The first batch of third-party apps are making their way onto AltStore PAL, just over three months after the alternative iOS app marketplace launched in the EU. Three out of the four apps being released today are exclusive to AltStore PAL and can’t be found on Apple’s official iOS App Store. The apps developed by people other than AltStore PAL co-creator Riley Testut include two torrenting apps and a social discovery app for dating.
Specifically, the new additions include iTorrent, an iOS torrent client that can be used without jailbreaking iPhones or iPads, and qBitControl, a qBittorrent remote client for iOS devices. PeopleDrop is a dating-focused “social discovery platform” that connects you with other users in the real world as they pass by. And finally, there’s the UTM SE app for emulating other operating systems like Windows, Linux, and macOS on iOS.
Apple bans all torrent apps on its own iOS store, claiming that they’re “often used for the purpose of infringing third-party rights.” But now that the EU’s Digital Markets Act has weakened the tech giant’s ability to police its walled garden, iOS users within the bloc can exercise a bit more freedom — and accept more risk — over the apps they choose to install.