I'm dreading the day Apple is bullied into supporting 3rd-party app stores and I'm forced to download the Meta store to get Meta apps, the Netflix app store to get the Netflix app, etc.
I'm quite happy with taking the good with the bad. Apple may be forced to open up and allow other app storefronts, and the downside is a reasonable concern. The upside though, is considerable: A proper open-source and entirely free app store that is treated like a First-class citizen.
I don't have Google Services installed, and rely entirely on F-Droid, with no extra repositories enabled. I feel my personal information is much less likely to leave my device installing any app through F-Droid compared to any app on Apple's store. Despite how locked down the App store is, I still trust it less than a third-party store.
I believe Apple users end up with all the downside (limits on which apps can be built and easily distributed) and none of the upside (an app store with which I trust every single application on).
Android has third party app stores and this doesn't happen for most apps (Fortnite is the big exception). If anything, app store competition will force Apple to reduce its ridiculous 30% fee on in-app purchases.
I'm looking forward to it. If my elderly relatives start getting confused about how to download Messenger or Whatsapp from a 3rd party app store, I can tell them about Signal or other alternatives.
Any friction makes it easier for their competitors. I think the only app that succeeded with a 3rd party (Android) store is Fortnite, and their userbase is young and grew up with technology.
It pretty much ensures a race to the bottom - there will be an app store that approves anything for a fee. Twitter checkmark style, with on-device consequences.
You can bet your ass that some entity you need to work with will be using this app store to push software onto your device that you don't want to be there. It could be your bank suctioning up your data to minimise their exposure to fraud. It could be your health insurer to check that you're not doing dangerous things like speeding, or living a sedentary lifestyle. It could be your own government making sure you don't seek out abortion information.
None of this stuff is possible under the current app store paradigm. We already got a taste of this when reputable companies such as Facebook and Google were both exploiting Enterprise Certificates to bypass protections: allowing them to vacuum up personal information, social media/IM conversations and constantly track the user.
I have no idea how the regulation is planning on managing permission bits, the whole point of having the approval system is that a developer had to prove they needed access to your contacts, location, camera, files, etc. Why does a flashlight app need access to your contacts?
Meanwhile you'll constantly hear people reply to these talking points about the seldom app that slipped through the app approval process:
1. This doesn't prove that we don't need an approval process
2. The amount of malware on iOS in comparison to Android, Windows and even macOS is extraordinarily low, not just as a % of users, but in absolute terms. It's very difficult to argue that the app store approach is ineffective and only there to make money when the statistics prove otherwise.
What the EU should have done is force apple to spin off approvals to an independent, audited company.
*tl,dr: There is an absolute shit show up ahead and people are too busy high-5'ing each other because they think they nailed it to Apple.
I barely use non-stock apps nowadays. I go through the browser for many things. And I self-host stuff on my local network, which exposes web UIs. Keeping it thin is the way to go, imo.
I'll probably end up having a NixOS phone down the line as that develops more.
I am actually looking forward for it. Because when competition arrives, Apple might stop behaving like a spoiled brat with its AppStore and start being a little bit developer friendly.
Why do we need mobile app stores in the first place?
My laptop has never needed an app store. Microsoft and Apple are pushing to introduce them in Windows and MacOS, but adoption is slow because it's a worse experience than installing applications directly from the manufacturers.
The whole concept of an "app store" seems like an anti-feature.
They've had plenty of time to demonstrate that app stores could provide that value, but it doesn't seem to be the case today.
There are hundreds of flashlight apps, for example, and many of them hoover up as much data as they can.
I can't bring myself to try mobile games anymore, because the discovery mechanisms ensure that IAP skinner boxes are preferentially surfaced in the app stores.
On desktop platforms, the app stores offer less functionality and little in the way of confidence that an app is "official".
No, "quality and safety" is a fig leaf which the platform owners use to justify their rent-seeking behavior.
18 comments
[ 4.1 ms ] story [ 60.7 ms ] threadI don't have Google Services installed, and rely entirely on F-Droid, with no extra repositories enabled. I feel my personal information is much less likely to leave my device installing any app through F-Droid compared to any app on Apple's store. Despite how locked down the App store is, I still trust it less than a third-party store.
I believe Apple users end up with all the downside (limits on which apps can be built and easily distributed) and none of the upside (an app store with which I trust every single application on).
The ecosystem could support couple more app stores at most.
Any friction makes it easier for their competitors. I think the only app that succeeded with a 3rd party (Android) store is Fortnite, and their userbase is young and grew up with technology.
You can bet your ass that some entity you need to work with will be using this app store to push software onto your device that you don't want to be there. It could be your bank suctioning up your data to minimise their exposure to fraud. It could be your health insurer to check that you're not doing dangerous things like speeding, or living a sedentary lifestyle. It could be your own government making sure you don't seek out abortion information. None of this stuff is possible under the current app store paradigm. We already got a taste of this when reputable companies such as Facebook and Google were both exploiting Enterprise Certificates to bypass protections: allowing them to vacuum up personal information, social media/IM conversations and constantly track the user.
I have no idea how the regulation is planning on managing permission bits, the whole point of having the approval system is that a developer had to prove they needed access to your contacts, location, camera, files, etc. Why does a flashlight app need access to your contacts?
Meanwhile you'll constantly hear people reply to these talking points about the seldom app that slipped through the app approval process:
1. This doesn't prove that we don't need an approval process
2. The amount of malware on iOS in comparison to Android, Windows and even macOS is extraordinarily low, not just as a % of users, but in absolute terms. It's very difficult to argue that the app store approach is ineffective and only there to make money when the statistics prove otherwise.
What the EU should have done is force apple to spin off approvals to an independent, audited company.
*tl,dr: There is an absolute shit show up ahead and people are too busy high-5'ing each other because they think they nailed it to Apple.
I'll probably end up having a NixOS phone down the line as that develops more.
My laptop has never needed an app store. Microsoft and Apple are pushing to introduce them in Windows and MacOS, but adoption is slow because it's a worse experience than installing applications directly from the manufacturers.
The whole concept of an "app store" seems like an anti-feature.
There are hundreds of flashlight apps, for example, and many of them hoover up as much data as they can.
I can't bring myself to try mobile games anymore, because the discovery mechanisms ensure that IAP skinner boxes are preferentially surfaced in the app stores.
On desktop platforms, the app stores offer less functionality and little in the way of confidence that an app is "official".
No, "quality and safety" is a fig leaf which the platform owners use to justify their rent-seeking behavior.