Reports say Apple is now targeting individual developers in sideloading crackdown

Paying for an Apple Developer account usually feels like the “proper” route. You build, you test, you sign, you move on. Lately though, some developers are worried that the same paid access can become a liability if Apple decides your signing activity crosses a line.

That assumption is getting shaken up in the sideloading crowd, and it is happening because of a few posts on X that keep getting passed around as “proof” Apple is tightening the screws on individual accounts.

The first is from security researcher/developer Alfie. In a post on January 22, he said he learned “the hard way” that he is “not allowed to use my own personal, paid developer certificate to sign IPAs” he wanted to install on his own personal device, and he called for legislation on sideloading “ASAP.”

The second is from Japanese developer @yyyyyy_public. On January 30, they wrote (in Japanese) that their developer account was suspended, warned that users of IIJWidget and iMonos(PAL) would no longer receive future updates, and complained about paying Apple 12,500 yen for the membership.

Once those posts started circulating, Reddit did what Reddit does. Threads with the headline-style framing of “Apple expands sideloading crackdown to individual developers” popped up in communities like r/onejailbreak and r/AltStore, with people trying to figure out what kind of signing activity can get a paid account flagged, and what the “safe” alternatives are if you still want to sideload on iPhone.

Sites in the jailbreak space also amplified the same theme. ONE Jailbreak, for example, has been publishing pieces that treat these account actions as part of a broader sideloading crackdown, including reports about developer account termination tied to personal IPA signing.

Apple has not publicly addressed either specific complaint, but the company’s own Apple Developer Program License Agreement spells out the lanes it wants developers to stay in. It describes app distribution as happening through the App Store (if Apple selects the app), on a limited basis to “Registered Devices,” and via TestFlight for beta testing (plus Custom App Distribution in some cases).

That matters because paid developer certificate signing occupies an awkward position. Many sideloading tools treat a developer certificate as a long-lived install-anything pass, whereas Apple positions certificates and provisioning strictly as tools for development, testing, and controlled distribution.

Also, this is separate from Apple’s EU-only changes under the Digital Markets Act. With iOS 17.4 in the EU, Apple introduced alternative app marketplaces, but apps still go through Apple’s notarization checks and get an install sheet that shows details before installation.

So the story here is not “sideloading is dead.” It is that developers are now swapping notes in public, using posts like Alfie’s and @yyyyyy_public’s as caution signs that even a solo, paid Apple Developer account can be put at risk if Apple decides your IPA signing looks like abuse.

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