One of the changes Apple had to make to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) was to present customers with a list of iPhone web browsers during setup, and to choose the one they want. Browsers must be listed in random order, so that Safari isn’t highlighted.
We’d previously seen some indication that the new antitrust law was proving effective, and a new report today says this is true for six leading browser companies …
iPhone web browsers must be a free choice
The most popular desktop web browser in the world was once Netscape, with around a 90% market share in the 1990s. That all changed when Microsoft began bundling its own web browser, Internet Explorer, with Windows. Internet Explorer also failed to stick to industry standards, meaning that some website features would only work with its own browser. By 2000, Netscape’s share was just 1%.
In 2001, the US government brought an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft for this and other issues.
Europe decided there’s a similar problem today in mobile browsers. When you first setup an iPhone, it comes with Safari preinstalled, and this will be used by default unless you download an alternative browser and manually set that as your default.
Even if you do this, all competing browsers were required to use Apple’s WebKit, meaning they couldn’t offer faster engines or features not supported by Apple’s API.
DMA requirements for EU iPhone owners
iPhone owners in Europe must now be asked to choose their web browser when they first setup the device. A list of the 11 most popular browsers must be shown, and the order must be randomised. Apple’s own Safari browser cannot be highlighted in any way.
The same is true with Android phones, with Google’s Chrome browser given no special treatment.
The Brave browser saw a sharp increase in take-up when the change was introduced in iOS 17.4, and Reuters reports the same has been true for other browsers.
All six companies approached by Reuters reported growth in the EU since the change – including one company which actually charges a subscription.
Founded in 2016, Aloha, which markets itself as a privacy focused alternative to browsers owned by big tech, has 10 million monthly average users and earns money through paid subscriptions, rather than selling ads by tracking users.
“Before, EU was our number four market, right now it’s number two,” Aloha CEO Andrew Frost Moroz said in an interview.
But Apple may not be fully compliant
Other browser companies claim that the process is convoluted, and provides no information on any of the browsers listed. They say this means iPhone users are more likely to simply pick the name they know, which is most likely to be Safari.
The EU is currently investigating this complaint.
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