Apple Says UK App Store Steering Rules Would Be 'Highly Intrusive'

Highly intrusive? They want you to allow developers to sell directly to their customers without going through your payment processing system. There is nothing intrusive about that. What is intrusive is a corporation forcing developers to go through them to sell to customers.

I bought your phone now allow me to buy apps where i want and use whatever payment system i want.

They can. They just have to allow competing App Stores

That's the thing. Apple don't thrive when there's competition and they know it. They stifle it as much as possible whether it be bullying, sherlocking, buyouts, etc. They're not unique or special in that regard, just classic greedy, big corporation behaviour but for some reason Apple fanbois can't see them as just another corporation.

So you admit it, there’s literally no evidence 🤣

Evidence here:

Youtube Premium in the UK - £12.99 per month for individuals and £19.99 for the family plan. If you sign up via the iOS app £16.99 individual and £25.99 families.

Audible Premium Plus £8.99 per month if you sign up on audible.co.uk £9.99 if you sign up in the iOS app.

and here:

https://www.macrumors.com/2022/12/07/twitter-blue-relaunch-subscription-fees/


and here:

[MEDIA=reddit]litrpg/comments/1p26y63/fyi_app_store_subscriptions_are_more_expensive[/MEDIA]


and here:

https://isitstillworthit.com/youtube-premium-iphone-vs-web/

Except that makes everyone’s devices less safe and secure. Even those who don’t use those features (or intend to use those features).

iOS already has "side loading" capability. Apple intentionally restricts it because it sidesteps their app store payment system. The ability to Install apps from 3rd party sources does not make your device less safe or less secure if you don't use it. The capability is there and your mother in law can be scammed into using it today.

For example, right now my mother in law can’t get scammed into sideloading a malicious app onto her iPhone because it’s not possible to sideload. As soon as you open up that ability you’re going to massively increase the rate of scams and malicious apps. And while you may be savvy enough to avoid downloading malicious apps, most of Apple’s customers aren’t.

Scams that affect your mother in law and i assume she is older are the phone call tech support social engineering scams. 3rd party stores or lack there of does not prevent that.

There is a reason iOS has orders of magnitude less malware than Android. It isn’t because iOS is better coded, or Apple has better engineers, or Apple users are more sophisticated - it’s because Apple’s restrictions prevent the primary attack vectors from even being possible by prohibiting third party app stores and sideloading.

https://blog.avast.com/fleeceware-apps-on-mobile-app-stores-avast

A total of 134 fleeceware applications have been identified by Avast on the Apple App Store.

Sensor Tower data estimates a total of 500 million downloads of these applications. It also estimates that the applications have brought in $365 million in revenue in their lifetime.

View the complete list of fleeceware applications on iOS.
Android

A total of 70 fleeceware applications have been identified by Avast on the Google Play Store.

Sensor Tower data estimates a total of 500 million downloads of these applications. It also estimates that the applications have brought in $38.5 million in revenue in their lifetime.

https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2025/07/iphone-vs-android-iphone-users-more-reckless-less-protected-online

The measurably unsafe behavior of some iPhone users online comes with unfortunate, measurable consequences. The poor password hygiene, risky buying behavior, and limited antivirus protection are all paired with a higher overall rate of victimization—53% of iPhone users have fallen victim to a scam compared to 48% of Android users.

Apples walled garden does not prevent people from getting scammed on iOS. You were just in a thread where Apple published a scam app and did nothing while their customers got scammed arguing that Apple is not responsible to recompense their customers because security is not 100% guaranteed. Something something "common sense and personal responsibility" was the retort used by some in that thread.

That shouldn’t get taken away from everyone just because you don’t want to use Android.

Your ability to stay in the walled garden remains. You and your mother in law can simply choose not to install apps from 3rd party sources and stay within Apple's restricted system.

Except that makes everyone’s devices less safe and secure. Even those who don’t use those features (or intend to use those features).

For example, right now my mother in law can’t get scammed into sideloading a malicious app onto her iPhone because it’s not possible to sideload. As soon as you open up that ability you’re going to massively increase the rate of scams and malicious apps. And while you may be savvy enough to avoid downloading malicious apps, not all of Apple’s customers are.

There is a reason iOS has orders of magnitude less malware than Android. It isn’t because iOS is better coded, or Apple has better engineers, or Apple users are more sophisticated - it’s because Apple’s restrictions prevent the primary attack vectors from even being possible by prohibiting third party app stores and sideloading.

That shouldn’t get taken away from everyone just because you don’t want to use Android.

Again, not true. I don't use the App Store on my Mac.

Let's entertain your notion for a minute. No, wait, let's not, because that's the law and you're not arguing with the law. If you want to, you go to court. Apple will lose that battle, if only because of the Mac and PC and Android precedents, and because they cannot justify holding a monopoly in OUR countries, because OUR countries do not allow that.

Why is it safe on Mac but not on iPhone? Because they would lose their PC market share if they blocked it on Macs (WHICH THEY ABSOLUTELY TRY TO DO, THEY BLOCK APPS AND SCATTER AND BURY ALL THE TOGGLES IN SETTINGS).

Why is it safe to mirror your iPhone but not your Android? Because they want you to buy an iPhone, not an Android.
Not because it's not safe.

You MIL wouldn't be scammed if she decided to use only the App Store. Also, that's ageist and sexist of you. It's not up to Apple to decide. Walmart doesn't decide that your wallet is only safe when you shop with them. Walmart doesn't lock you inside a room and force you to only spend your money at their stores.

The law doesn't care that gna gna gna Android. The law is telling you to do this and this. You do it. Apple prevents third-party apps sideloading because it hurts their bottom line.

Next, we're not even talking about sideloading, we're talking about paying outside of the Apple Store.
You're not downloading anything when you pay for in-game credit on a web-page, while you're in a game downloaded from the app store.

You're trying to change the suject and flood the zone because you know you're wrong and you know people can tell.

I’ve had apps that provide external payment methods. They are never cheaper, the user does not get the saving passed to them. Make this a regulation if your so bent on regulating everything. What ever the developer charge difference is, that needs to be the price difference outside of the AppStore.