What Is Sideloading? Why Apple Doesn’t Want You Doing It

Sideloading means installing apps outside an official app store, such as from a file you downloaded via browser instead of via Google Play Store or the App Store. Sideloading lets you access a variety of apps without restrictions, sometimes directly from the developer’s source code. These can include independent, geo-restricted, and delisted apps you can no longer find in app stores. You can do it on both Apple and Android devices, but with Android’s more flexible and open-nature software, it’s much easier to find a handful of apps that work properly without jumping through hoops to do it.

Apple’s airtight restrictions make it much harder to sideload apps on iPhones and iPads. The technical side of installing unofficial software on Apple products is a bit of a challenge. Unlike Android, where you can download and install APKs directly, iOS requires specific IPA files that are hard to find. Moreover, if an app developer tries to bypass the Apple Developer Program License Agreement by distributing apps unofficially outside the App Store, the company may revoke developer certificates to restrict their apps’ distribution. If someone then tries to load an app with a revoked certificate, the software crashes and becomes unusable.

Apple has a strict stance on sideloading, and it’s based on user safety. Apple views sideloading as a threat to the iOS ecosystem. Basically, apps not published on the App Store aren’t vetted, so anything goes, including the distribution of malware. Apple’s walled-garden approach makes it a much simpler, safer experience, which could be good or bad depending on how you see it.

Generally, when you think of Apple, first-party apps may come to mind as the mainstay of owning an iPhone or an iPad. That’s because the company tends to incentivize the use of its highly secure software. Apple is known for its strict walled-garden approach meant to ensure user safety, as you risk exposing your device to malicious software when downloading apps not reviewed by the company. Apple wrote in its report called “Building a Trusted Ecosystem for Millions of Apps – A threat analysis of sideloading” in October 2021 that sideloading would turn iPhones into “virus-riddled PCs.” But the reasons are likely more complicated than this, at least in the U.S. 

Apple doesn’t want to hand over the app’s ecosystem to third parties. Having a walled garden means there is quality control and monopolization over apps distribution, which hurts developers. Apple’s policy for allowing third-party apps means the company can get away with taking a substantial cut for apps being made and distributed in its App Store, with developers reporting the company taking a cut between 15% and 30% of in-app purchases, subscriptions, and paid app downloads.

Eventually, thanks to global pressure, iPhone sideloading was allowed in some locations. Apple lifted some sideloading restrictions in the EU after the March 2024 update, while users in Japan can also sideload today. In the U.S., sideloading was never officially allowed due to security reasons with unverified apps. While it’s technically possible with workarounds, it’s also a major pain to do. You need to enable Developer Mode and use third-party tools like AltStore to get it to work. Even now, installing such apps is tricky for users who can officially do it. Apple has a safety mechanism known as Notarization, in which the company scans these apps for malicious code and code-signing issues. If the app fails the check, Apple may block it.

While Apple might have a strict approach to sideloading, soon Google may follow suit with its own third-party app regulations – or at least try to, as the company plans to restrict sideloading to expert Android users. Sideloading won’t be completely dead on Android, but it will change. Starting in September 2026, Google will introduce additional barriers to installing apps from unverified developers, making it harder to acquire software outside the Google Play Store.

Since the August 2025 announcement, Google has made changes to how it plans to handle sideloading, and the experience for advanced users is one of those changes after the company received enough criticism for them. For example, a campaign dubbed “Keep Android Open” even urged the public to seek government support to protest any restrictions that would block the freedom to download apps or require a strict verification process for apps published outside the Play Store. Google reiterated that sideloading won’t go away, but they want to bring it to a point where downloading apps outside the Play Store has strong, clear warnings. Despite all of this, sideloading won’t be impossible in either ecosystem since there will always be ways around it. But now, with Google’s upcoming revised approach, expect a bit more resistance than you’re used to, especially if no more changes come through.