How to sideload iOS apps and why it's risky

IT professionals should know how iOS applications can be sideloaded and why it’s not advisable. Learn more about the two most common sideloading methods. Whatever device you are using, make sure you get the 22Bet bonus.

Most mobile administrators know how easy it is to download and install third-party apps on Android devices, but they may not know how easy it is to sideload iOS apps.

How prevalent are sideloaded apps for iOS in the enterprise?

Lookout representatives stated that from February 2016 to February 2017, 11 percent of iOS devices had a sideloaded app installed.

Between November 2017 and November 2018, according to Wandera, 6.8 percent of iOS devices were connected to third-party app stores, and 3.43 percent of iOS devices had a sideloaded app installed. These aren’t huge numbers, but Lookout and Wandera’s customers are businesses and corporations that prefer to keep their devices under lock and key. For many companies, anything above 0 percent is too high.

How easy is it to sideload iOS apps?

Accessing sideloaded apps for iOS is easy—really easy. Anyone can do it from their iPhone or iPad. No jailbreaking of the device is required. All that is needed is to download the app to the device via a desktop or load apps via the mobile browser.

Anecdotally, jailbreaking is not as popular or widespread as it used to be. While there are still people who jailbreak their iOS devices—it will never completely disappear—the number of jailbreakers is steadily declining. Apple has introduced more and more features that were previously only possible with a jailbroken device. In addition, it is easy enough to sideload iOS apps onto a phone or tablet, so users may not feel the need to do so.

There are two different but ultimately similar methods for sideloading iOS apps that are worth exploring here. The key to both is the misuse of Apple developer certificates. The easiest method is via the device itself.

Method 1: Third-party app store

To sideload on an iOS device, you first need to find a third-party app store that is trustworthy enough. Whether these app stores are really safe is a discussion for another time. It shouldn’t be difficult to find a variety of options.

Select the app store you want and follow the provider’s instructions. For example, you may need to download an installer that installs an app store server on your desktop computer. The app store is then installed on the iOS device via this server.

When you first launch the alternative app store, your iOS device will refuse to do so. Now go to Settings > General > VPN and Device Management and trust the developer certificate. You can now launch the alternative app store.

Method 2: Cydia Impactor and Xcode

The other method uses Cydia Impactor, Xcode, and a downloaded IPA file. iOS can only sideload an app with Xcode, but it requires some additional technical knowledge. The following steps simplify the process:

Create an Apple developer account; administrators can create a free account for a trial period or pay $99 per year for it.
Use Xcode to push the desired provisioning profile to the iOS device and follow these instructions.
Use Cydia Impactor to re-sign the IPA file with the developer profile.
Enable the device to trust this profile, and the process is complete.

However, neither method is flawless. With the first method of downloading apps from a third-party store, you must hope that Apple does not revoke the enterprise developer certificate used by the app, as this would prevent the app from launching. When using Cydia Impactor, the personal provisioning profile associated with a free developer account expires after 5 to 7 days, unless the administrator pays the $99 account fee. It is also important to note that IT administrators can prevent these actions with some basic device management security measures.