In April, developer Riley Testut launched an alternative version of AltStore as an App Marketplace for iOS users in the European Union thanks to the Digital Markets Act (DMA) legislation. AltStore PAL was launched solely with apps developed by Testut, but users can now also find third-party apps in the store.
Third-party apps now available on AltStore PAL
As announced on the official AltStore Mastodon account, AltStore PAL 2.1 lets users add sources to download apps from other developers. By default, users will find four additional apps to download through AltStore PAL, which are:
- UTM SE: Virtual machine app to run Windows and Linux (also available on the App Store)
- qBitControl: App to manage the desktop version of qBittorrent directly from your phone
- iTorrent: Torrent client for iOS
- PeopleDrop: App to find other people nearby using geolocation
Users can add more sources to the AltStore PAL, and even the recommended sources have the ability to add more apps in the future. AltStore says it has “explicitly reviewed” the recommended apps to ensure that they follow security standards.
In addition to these apps, AltStore PAL offers Delta – a popular retro console game emulator that is also available on the App Store – and a clipboard manager called Clip.
With AltStore PAL, iPhone users can download apps that are not allowed in Apple’s App Store. Apple, for example, bans torrent apps from the App Store, but users in the EU will now be able to get such apps through App Marketplaces.
AltStore PAL requires an iPhone running iOS 17.4 or later and is only available to users located in the European Union. It requires a subscription of €1.50 per year to cover the fees charged by Apple. More information can be found on the official AltStore website.
Current subscribers can update to the latest version without additional fees by going to Settings > App Installation.
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