Apple Agrees to Allow Alternative App Stores and Payments in Brazil

Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) has approved a settlement agreement with Apple that requires the company to allow alternative app marketplaces and third-party payment processing on iOS devices in the country. The decision resolves an administrative probe into alleged anticompetitive practices within the company's digital ecosystem.



Under the terms of the agreement, Apple is required to let developers promote external offers and direct users to complete transactions outside of their apps. The deal also uncouples Apple's payment processing service from app distribution, allowing developers to present alternative payment methods side-by-side with Apple's In-App Purchase system. Additionally, the company must enable the installation of third-party app stores on the iPhone.


To ensure a fair user experience, the regulator specified that any warning screens presented by Apple regarding these new options must be neutral, objective, and limited in scope. The agreement prohibits the design of control measures that unnecessarily complicate the user journey. Apple also agreed to specific safeguards designed to protect children within this more open environment.

While the deal opens the platform to competition, it acknowledges Apple's right to collect fees. The agreement establishes a fee structure intended to ensure developers and users actually benefit from the new competitive landscape. Apple has agreed to implement these changes within 105 days. The commitment is valid for three years, and non-compliance could result in fines of up to R$ 150 million.

This development mirrors similar regulatory shifts worldwide, though Apple's compliance methods in other regions have drawn sharp criticism. When Apple recently opened the iPhone to alternative marketplaces in Japan, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney blasted the move. He described the associated fee structure—which often includes a "Core Technology Fee" for installs outside the App Store—as "competition-crushing junk fees" and accused Apple of using mandatory reporting APIs to "surveil all transactions."

Critics have also targeted the user interface Apple uses for third-party installs. Epic noted that after Apple removed misleading "scare screens" in the European Union following regulatory pressure, the installation success rate for the Epic Games Store improved by 60 percent. Brazil's mandate for "neutral" and "objective" warning screens seems aimed squarely at preventing those kinds of friction points.


For its part, Apple continues to argue that strict controls are essential for privacy and security. In its legal challenges against the EU's Digital Markets Act, the company claimed that forced interoperability creates "hugely onerous" burdens and introduces new risks. Apple also recently published a study suggesting that lower commission rates don't actually lead to lower prices for consumers, as developers tend to keep the extra revenue.

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