Following a decision from Brazil’s competition watchdog last year, Apple is now gearing up to allow app sideloading in the country. Here are the details.
As spotted by iHelpBR, the iOS 26.5 release candidate rolled out earlier today lists Brazil among the regions where side loading is supported, alongside Japan and the European Union.
Apple has yet to confirm whether the feature will be enabled when iOS 26.5 is officially released in the coming days. Still, the underlying code changes suggest a rollout could follow sooner rather than later.
Today’s news comes after Brazil’s competition watchdog, Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE), settled with the company last year, requiring it to allow alternative app distribution and third-party payment options in the country.
That agreement put an end to a years-long antitrust dispute over the App Store’s rules in Brazil, including restrictions on alternative app distribution and the mandatory use of Apple’s in-app payment system.
The case began in 2022, when Latin American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre filed a complaint accusing Apple of abusing its control over iOS app distribution and payments. It then moved through a series of rulings and appeals before the two parties settled.
Following that agreement, Apple confirmed it would allow alternative app distribution and third-party payment options in Brazil. At the time, the company sent the following statement to 9to5Mac:
In order to comply with regulatory demands from CADE, Apple is making changes that will impact iOS apps in Brazil. While these changes will open new privacy and security risks to users, we have worked to maintain protections against some threats, including keeping in place important safeguards for younger users. These safeguards will not eliminate every risk, but they will help ensure that iOS remains the best, most secure mobile platform available in Brazil and we will continue to advocate on behalf of users and developers.
Back to today’s news, although Brazil is listed among the countries where sideloading is supported, it is still currently impossible to actually install apps from outside the App Store.
Apple will likely still need to flip some extra switches on its end, and we’ll be watching to see whether that happens with the official iOS 26.5 release.
To read iHelpBR‘s original report, follow this link.
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