iOS 17.4 Beta Adds New App Verification Screen to App Store in EU [Updated]

Update — 10:09 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple says the App Store showing an app verification screen in the EU is a bug and will be fixed before iOS 17.4 is released to all users. Original story follows.

Starting with the latest iOS 17.4 beta, Apple asks iPhone users in the EU to verify an app's information before installing it from the App Store. The prompt was spotted by Dimitris Sartzetakis of @iSWUpdates and others.

Shazam Authentication App Store Feature 1
iOS 17.4 will allow iPhone users in the EU to install apps from so-called "alternative app marketplaces," and the verification screen will appear in those storefronts too. Apple is likely aiming to avoid anticompetitive complaints by also showing the prompt in its own App Store, should it remain in the public release of iOS 17.4.

Apple previously announced that iOS 17.4 will be released in March, and the App Store changes only apply in the 27 countries that are part of the EU, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and others. Notably, the UK left the EU in 2020.

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

Popular Stories

iphone 17 air iphone 16 pro

iPhone 17 Air USB-C Port May Have This Unusual Design Quirk

Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years. iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack) At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature

All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM. ...
iOS App Store General Feature JoeBlue

Epic Games Wins Major Victory as Apple is Ordered to Comply With App Store Anti-Steering Injunction [Updated]

Wednesday April 30, 2025 4:01 pm PDT by
In a victory for Epic Games, Apple was today found to be in violation of a 2021 injunction that required it to allow developers to direct customers to third-party purchase options on the web using in-app links. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who has been handling the Apple vs. Epic Games dispute for the last five years, said that Apple is in "willful violation" of the injunction she issued to ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

iPhone 18 to Use High Performance Six-Channel Memory, Claims Leaker

Tuesday April 29, 2025 7:00 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 lineup will introduce a major leap in memory performance, according to new information shared today by Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. Apple is reportedly planning to equip the 2026 models with a high-capacity six-channel LPDDR5X memory configuration, significantly upping the memory bandwidth for future AI features and multitasking. Expanding the memory bandwidth...

Top Rated Comments

SanderEvers Avatar
16 months ago
It's basically the same EU ideocracy as the "cookiebanner" each website has these days. Nobody reads them, just clicks on install. And the worst part is, it annoys most people.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mvwoensel Avatar
16 months ago
Under the Digital Markets Act, self-preferencing is illegal. That's why users will see this screen before installing apps from any app store, including Apple's own store.

However, users can disable this: "Users can manage their default marketplace through a new default setting. Certain platform features for finding and using apps like Spotlight are integrated with a user’s default marketplace. App installation sheets are automatically turned off for installations from a user’s default marketplace."
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KRBM Avatar
16 months ago

Under the Digital Markets Act, self-preferencing is illegal. That's why users will see this screen before installing apps from any app store, including Apple's own store.
Nothing wrong with forbidding self-preferencing here, the issue is that Apple is choosing to introduce scare screens. They could have adhered to just allowing third party stores but they went above and beyond to add a negative factor in the download flow - most likely to later tell everyone that the EU measures decreased downloads rate when they brought that on themselves.


It's basically the same EU ideocracy as the "cookiebanner" each website has these days. Nobody reads them, just clicks on install. And the worst part is, it annoys most people.
Again, there’s no directive from the EU that Apple has to do this - this is solely Apple’s choice.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iOS Geek Avatar
16 months ago

Nothing wrong with forbidding self-preferencing here, the issue is that Apple is choosing to introduce scare screens. They could have adhered to just allowing third party stores but they went above and beyond to add a negative factor in the download flow - most likely to later tell everyone that the EU measures decreased downloads rate when they brought that on themselves.
Verifying information is a scare screen? Sure, ok...:rolleyes: A scare screen would be warning the dangers of doing this. Not asking you to verify what you're downloading is what you intended to. Stop making things up.

Scary? No. Annoying pain in the neck? Absolutely. But serves the EU right! They meddled in something they should've stayed out of and now there's a worse experience because of it. Saw that coming from a mile away!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unami Avatar
16 months ago

Say it with me: This wouldn't have even been a possibility if the EU kept their noses out.

Sure...it was Apple's choice. But it is a choice that wouldn't have even been thought of if the EU left things alone. This can all be tied back to their incessant need to meddle in everything.
With the same logic you could say that Apple's unfair business practices forced the EU to act.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KRBM Avatar
16 months ago

Say it with me: This wouldn't have even been a possibility if the EU kept their noses out.

Sure...it was Apple's choice. But it is a choice that wouldn't have even been thought of if the EU left things alone. This can all be tied back to their incessant need to meddle in everything.
This borders on victim blaming. You’re saying that you deserved to be punched in the face because you gave someone an opportunity to think of the option.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)