To combat the leakage of European iPhones, Apple users who travel outside the EU for a long time cannot use iOS 17.4 third-party app stores

According to news on March 6, iOS 17.4 has been released. This is the first time that Apple has released an iOS system version that complies with the regulatory framework of the European Union's "Digital Market Law", which includes "Third-party App Stores" ( Support for what Apple officially calls "alternative app markets") allows iPhone users to download apps from places other than the Apple App Store. Apple emphasizes that this feature is only available in the European Union, and that the company will detect the user's location. If the user leaves the European Union for a long time, it will cause "the existing app market that has been downloaded on the device to stop functioning." Apple states that for users to have their device eligible for use, the Apple ID country or region must be set to one of the following countries, and the user must also be physically located in the EU because Apple will perform a "geolocation check" on the device :

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal , Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

That is to say, as long as your Apple ID is set in one of the above countries and you actually live in the EU, you can use the third-party app store function and use the browser to install an alternative to the App Store. Third-party app stores, and then download apps from them (although there have been official announcements from multiple stores, as of press time, there is no actual third-party app store available for EU users). In addition, if your real location leaves the EU for too long, Apple will revoke your qualifications to use the third-party app store, but Apple has a "grace period" for short-term travel, although Apple did not specify this exact period. How long is the time period. In this case, users will also not be able to install new app stores, and all apps previously installed from third-party app stores will not be updated. At this time, they must either return to the eligible geographical location, or delete the app and remove it from the app store. Re-download these apps from the official App Store. It’s worth reminding that all of the above only applies to iPhone users (iPadOS 17.4 does not support this feature, as only the App Store in iOS meets EU “gatekeeper” conditions).

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