Apple’s control over iOS takes a blow as Brazil demands app sideloading

For years, Apple has kept iPhones on lockdown, making sure every app runs through its App Store (and skimming a nice 30% commission off the top). But the walls around its walled garden are starting to crumble.

First, regulators in the European union (EU) forced Apple to allow third-party app stores under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Now, Brazil is following suit, giving Apple 90 days to allow app sideloading—aka letting users install apps from outside the App Store—or start racking up $40,000 in daily fines.

Keep in mind that this battle in Brazil didn’t start overnight. Back in 2022, Latin America’s e-commerce giant Mercado Libre filed a complaint accusing Apple of anti-competitive behaviour. By November 2024, Brazil’s antitrust watchdog, CADE, ruled against Apple, ordering it to open up iOS within 20 days or pay $43,000 per day. But Apple fought back, won an appeal in December 2024, and bought itself some time.

Now, that time is up. Judge Pablo Zuniga just reinstated the ruling, pointing out that Apple already made similar changes in the EU and survived just fine—so why not in Brazil?

Apple, unsurprisingly, is appealing again. The company insists sideloading would “undermine privacy and security” for iPhone users. But let’s be real—this is likely more about keeping its App Store revenue stream intact than protecting anyone.

Meanwhile, as Apple fights to keep things business as usual in Brazil, gaming giant, Epic Games is wasting no time capitalizing on the potential ruling. After being booted from iOS since its massive 2020 lawsuit against Apple, Fortnite is officially coming back to iPhones in Brazil via the Epic Games Store this July—only a month after Apple is expected to comply with the ruling or start paying up.

If the ruling sticks, Brazil will be the second major market after the EU to force Apple’s hand. And with regulators across the globe keeping a close watch on Big Tech, this might just be the beginning of a much bigger shift.