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#Apple has announced new terms for alternative app distribution in the EU (18 August 2026). The reduction of fees is welcome, but the core problems for smaller developers and #FreeSoftware remain there. 🧵A thread on why we're still concerned about #DMA compliance.🧵

The biggest issue: #notarization. Every app must pass Apple's automatic and human review before it can run on iOS, even when distributed outside the App Store, via an alternative marketplace or a website. No channel escapes Apple's gatekeeping.

Entry barriers for developers stay high: despite a waiver for not for profit projects, to open an alternative marketplace you need financial guarantees worth up to €1 million, or must already reach 1 million first annual installs. Small projects rarely meet either bar.

On top of that, every developer still needs an Apple Developer Account just to distribute software at all, no matter the channel.

A fee waiver could help not-for-profit projects. But it changes nothing about notarization, developer accounts, or entry thresholds. For #FreeSoftware, this is not the substantial shift the #DMA should deliver, and we have been highlighting this in our report. doi.org/10.5281/zeno...