Following intense criticism, Apple today walked back its plan to disable Home Screen web apps in the European Union starting with iOS 17.4. ...

Following the release of the second beta version of iOS 17.4, it emerged that Apple had restricted the functionality of iOS web apps in the EU. Web apps could no longer launch from the ‌Home Screen‌ in their own top-level window that takes up the entire screen, relegating them to a simple shortcut with an option to open within Safari instead.

The move was heavily criticized by groups like Open Web Advocacy, which started a petition in an effort to persuade Apple to reverse the change, and it even caught the attention of the European Commission. Now, Apple has backtracked and says that ‌Home Screen‌ web apps that use WebKit in the EU will continue to function as expected upon the release of iOS 17.4.

  • Spotlight7573@lemmy.worldEnglish
    641·
    8 months ago

    Ah yes, MacRumors falsely reporting… Apple’s own statements, right…:

    Previously: https://web.archive.org/web/20240216001557/https://developer.apple.com/support/dma-and-apps-in-the-eu/

    Why don’t users in the EU have access to Home Screen web apps?

    To comply with the Digital Markets Act, Apple has done an enormous amount of engineering work to add new functionality and capabilities for developers and users in the European Union — including more than 600 new APIs and a wide range of developer tools.

    The iOS system has traditionally provided support for Home Screen web apps by building directly on WebKit and its security architecture. That integration means Home Screen web apps are managed to align with the security and privacy model for native apps on iOS, including isolation of storage and enforcement of system prompts to access privacy impacting capabilities on a per-site basis.

    Without this type of isolation and enforcement, malicious web apps could read data from other web apps and recapture their permissions to gain access to a user’s camera, microphone or location without a user’s consent. Browsers also could install web apps on the system without a user’s awareness and consent. Addressing the complex security and privacy concerns associated with web apps using alternative browser engines would require building an entirely new integration architecture that does not currently exist in iOS and was not practical to undertake given the other demands of the DMA and the very low user adoption of Home Screen web apps. And so, to comply with the DMA’s requirements, we had to remove the Home Screen web apps feature in the EU.

    EU users will be able to continue accessing websites directly from their Home Screen through a bookmark with minimal impact to their functionality. We expect this change to affect a small number of users. Still, we regret any impact this change — that was made as part of the work to comply with the DMA — may have on developers of Home Screen web apps and our users.

    Now: https://developer.apple.com/support/dma-and-apps-in-the-eu/

    Why don’t users in the EU have access to Home Screen web apps?

    UPDATE: Previously, Apple announced plans to remove the Home Screen web apps capability in the EU as part of our efforts to comply with the DMA. The need to remove the capability was informed by the complex security and privacy concerns associated with web apps to support alternative browser engines that would require building a new integration architecture that does not currently exist in iOS.

    We have received requests to continue to offer support for Home Screen web apps in iOS, therefore we will continue to offer the existing Home Screen web apps capability in the EU. This support means Home Screen web apps continue to be built directly on WebKit and its security architecture, and align with the security and privacy model for native apps on iOS.

    Developers and users who may have been impacted by the removal of Home Screen web apps in the beta release of iOS in the EU can expect the return of the existing functionality for Home Screen web apps with the availability of iOS 17.4 in early March.

    • Zoolander@lemmy.worldEnglish
      311·
      8 months ago

      Yes, it is. The only change being made is that WebKit home apps are being allowed. Since Apple couldn’t create the Home app frameworks for third party apps, they disabled all of them to comply with the new rules. This just means that, unless the EU says otherwise, Home Screen WebKit apps are still ok without needing to open to third-party engines. This is a non-story as that is already the currently released functionality and the change was only made because Apple was attempting to be conservative with its compliance.

        • Opafi@feddit.deEnglish
          2·
          8 months ago

          You bet they could place shortcut icons to websites on a grid of icons? Pretty bold statement there.

        • Zoolander@lemmy.worldEnglish
          23·
          8 months ago

          I don’t think they could, at least not in the timeframe provided by the EU. That’s the entire (and only) reason they’re reverting to the existing implementation. The existing law, as written, doesn’t seem to apply to PWAs.