It is normal that many enthusiasts want to try the new features of iOS 16 before its final release, in full beta phase. And for that we can either enter the company’s development program or wait for the public betas that anyone who dares can install. But Apple has made moves to these two ways are the only ones you can use iOS 16 today.
Official links, and point
Two portals that distributed betas of iOS 16 and other Apple operating systems, BetaProfiles and IPSW.dev, suddenly closed. And in the case of BetaProfiles, the maintainers confirmed on Twitter they stop offering beta downloads so they don’t have to face Apple in court. Downloads used to be direct links from Apple servers or even links from WeTransfer, the big file-sharing service.
From now on, BetaProfiles becomes a place to discuss these betas, not to offer their download unofficially, and we’ll see if they succeed since MacRumors knows that Apple call for complete closure without any margin.
Other Twitter accounts such as that of developer Nicolás Álvarez have confirmed that they have been temporarily suspended due to a cease and desist from Apple solely for linking to content from one of these websites:
My Twitter account has been temporarily suspended because Apple Inc. filed a DMCA takedown against tweets where I simply linked to @IPSWdev.https://t.co/cmNSHV5r9y
— Nicolas Alvarez (@nicolas09F9) August 3, 2022
It doesn’t take much to infer that Apple is doing this for two reasons. The first one, no one can guarantee that an unofficial beta link is free of malicious code. Second, the price of the Apple Developer Program has a price tag that becomes meaningless if unofficial downloads become too widespread.
We’ll see what happens from now on, but for our part we will always recommend you to download betas from their official channels. The public channel is completely free, and the only thing that is asked of you in return is that you collaborate by contributing impressions and failures that you have found. Better that than not looking for links to profiles and installers that might have been tampered with.
