Apple just flexed its regulatory muscle in Europe, silently revoking a torrent app developer's distribution rights across all alternative iOS stores. The move demonstrates how Cupertino maintains iron-fist control over iPhone apps even outside its official App Store, raising fresh questions about the EU's Digital Markets Act effectiveness.
Apple just delivered a stark reminder of who really controls iPhone app distribution in Europe. The company quietly revoked iTorrent developer Daniil Vinogradov's distribution rights across all alternative iOS stores, effectively killing the popular torrenting client that had been available through AltStore PAL since July 2024.
The timing couldn't be more pointed. iTorrent represented exactly what the EU's Digital Markets Act was supposed to enable—apps that Apple bans from its official store finding new life through alternative marketplaces. Now that promise lies in digital rubble.
"Apple removed Alternative Distribution functionality from iTorrent's Developer Portal without any warning," Vinogradov revealed on iTorrent's GitHub page. The developer told TorrentFreak that the revocation happened at the Apple Developer Account level, meaning it wasn't AltStore PAL's decision—it was Apple's nuclear option.
[embedded image placeholder: Screenshot of iTorrent's GitHub issue page showing developer's statement about Apple's removal]
The silence from Cupertino is deafening. Apple provided zero explanation for nuking Vinogradov's distribution rights, leaving the developer and AltStore PAL scrambling for answers. This isn't just about one app—it's about testing the boundaries of what "alternative distribution" actually means when Apple still holds all the keys.
Here's what makes this particularly chilling for the alternative app store ecosystem: iTorrent wasn't some sketchy piracy tool. It was a legitimate BitTorrent client that could handle everything from Linux distributions to open-source software. The app had been successfully operating on AltStore PAL since July, giving European iPhone users their first taste of true app freedom.
AltStore PAL, run by developer Riley Testut, has emerged as the EU's most prominent alternative to Apple's App Store. The marketplace launched specifically to take advantage of the Digital Markets Act's provisions requiring Apple to allow third-party app distribution. But this iTorrent incident exposes a fundamental flaw in that regulatory framework.