Apple adds Brazil switch in iOS 26.5 to allow third‑party app marketplaces

Apple has added a new “App Installation” option in iOS 26.5 for users in Brazil, a software change that sets up third-party app marketplaces on iPhones in the country. 9to5Mac reported the setting appeared in the May 18 update and sits under Settings > Apps, where users already manage default browsers, email apps and payment apps. (9to5mac.com) CADE, Brazil’s antitrust authority, required Apple to open alternative app distribution channels as part of a cease-and-desist agreement signed on Dec. 23 and disclosed in January. (gov.br) The regulator said Apple also had to allow developers to present third-party offers and alternative payment methods, with penalties of up to 150 million reais for noncompliance. (9to5mac.com) The new menu does not yet mean Brazilian iPhone users can immediately download from a rival store. As of May 19, the setting shows only Apple’s App Store, according to 9to5Mac, indicating the infrastructure is in place before any marketplace has gone live. (9to5mac.com) ### Where did this new setting show up on the iPhone? Brazilian users began seeing the “App Installation” control in iOS 26.5 under Settings > Apps > Default Apps > App Installation, according to 9to5Mac, citing Sorcererhat Tech. Apple’s description says the default marketplace will be used for recommendations in Spotlight, Siri, Safari and other parts of iOS. (gov.br) That wording matters because it frames the change as a marketplace choice built into system settings, not just a one-off permission for installing software from the web. 9to5Mac said the menu currently lists only the App Store. (9to5mac.com) ### What exactly did Brazil’s regulator require Apple to do? CADE said in January that Apple must allow “alternative app distribution channels (app stores)” in Brazil. The agreement also requires Apple to let developers direct users to outside payment options and to offer other in-app payment methods alongside Apple’s own system. (9to5mac.com) The regulator said Apple had 105 days to implement the changes once the agreement took effect. CADE also said the commitments would remain in force for three years from the moment the new terms became mandatory for developers. (9to5mac.com) ### Is Brazil getting the same model Apple uses in Europe? 9to5Mac reported the language in iOS 26.5 points toward a marketplace-based model rather than Apple’s separate European Union “Web Distribution” system, which lets approved developers distribute apps from their own websites. In Brazil, the wording around a “default marketplace” suggests Apple is centering rival stores instead. (gov.br) The January CADE notice supports that reading because it specifically refers to alternative app distribution channels, or app stores, rather than direct website downloads. (gov.br) ### How did Apple get here in Brazil? MercadoLibre filed the original complaint in 2022, accusing Apple of abusing control over iOS app distribution and payments, 9to5Mac reported. The dispute then moved through rulings and appeals before Apple and CADE reached a settlement. Apple told 9to5Mac earlier this month that the Brazil changes were being made “to comply with regulatory demands from CADE” and said the measures would create new privacy and security risks, while adding that it had kept safeguards in place. (9to5mac.com) ### What still has to happen before this affects users and developers? (gov.br) Apple has not yet announced a live third-party marketplace for Brazil, and 9to5Mac said it remained impossible earlier this month to install apps from outside the App Store even though the code support was present. The visible next step is a named marketplace launch or formal developer terms for Brazil. (9to5mac.com) June 8 is Apple’s next major public software event at WWDC 2026, but as of May 19 the Brazil rollout appears tied to CADE compliance rather than any WWDC announcement. The first concrete sign of broader availability will be when a marketplace other than the App Store appears in the new iOS 26.5 menu for Brazilian users. (9to5mac.com 1) (9to5mac.com 2)