Apple to allow EU users to delete App Store for first time

To comply with the DMA, EU users on iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 will also be able to delete default apps such as Messages and Photos.

Apple users in the EU will soon be able to delete the App Store and other default apps on iOS and iPadOS as the company continues to make updates to comply with the bloc’s competition rules.

In an announcement yesterday (22 August), Apple said it is making changes to its browser choice screen and default apps for iOS and iPadOS users in the EU by the end of this year.

“These updates come from our ongoing and continuing dialogue with the European Commission about compliance with the Digital Market Act’s requirements in these areas,” the company wrote. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) was introduced in 2022 to crack down on anticompetitive behaviour among Big Tech companies.

To meet the requirements of the DMA, iPhone and iPad users in the EU will be able to choose a default web browser from a list of options via a choice screen. The choice screen will appear the first time the user opens Safari after installing the update, even if they have seen the choice screen prior to the update. The choice screen will not be displayed to users who don’t have Safari set as their default browser.

Users will also get a new Default Apps section in Settings that will list default apps available to them.

“In future software updates, users will get new default settings for dialling phone numbers, sending messages, translating text, navigation, managing passwords, keyboards and call spam filters,” the company said.

As well as the App Store, EU users will also be able to delete for the first time default Apple apps such as Messages, Photos, Camera and Safari.

The DMA aims to force larger companies to change their policies to level the playing field for smaller entities. One example of this is through interoperability – big companies such as Apple must ensure rival services can function on their devices such as iPhones.

Earlier this year, Apple confirmed it will allow EU users to download apps from competing app stores on iOS. Apple has always insisted its closed ecosystem is good for security. Despite this exception for the EU market, the company said at the time it had no plans to expand the changes into other markets.

“Inevitably, the new options for developers’ EU apps create new risks to Apple users and their devices. Apple can’t eliminate those risks, but within the DMA’s constraints, the company will take steps to reduce them,” the company wrote at the time.

“Across every change, Apple is introducing new safeguards that reduce – but don’t eliminate – new risks the DMA poses to EU users.”

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