It turns out that the problem with iPhone web apps (also called progressive web apps, or PWAs) in the EU wasn’t a bug. Apple has changed its website to explain why PWAs stopped working in the EU after the latest iOS betas were installed. This came after developer concerns and news stories said it. It’s no surprise that the tech giant is blaming the new EU law, the Digital Markets Act, for the change. They say that the DMA’s rule to let different browser engines work is what made things so complicated.
In case you missed it, security expert Tommy Mysk and Open Web Advocacy were the first to notice that PWAs had been relegated to website shortcuts when iOS 17.4’s second beta came out. When it first happened, it wasn’t clear if this was a beta bug (crazier things have happened) or if it was meant to make PWAs less useful in the EU, where Apple is now having to allow different app stores, third-party payments, and browser engines, among other things. In the betas, PWAs were not working. PWAs usually make web apps work and feel more like native iOS apps. It was found by developers that these web apps would open like a note saved to your Home Screen.
At the time, MacRumors said that meant there would be “no dedicated windowing, notifications, or long-term local storage.” iOS16.4 also let PWAs add notifications to their icons, just like native apps could. People who were testing iOS 17.4 said that when they started a web app, the system would ask them if they wanted to open the app in Safari or cancel. “From now on,” the message said, the web app will “open in your default browser.” People who used it afterward said they lost data because a Safari page shortcut doesn’t offer local storage. There were also no longer any notifications.
Still, there were reasons to be wary about whether or not the change was planned. TechCrunch staff asked Apple for a response several times but never heard back. (We asked the company to confirm if this was a test bug or a change that was made on purpose, and if it was the latter, we wanted to know why Apple made that choice.) In a report that came out after the next beta release, The Verge said that Apple “appears to be” breaking PWAs in the EU. They probably didn’t get a formal answer from the tech giant either.
Apple has now reacted in its own way. It fixed the problem by adding more information to its website today about the changes it made to the DMA in the EU. In a new update, the company says that it had to make so many changes to iOS to meet EU rules that it was no longer possible to support PWAs.
Apple said that in the past, the iOS system supported web apps on the Home Screen by building directly on WebKit, which is Safari’s browser engine, and its security design. These changes made it possible for web apps to use the same privacy and security methods as native apps. But because of the DMA, Apple has to let other browser systems work. “Malicious apps could be launched that could do things like read data from other web apps or “gain access to a user’s camera, microphone, or location without a user’s consent,” Apple said. This is because WebKit-based web apps need to be properly isolated and regulated.
“To fix the complicated security and privacy issues that come up with web apps that use different browser engines, a whole new integration architecture would have to be built. This isn’t possible on iOS right now because of other DMA requirements and the low number of users who use Home Screen web apps.” So, to follow the DMA’s rules, we had to take away the Home Screen web apps feature in the EU, the website says.
The company tells EU users that because of the change, they will be able to visit websites from their Home Screen through bookmarks. This confirms developers’ worries that PWAs were being turned off in the EU.
“This change will only affect a few users,” they said. Still, Apple says, “We’re sorry for any trouble this change—which was made to follow the DMA—may cause for developers of Home Screen web apps and our customers.”
Also Read: Because of the Eu’s Guardian Rules, Apple is Adding a New “core Tech” Fee for Apps
Some people have said that Apple’s desire to keep its huge share of the iOS app market was so strong that it would break the usefulness of web apps for its users. Apple’s supporters, on the other hand, will likely say that the company’s answer makes sense and fits with its goal of keeping iOS safe for its users. As is often the case, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
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