Apple won‘t update third-party apps if users leave the EU

iPhone users who leave the EU for more than 30 days won’t have their third-party apps updated until they get back.

Apple’s latest update reveals more details about the much-anticipated use of third-party apps on iPhone devices. The company has long prohibited users from downloading apps from alternative app marketplaces. However, Apple was forced to provide such access to European users after the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into effect.

Apple made it clear that only EU users will be able to use the new functionality. According to the company, users who leave the bloc will be able to use the previously installed alternative marketplace, yet the apps will stop updating after 30 days.

“However, you must be in the European Union to install alternative app marketplaces and new apps from alternative app marketplaces,” the company’s support page stipulates.

The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is one of the most comprehensive regulatory actions to rein in so-called Big Tech and is expected to reshape the global technology industry after decades of unfettered growth.

The DMA launched focusing on six major tech companies: Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and TikTok owner ByteDance. If any of the six tech giants are not compliant with the rules, they could face fines of up to 10% of their global turnover.

According to Reuters, Apple is the most affected by the DMA, which forces the iPhone maker to open up its closed ecosystem by allowing software developers to distribute their apps to users in the European Union outside of its own App Store.