Apple has removed the iTorrent app from AltStore PAL, an alternative iOS app marketplace in the EU, even though the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is meant to guarantee users the right to install third-party software.
The app’s developer says the move was carried out without notice, without explanation, and with no way to appeal, effectively cutting off access to a legal torrenting tool that had been gaining popularity across Europe over the past year.
Daniil Vinogradov, the developer behind iTorrent (known online as XITRIX), confirmed that Apple revoked his ability to distribute apps outside of its App Store.
Although iTorrent had been hosted through AltStore PAL, the removal had nothing to do with the store itself. The decision came directly from Apple at the developer account level.
“Apple removed Alternative Distribution functionality from iTorrent’s Developer Portal without any warning,” Vinogradov posted on GitHub. He stated that Apple provided no explanation and no direct communication regarding the decision.
Speaking with TorrentFreak, Vinogradov said Apple never contacted him in advance.
When he reached out for clarification, he received only generic replies that referenced unrelated App Store rules.
None of Apple’s responses addressed the fact that iTorrent was being distributed legally under the EU’s alternative app store framework. After a second attempt, Apple responded only to say its “escalation team” was reviewing the issue. Nothing has been shared with him since. “I still have no idea if it was my fault or Apple’s, and their responses make no sense,” he said.
The timing has raised eyebrows. iTorrent was introduced on AltStore PAL in July 2024, after the DMA went into effect and opened up iOS devices in the EU to third-party app installations.
This was a major step for users who wanted access to software Apple previously banned, including torrent clients.
Until now, Apple’s blanket prohibition on torrenting tools had kept apps like iTorrent off iPhones and iPads altogether.
By mid-2025, however, users began reporting they could no longer install iTorrent.
Initially, the issue was a mystery. But Vinogradov later confirmed that Apple had stripped his account of the distribution privileges required for releasing apps through alternative platforms.
AltStore PAL, which vetted and approved iTorrent before adding it to its lineup, was caught off guard. “We are in communication with Apple about this issue,” co-founder Shane Gill told TorrentFreak. “We’ve told them what’s going wrong, and they said they’re looking into it, but we haven’t gotten any further information as of yet.”
No official link has been made between the takedown and iTorrent’s nature as a BitTorrent client, though Apple’s longstanding opposition to such apps speaks for itself.
For years, torrent clients have been barred from the App Store, regardless of whether they are used for legal file-sharing. The DMA was supposed to change that by letting users install apps freely from outside sources.
But Apple’s ability to shut down an app by cutting off the developer’s access raises concerns.
Even under the DMA, it appears Apple retains enough backend control to decide which developers can and cannot participate in the third-party marketplace system.
That power undermines the idea that iPhone users in the EU are genuinely free to choose what apps they install, and throws a wrench in the idea that third-party app stores would be free from Apple’s control.
Apple has issued no public comment. Emails seeking clarification have gone unanswered.
The company has also offered no guidance to AltStore PAL regarding categories of apps it may find objectionable.
AltStore PAL had promoted the addition of iTorrent and another torrenting tool, qBitControl, as a breakthrough for user choice. Both apps were reviewed for safety and security before release. Users downloaded and used them without issue for over a year, until Apple intervened with no public explanation.
It appears that Apple is still exerting gatekeeper power, even when it is legally required to open the door.
