Der App Fair Blog
Blog
Neuigkeiten, Vorträge und politische Analysen des App Fair Projekts.
A Gatekeeper's Paradise: the App Fair response to the first review of the Digital Markets Act
The European Commission has published its first review of the Digital Markets Act, the landmark regulation that was supposed to break the stranglehold of Big Tech gatekeepers on app distribution. The accompanying Staff Working Document…
Fear and Loathing in the App Stores
I presented a talk on the FOSDEM main track in Brussels last weekend titled "Fear and Loathing in the App Stores" (abstract). It was amazing to see so much interest in the topic, and I had a lot of great conversations afterwards with folk…
App Fair Retrospective, 2025
As 2025 draws to a close, it's a good moment to pause and reflect on a year that proved to be both challenging and energizing for the App Fair Project. Building on the momentum of last year's retrospective, 2025 saw the project deepen its…
What We Talk About When We Talk About Sideloading
We recently published a blog post with our reaction to the new Google Developer Program and how it impacts your freedom to use the devices that you own in the ways that you want. The post garnered quite a lot of feedback and interest from…
Panel opening statement for the FSF40 Celebration
I was honored to be invited as a panelist at the FSF 40-year celebration event in Boston this weekend. Along with Paige Collings, senior speech and privacy activist from the EFF, Devin Ulibarri, the executive director of Sugar Labs, and…
Free App Stores and Google's Developer Registration Decree
For the past 15 years, F-Droid has provided a safe and secure haven for Android users around the world to find and install free and open source apps. When contrasted with the commercial app stores — of which the Google Play store is the…
The GPL and Commercial App Stores: Time for a Reconsideration
The App Fair Project requires that all apps that it distributes be licensed under the GNU General Public License. When the project builds and distributes these apps through to the commercial app store channels (e.g., the Apple App Store…
Software Freedom Podcast Interview
I was recently interviewed about the App Fair Project for the FSFE's Software Freedom Podcast. I had a great discussion with Bonnie Mehring about many aspects of the App Fair's philosophy and mechanics.
FOSDEM 2025 Talk: Free App Stores and the Digital Markets Act
Last weekend I gave a talk at FOSDEM 2025 in Brussels titled: “A Free Software App Store for iOS: the App Fair Project's perspective on the DMA”. The full description can be found at the FOSDEM overview.
App Fair Retrospective, 2024
As 2024 draws to a close, we reflect on the activities and progress of the App Fair Project.
Apple DMA Compliance Workshop
Update: The video for the workshop has been made available at https://webcast.ec.europa.eu/compliance-with-the-dma-apple-2024-03-18. I've updated the blog post with timecodes for each of the questions and answers listed herein.
App Fair Retrospective, 2023
2023 was the first full year of the App Fair Project's existence. This post looks back on the year, and towards 2024.
A Future for iPhone App Stores, Part I
With the announcement of the official Gatekeeper designations under the Digital Markets Act, iPhone owners will soon regain the ability to install apps from outside the confines of a single App Store. This capability has been blocked by…