Sideloading on iOS would eliminate user choice, says Erik Neuenschwander
What you need to know
- Apple's head of user privacy says sideloading on iOS would eliminate user choice between platforms like iOS and Android.
- Erik Neuenschwander says users already have the option of a platform that lets them sideload apps without a review process.
- He also spoke about why Apple allows the practice on Mac but not iPhone.
Apple's Erik Neuenschwander has spoken about the company's stance on sideloading on the iPhone in a new interview.
Speaking to Fast Company, Apple's head of privacy spoke about Apple's newly-published paper on the dangers of sideloading on iOS. From our earlier report:
In the interview Neuenschwander states that adding sideloading to iOS would actually reduce consumer choice because they already have the option of third-party app stores through Android:
He also spoke about how sideloading would impact all users on iOS, not just the ones who might choose to download apps from somewhere other than the App Store:
Finally, he defended Apple's policy to allow sideloading on macOS but not on the iPhone, stating there are 10 times as many iPhone users as Mac users, making it a much more enticing target:
He also noted the different patterns of use, stating Apple has found iPhone users tend to seek out new apps to download all the time, whilst Mac users download a select few they need to use their machine and not much more.
You can read the full report on Apple's new sideloading privacy paper here.
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Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9