercise choice - to use a FOSS app, or to pay conventionally via the web instead of having to put up with creepy opaque vendor portals (or worse, an app)
Phones are generic computing devices. We must able to operate and maintain them however we wish.
If this were to happen it would have happened on Android a long time ago but it didn’t.
Banking Trojans have hit millions of Android devices in 2025 — here are the biggest threats and how to protect yourself
Just because you aren’t aware of it, it doesn’t mean it’s not happening already.
I was talking about the point you made in your first paragraph. Where businesses would suddenly start providing their apps only in third party stores.
Well you weren’t very specific, so I wasn’t sure which point(s) you were disagreeing with.
I’m sure there are a number of apps which were only available on one storefront (Google, Samsung, F-Droid etc.).
China is in an even worse spot, as Google is outright banned - there are a dozen or so competing Android app stores; however their saving grace is that literally every digital transaction goes through either Weixin or AliPay - so there’s a somewhat lessened risk of credit card fraud.
Why would smaller, niche apps move to alternative stores on iOS? To (rightfully) avoid the excessive fees charged - so yes, a restaurant would be a prime example of someone not be willing / able to give 30% to Apple (nor should they, it’s downright extortion).
BTW, this only happens (usually!!) if you install from the web, which… like, if you don’t have the tech literacy to figure out what’s fake or not (especially banking?? Any reasonable bank HAS an app in official platforms, like the play store) then you don’t need and shouldn’t sideload, BUT the option is there for people like me, who use F-Droid and other FOSS-related apps.
The only downside is that unless people literally ignore warnings from the system for downloading apps (maybe first time stuff, then either the warning design sucks, or again, user error) then maybe just maybe they should read, if it’s not official play store.