Letting users bypass App Store would be security risk, says Apple

Opening up iOS to sideloading' would lead to wave of damaging malware on iPhones and iPads, firm says

Allowing users to bypass the App Store would lead to a wave of damaging malware on iPhones and iPads, Apple has warned, as the company faces the prospect of sweeping regulatory action on both sides of the Atlantic.

Opening up iOS to sideloading", the name for installing software from unapproved sources, could allow malicious software to hold user data to ransom, let children bypass parental controls, or lead to rampant piracy, the company claims in a new paper.