• Apple Inc. will stop providing Progressive Web Apps (PWA) to EU users to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), according to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney.
  • Apple claims this decision is also due to the lack of revenue generated by iPhone web apps and security concerns with third-party browser engines.
  • While Apple cites DMA compliance and low user adoption rates as reasons, critics argue it contradicts Apple’s previous efforts to improve PWAs and may threaten its App Store business.

Apple Inc. has confirmed that, due to compliance with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), it will cease providing Progressive Web Apps (PWA) to EU users. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, in an article on X, stated that another reason for Apple’s decision is that iPhone web apps do not generate revenue for the company.

Sweeney’s company previously sued Apple Inc. over App Store fees, so his viewpoint is inherently biased, but he raises a question that many are pondering. Is Apple disabling iPhone web applications truly to protect users from security risks posed by third-party browser engines, or is this decision more about eliminating potential threats to Apple’s business? In other words, is Apple really willing to compromise the iPhone user experience to protect its revenue?

The iPhone manufacturer released an update on its website on Thursday detailing changes related to DMA in the EU to address this issue. Earlier, Apple found that iPhone web apps (also known as Progressive Web Apps or PWA) were not functioning properly in recent iOS beta versions in the EU. Initially, there were concerns that these issues were just bugs in the beta version, but Apple quickly clarified the reason for this action.

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Apple pointed out the data security issues

Apple explained on its website that to comply with DMA requirements, it is forced to support other web browser engines besides WebKit, which Safari uses. iOS home screen web apps have always relied on WebKit and its security architecture to protect users from online threats. This includes storage isolation and executing “system prompts to access privacy-affecting functionality,” Apple said.

The company pointed out that without this isolation and enforcement measures, malicious web apps could access data from other apps and access a user’s camera, microphone, or location with the user’s consent. Since Apple is required by DMA to allow the use of other browser engines, the company chose not to expose users to risks but instead to diminish the web app experience for EU users on iOS. Now, web apps will run like website bookmarks, without support for local storage, tagging, notifications, and dedicated windows.

While Sweeney criticises Apple, his argument has some merit. When explaining why it terminated support for web applications in the EU, Apple acknowledges that it has technical solutions to address security issues, but it simply chose not to implement them.

Apple wrote:

“To address the complex security and privacy issues associated with using alternative browser engines for web applications, a completely new integrated architecture is needed, which does not currently exist in the iOS system, and given the other requirements of the DMA and the very low user adoption rate of home screen web applications, such an architecture is not practical.”

In summary, Apple indicates that it knows how to address this issue, but the burden of complying with DMA (which it notes requires “over 600 new APIs and a large number of developer tools”) has led it to decide against resolving this issue.

While establishing a “completely new integrated architecture” is no small feat, Apple’s preparation for the introduction of DMA should come as no surprise, as this regulation has been brewing for years. Apple was prepared for it. To further shift blame, Apple states that, given the “low user adoption rate” of home screen web apps, people would not mind if it disrupts them.

Apple’s actions contradict its explanation

Over the years, Apple has been working to improve PWAs, adding features to make web apps more like native apps and easily deployable outside the App Store. Meanwhile, user adoption rates have been increasing, not declining. Analysts estimate that the PWA market size will reach $10.44 billion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 31.9%.

As Sweeney suggests, alternative browser engines could indeed make PWAs more useful, posing a threat to Apple’s App Store business, as web applications now offer functionality almost on par with native applications.

Apple has been asked to comment on its decision regarding PWAs, but it has only published an explanation on its DMA website in response.