It seems that only Europeans can download apps outside the App Store in iOS 17 and Apple already knows how to control it.
Everything seems to indicate that iOS 17 will integrate a function hitherto prohibited on the iPhone: the so-called sideloading. This will allow you to directly download apps to the iPhone from outside the App Store. However, being only required in Europe by the Digital Markets Act, this iOS 17 feature will only be available to Europeans.
But how will Apple be able to identify European users? Well, as you may have learned 9to5macthe company already testing a feature since iOS 16.2 to identify where a user is coming from and block certain features of the system.
iOS 17 features restricted for many users
Currently, Apple already uses a system to restrict iOS features to specific places. For example, in USA we don’t have access to Apple News and in the United Arab Emirates you cannot access FaceTime. But these restrictions are simply bound to the region configured on the devicesomething that’s fairly easy to change from the iPhone or iPad settings, or the country of purchase.
The new feature that Apple is designing is much more powerful. The new system is known internally as “countryd” and was secretly added with iOS 16.2, although it hasn’t been used at all so far. This system combines several data, such as the current GPS position, Wi-Fi router country code or information obtained from SIM card to determine the country in which the user is located.
That is to say, it will Much more accurate iOS feature blocking From now on. and clearly Apple secretly tested it on iOS 16 so the system will be ready with the release of iOS 17 and thus allow the sideloading of applications only in countries where the law requires it.
In other words, if you live in the United States or in a Latin American country that has not approved this type of law, downloading apps won’t be as easy as changing a small system setting or buying an iPhone in Europe. Apple has made sure that being there you cannot access this feature.
For now It’s unclear how Apple will allow alternative app stores and app downloads outside of the App Store in iOS 17. This is not something the company wants to do and it will put all possible restrictions. And one of them will go through this new system.