> This is already possible with Android where F-Droid is a good example of a 'store' where the chance of being exposed to these shenanigans is close to zero. T

> This is already possible with Android where F-Droid is a good example of a 'store' where the chance of being exposed to these shenanigans is close to zero. There are many other stores where the chance of being exposed to these shenanigans is close to 1. Think of the article recently about super-shady app stores for iOS that misused enterprise certificates to sideload apps [0]. If alternate app stores were to be allowed on iOS, all that would happen is a great proliferation of these scumware stores, full of knockoffs, fakes and outright malware. It's going to be almost impossible for a lot of people to distinguish between legit good quality, legit crap quality and non-legit harmful app stores, resulting in waves of malware and privacy theft that will make the old Windows XP days look like a panacea. While it has its problems, the curated nature of iOS' App Store is a distinct positive for users. [0] https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/20/18232583/apple-ios-developer-enterprise-program-store-mobile-apps https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/20/18232583/apple-ios-develo...