GoKawiilStarting today, app developers will be able to distribute apps through alternative app marketplaces in Brazil, as part of a broader set of changes to the app distribution and payment rules in the country. Here are all the details.
Late last year, Apple reached an agreement with Brazil’s competition watchdog, CADE, resolving a dispute that began in 2022 after Latin American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre filed a complaint over the company’s App Store rules.
Under the settlement, Apple agreed to open iOS to alternative app marketplaces in Brazil and allow developers to offer payment methods outside its In-App Purchase system.
Those changes take effect today for users running iOS 26.5 and up, and come alongside a new commission structure similar to the one the company introduced in Japan last December.
Also like the changes introduced in Japan, Apple says that Brazil’s new rules offer stronger privacy and security protections, particularly for children, than those required under the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
Alternative app marketplaces now allowed in Brazil
Starting today, developers will be able to build and distribute alternative app marketplaces using the MarketplaceKit framework. Under the new rules, developers can choose to distribute their apps through the App Store, in addition to one or more alternative marketplaces.
Importantly, today’s changes do not allow users to sideload apps directly from the web. Rather, apps distributed outside the App Store must still be offered through an alternative app marketplace.
Apps distributed through alternative marketplaces will still be subject to the baseline Notarization review, which combines automated checks and human review to identify threats such as malware and verify that apps function as advertised.
The company notes that this process is different from its regular app review, which checks apps more thoroughly. The discretion of that review will be up to each alternative marketplace.
... continue reading