#alternative-app-stores

#alternative-app-stores

You can add Japan to the list of regions where Apple has been forced to do something it would rather not: open up the App Store. On Thursday, the company announced changes to iOS in Japan to comply with the nation's Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA). The tighter regulations for Apple and Google, which overlap with Europe's, took effect today. Users in the US and elsewhere won't see any of these changes.

Apple announced it will allow alternative app stores in Japan and will permit developers to process payments for digital goods and services outside of its own in-app purchase system in iOS. The iPhone maker is not making these changes because it wants to be more open; it's being forced - in this case, to comply with the country's Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA), which is now going into effect.

Apple started allowing EU users to install alternative marketplaces earlier this year under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). At that time, the installation process was lengthier and involved multiple "scare screens" - warnings about the potential dangers of installing apps from sources other than the App Store. Developers complained that Apple's tactics resulted in people abandoning the installation process. Earlier this year, the EU slapped a $568 million fine on Apple for not complying with DMA rules.