A federal civil court judge has ruled that Apple is not required to enable sideloading in Brazil, meaning the iPhone maker can continue to publish apps exclusively through the App Store. The decision comes a week after Apple was previously ordered to allow a third-party app market in Brazil. The company was initially supposed to make the feature available to end users within 90 days of the ruling or face fines of more than $40,000 per day.
Apple fought the original ruling by Brazil's federal court, saying the proposed changes would radically undermine the privacy and security of iPhone and iPad users. Now, a different judge is allowing the company to continue using its existing app distribution system, which effectively forces app developers to develop through the iOS App Store until a final ruling is made.
The decision itself was announced on March 18, as initially revealed by Brazilian publication Estadao. In the document, published in Portuguese, the judge described the initial ruling as "disproportionate" and said Apple would actually be subject to harsh measures even before the case was concluded.
Brazilian regulator Conselho Administrator Defesa Economica (CADE) filed the original antitrust lawsuit against Apple in 2022. After an investigation and a ruling against Apple, an unreasonable implementation timeline was proposed and quickly overturned. The regulator has since held a public hearing on the issue in February 2025.
Likewise, the European Union has forced Apple to comply with its Digital Markets Act in 2024. With the launch of iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 18, Apple has enabled sideloading for iPhone and iPad users in the EU. Had it not been for the decision announced on Tuesday, the same situation would have probably happened in Brazil.
Brazilian regulator CADE can appeal the March 18 ruling, so there's still a chance Apple will be forced to comply in some way. The entire process could end up taking several months, and the results remain to be seen.