Alternative iOS App Store Doesn't Require a Jailbreak (engadget.com) 55
Developer Riley Testut is launching an alternative to Apple's App Store, called AltStore, that theoretically lets you "push the boundaries" of iOS without either jailbreaking or worrying that Apple will pull access. Engadget reports: AltStore works by fooling your device into believing that you're a developer sideloading test apps. It uses an app on your Mac or Windows PC to re-sign apps every seven days, using iTunes' WiFi syncing framework to reinstall them on your device before they expire. You only need a free Apple ID (a throwaway will do) to install apps that Apple would never allow, such as Testut's Delta emulator for Nintendo consoles.
In theory, there's not much Apple can do to easily shut things down. It could take down individual accounts, but you could just create another Apple ID if needed. Also, iOS only looks for an excessive number of app provisioning profiles, not the number of apps you have installed. So long as AltStore manages those profiles, Apple doesn't know if you're running one app or twenty. Testut told The Verge that measures to block AltStore would break key functionality for developers or iTunes syncing. AltStore is available in preview form now, with a formal launch due on September 28th. "People who back Testut's Patreon will also have the option to install almost any app, not just those in the store," the report adds.
In theory, there's not much Apple can do to easily shut things down. It could take down individual accounts, but you could just create another Apple ID if needed. Also, iOS only looks for an excessive number of app provisioning profiles, not the number of apps you have installed. So long as AltStore manages those profiles, Apple doesn't know if you're running one app or twenty. Testut told The Verge that measures to block AltStore would break key functionality for developers or iTunes syncing. AltStore is available in preview form now, with a formal launch due on September 28th. "People who back Testut's Patreon will also have the option to install almost any app, not just those in the store," the report adds.
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That's already happened in Apple's and Google's stores anyway.
It's like buying a child a book. You don't trust the bookstore. You trust the author.
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What makes you think that apps published to this "Altstore" will have a _reliable_ means of determining who the author of an app is?
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You stop being lazy and do your own researching. Have they put stuff out before? what are the reviews? what do other programmers thing?
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You stop being lazy and do your own researching. Have they put stuff out before? what are the reviews? what do other programmers thing?
Who put stuff out? The falsely claimed known developer or the malware author impersonating them?
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A security protection application would need elevated access to the system to be able to scan for memory corruption or illeg
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But there have been apps published on both Apple and Googles stores will 100K's or millions of downloads that ended up having malware in it.
Sometimes, as I recall, unknown to even the author because they were simply using some advertising library from a 3rd party.
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But there have been apps published on both Apple and Googles stores will 100K's or millions of downloads that ended up having malware in it.
Sometimes, as I recall, unknown to even the author because they were simply using some advertising library from a 3rd party.
Citation for App Installed from Apple's App Store with "100k's or millions of downloads that ended up having malware in it."???
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Have they put stuff out before?
When Apple's App Store debuted, the answer was "no" because every app on the App Store was the developer's first app on the App Store.
what are the reviews?
Imagine for a moment that you are a developer. How do you convince reliable reviewers to review your work?
First-time authors (Score:3)
It's like buying a child a book. You don't trust the bookstore. You trust the author.
Let's imagine for a moment that the books in a bookstore are shrinkwrapped, and the majority are by first-time or fly-by-night authors. How can you determine which authors are worth your money? This exact problem happened to the North American video game industry in 1983-1984, when store shelves were flooded with poorly balanced games made for Atari 2600. This is why Nintendo and Atari invented the cryptographic walled garden for the NES and Atari 7800: to reassure buyers that games made for their consoles
Re:Who cares? (Score:4)
I do have Android devices, but I don't have any Android tablets and my desire to have a tablet to play video games on is not worth the cost of an Android tablet to me. It's more "something I can do with this device that would otherwise be worthless." However, I'm not sure that re-signing every week is really worth it; I'm hoping someone comes along with a fully untethered jailbreak for 12.4.0 at some point so I can just permanently jailbreak it without having to worry about this. At that point, the device will be worth a lot to me and I'll probably use it daily.
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Coming soon to AltStore (Score:2)
A plethora of "redevelopped" copies of Appstore apps by Chinese, North Korean & Russian "anonymous" developers.
What could go wrong ?!? /s
Apple already has the solution to this .... (Score:3)
there's not much Apple can do to easily shut things down
Oh yes there is. Apple already has the solution to this, it used to be the in place for many years. Paid developer subscriptions.
In the past only paid developer subscriptions could sign an app to run on your own devices. Free developer subscriptons were limited to the emulators. Apple changed this policy and allowed a free developer subscription to run code on your devices. They could simply return to the old policy and require a paid subscription.
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OK, but if they try to tax people for doing this, people can also stop buying apps thru Apple's store, and just load pirated versions of them thru Alt Store.
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OK, but if they try to tax people for doing this, people can also stop buying apps thru Apple's store, and just load pirated versions of them thru Alt Store.
And when their developer account is canceled for doing so, for violating the Terms of Use of the Developer Account?
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Not without that developer account they won't.
Unless a decent jailbreak comes out I guess.
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I think he's thinking they would pay the developer account fee, to get access to a lot of free apps. The thing about it is, it sure seems like there would be some pattern to the app bundle ID's Apple could scan for and mass-cancel even paid accounts.
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Paid developer accounts and enterprise developer accounts are two very different things. Paid accounts do not require a company. An individual may get a paid account and sell apps on the Apple Store.
*facepalm*
The entire premise of this thread was that Apple could combat this alternate store by simply no longer offering individual paid accounts...
Nope, you misread, go re-read my first post. It says Apple could return to what they used to do, only allow paid accounts to run code on devices.
The next reply claimed that would be fine, because pirates could turn to enterprise accounts.
Nope, you read something into the comments that was not there. The first mention of enterprise account was your post (assuming you are the same AC), the post I corrected.
In this hypothetical situation I explained why using an enterprise account over an individual account wouldn't go over well.
Poorly. Enterprise account are $300/year not $100/year. You were clearing mixing up the regular paid developer accounts and enterprise accounts. Your suggestion that business verification would slo
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The entire premise of this thread was that Apple could combat this alternate store by simply no longer offering individual paid accounts
This would cause users of applications whose developers use individual paid accounts to leave iOS and start using Android. It's like people who prefer PC gaming because indie games come to consoles months or years later if at all.
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The entire premise of this thread was that Apple could combat this alternate store by simply no longer offering individual paid accounts
This would cause users of applications whose developers use individual paid accounts to leave iOS and start using Android. It's like people who prefer PC gaming because indie games come to consoles months or years later if at all.
He got the premise wrong. The premise of the thread was that free developer accounts would no longer be allowed to run their code on actual devices, only simulators. That was how it used to be for many years.
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Under this clarified premise, would it be reasonable to consider $396 for four years of Apple Developer Program membership as part of the total cost of ownership of an iPhone or iPad?
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Under this clarified premise, would it be reasonable to consider $396 for four years of Apple Developer Program membership as part of the total cost of ownership of an iPhone or iPad?
No. It would be $396 to circumvent security for four years.
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Apple uses the App Store to prevent users from seeing certain historical battle flags in military simulation games. How is this "security"?
Apple uses the App Store to prevent users from running WLAN mapping and troubleshooting applications. How is this "security"?
Apple uses the App Store to prevent users from viewing applications that celebrate or satirize a person. How is this "security"?
Apple uses the App Store to prevent users from running video games published by companies that are now out of business.
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Why ought Apple to be the only entity with power to screen an application for malware or spyware?
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setup and an email address which isn't all that difficult to get.
Shhh you'll wake up that guy...
Disallow signing apps you did not compile (Score:2)
The thing about it is, it sure seems like there would be some pattern to the app bundle ID's Apple could scan for and mass-cancel even paid accounts.
Or disallow signing apps you did not compile
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Making iOS the first proprietary OS to enforce open-source. Too bad it can't check licenses for freedoms, otherwise it might be something that blow RMS' mind.
But in this case, it would mean the app's source is completely open to compile.
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Huh? You can own Apple devices now?
What you can already do (Score:3)
People who back Testut's Patreon will also have the option to install almost any app
Normally you need to log into developer.apple.com, then create a "development team" there for $100. And then you can develop and sign an app to run on an iOS device, including your own.
In recent years, Apple wants to promote learning to code. So if you install Xcode and log in with an Apple ID, you are already in a "personal team" and you can run it on your own device for 7 days.
This guy has automated that manual process. I wonder how long it'll work.
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I wonder how long it'll work.
Not long, I believe, even if that would nice to have an alternate store to get good stuff from, but this is typically the kind of thing Apple despises as that threatens privacy, security -and- Apple $$, so there is probably already a team working on how to 1) ban the developer(s) signatures, 2) change the developer agreement 3) or sue the new store, as I'd be surprised if that case isn't already covered somewhere.
Re:What you can already do (Score:4, Interesting)
Apple will probably update their signing system to make signing requests go through their servers to obtain an Apple countersignature for a confirmation of the hash/metadata of things being signed; then flag repeated signings of identical binary/object code over a certain threshold of signings per week as suspicious, and setup an automatic thing to suspend the developer accounts.
or sue the new store, as I'd be surprised if that case isn't
Sounds like the easiest and most likely response from the likes of Apple... Start with a Cease and Decist, and if the store doesn't shutdown, then paper them in complaints and bankrupt the new app store from legal fees.
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In recent years, Apple wants to promote learning to code. So if you install Xcode and log in with an Apple ID, you are already in a "personal team" and you can run it on your own device for 7 days.
Hasn't that been the case for a over decade? IIRC you always had the option to run XCode with a non-Developer Apple ID, and compile and run code on your own devices. That's what I did when I started messing around with XCode; I only paid the $99 when I got to the point where I wanted to push apps to the app store.
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In recent years, Apple wants to promote learning to code. So if you install Xcode and log in with an Apple ID, you are already in a "personal team" and you can run it on your own device for 7 days.
Hasn't that been the case for a over decade? IIRC you always had the option to run XCode with a non-Developer Apple ID, and compile and run code on your own devices. That's what I did when I started messing around with XCode; I only paid the $99 when I got to the point where I wanted to push apps to the app store.
Nope. You could run things on the iOS Simulator, but not on an actual device. That policy didn't change until 2015, when Xcode 7 was released.
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Apple will probably keep it open, because hey, Apple now has an alternative app store, thus vaporizing any excuses about Apple and monopolies. Apple will control their official store, but also note that web apps will continue to get first cla
Caniuse says Safari can't do things (Score:2)
Spotify is free to create a webapp for their service - which shouldn't be too hard, since they already allow listening from their website
That's less likely to work than many people imagine. Of the major browser engines, Apple WebKit is the slowest to incorporate newly standardized web platform features, particularly with respect to media, offline support, and OS integration. Detractors might claim that Apple leaves web platform features out of WebKit deliberately in order to encourage development of native applications and leaves royalty-free codecs out of AVFoundation in order to encourage royalty payments to MPEG-LA.
What? How dare you! (Score:2)
What got into you, trying to install something without our blessing on one of our devices? Who do you think you are? Get your own device if you want to decide what's running on it!
Nothing! (Score:2)
There is nothing Apple can do.
Here comes an army of Apple lawyers, tell me again what they can't do.
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Hopefully they can finally get nailed for their anticompetitive (oh look, that word wasn't in the Android dictionary, WHAT A SURPRISE) actions. Not permitting competing app stores is an abuse of their market position, creating a monopoly on iDevice apps.
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Apple could easily require people to pay $100 a year to develop anything
Apple would never do that
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a person choosing to buy Apple hardware is making a conscious decision to opt out of that right, to cast it away because freedom is worthless to them. But everyone starts out with that basic right fully intact
What about someone who must use Apple hardware without having bought it? I'm thinking in particular of a middle school student or high school underclassman who relies on an iPhone or iPad received as a gift and is not yet 16 to work to buy freedom-respecting computing hardware.
Nothing New (Score:1)
This capability has been available in iOS since iOS 8.0 was Released in September, 2014, FFS!
Sideloading Sites like this, as well as Open Source iOS Software Cites, have been around for YEARS, now:
https://www.unlockboot.com/bes... [unlockboot.com]
Cydia Impactor can Sideload into iOS, and Runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux:
http://www.cydiaimpactor.com/ [cydiaimpactor.com]
Way to keep your finger on the Pulse, Slashdot!
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Oops, forgot the Open Source Cites. These DO Require a Mac running XCode, but do NOT require a Developer License to Compile and Run on your own iOS/iPadOS Device.
https://github.com/dkhamsing/o... [github.com]
And there are many other Swift-oriented Open Source App Sites. Many of the Apps are quite polished and advanced:
https://medium.com/@pradeep_ch... [medium.com]