When Apple was forced to permit alternative iOS app stores in the EU, it implemented the notarization model familiar to Mac developers. This indicates that if Apple revokes the notarization of a specific app, its distribution and usage are blocked, regardless of being installed from outside the App Store. This is precisely what seems to have occurred with iTorrent. Here are the specifics.
According to TorrentFreak, several users reported on iTorrent’s GitHub page that they were unable to download the app from AltStore PAL. Initially, the app’s developer thought this was an issue with AltStore PAL, but soon understood that it was not the case:
“Apple took away Alternative Distribution functionality from iTorrent’s Developer Portal without any prior notice, and I currently have no means to add AltStore to the distributions list. I reached out to Apple Support for clarification, and temporarily, iTorrent was removed from AltStore until the matter with Apple is resolved.”
Since then, the developer asserts that communication with Apple Support has been subpar, even though the AltStore PAL team also made inquiries to Apple. As of now, the situation seems to have been elevated internally, but that’s as much as Apple has provided in terms of a response.
TorrentFreak attempted to reach out to Apple as well, but their calls and emails have gone unanswered.
### Apple has previously revoked AltStore app notarizations
This is not the first instance of Apple revoking the notarization of an app in AltStore PAL. Last year, it entered into a disagreement with the developer of Mini vMac, a Mac Plus, Mac II, or Mac 128K emulator.
During that time, Apple stated that the rejection was due to the app’s utilization of the Mac name and visuals, as well as its promotion of running Apple’s Mac operating system on non-Apple hardware, which is explicitly forbidden by Apple’s software license.
At this moment, there is no information regarding whether Apple enforced the same “no-torrents” policy it applies to its own App Store, or if it encountered a security concern, in which case the company retains the right to revoke the notarization.
Interestingly, iTorrent was among the initial apps to launch with AltStore PAL’s third-party app support last year, which means it had been accessible for about a year prior to its removal.
Regardless, the predominant reaction views this as an overreach and misuse of the notarization process, since the purpose of third-party app stores is for developers to distribute their applications free from Apple’s own App Store regulations.
Whether Apple will reveal if it found a security issue that would justify a notarization revocation, or if it was a late policy decision, is yet to be determined.
