I have a confession to make : I am an inveterate Reddit scroller . But my view experience of selection is n’t the official Reddit iOS app , but a fantastic third - political party node call Apollo .
gratefully , I had another option . Apollo had create such a truehearted fanbase of users — closely to a million daily alive users at the time it shut down — that many multitude step in to make Apollo available long after documentation officially end . That meant I could sideload Apollo onto my iPhone and furbish up it to its former gloriole .
Or so I think . The problem , as I found out , is that sideloading can be a monumental bother . I ’m happy to say I now have Apollo working on my iPhone again , but the whole process was and is such an on-going trouble , and I have a new grasp for Apple ’s battle against sideloading .
The Apollo client for Reddit has a clean and smart interface, but installing it was anything but.
A long and arduous installation
The outgrowth of sideloading Apollo is long and convoluted and involve drudge , workarounds , and janky workflows . If you ’re think of doing it yourself , you ’re going to need a lot of fourth dimension , endurance , and above all , patience . If you require to conform to in my footsteps , I ’ll walk you through it , and there are many guide and Reddit threads full of helpful data . But this is absolutely not a beginner ’s process , and it involve much patience , so strap in , because it ’s a rough ride .
To start , I adjudicate to employ an app called AltStore to supervise the sideloading outgrowth and one telephone SideStore to actually instal Apollo and keep it freshen up ( for this to work , I would want both apps ) . In the case of Apollo ( and , I ’m sure , many other sideloaded apps ) , you need to refresh them every seven days to prevent them from go . That ’s what SideStore handles .
So , first things first , I downloaded and put in AltStore on my Mac from theapp ’s website . I also had to download the SideStore .ipa data file — which is an App Store package data format used to distribute iOS and iPadOS apps — and an app called JitterbugPair ( more on this later ) .
There’s a reason why Apple insists on the App Store as the sole method of distribution on the iPhone.
The Apollo client for Reddit has a uncontaminating and impudent interface , but install it was anything but .
metalworks
I plugged my iPhone into my Mac over USB - C , then loaded the SideStore .ipa file onto my iPhone using AltStore . This installed SideStore directly onto my iPhone , no App Store required . So far , so good .
Once all that was done , I was then asked to accede my Apple ID . There are reports that Apple might operate account that sideload apps this means , so it ’s recommended that you expend a burner Apple ID . This was just the first of many monition signs that this whole process would be far more involved than your casual app installation .
Next , I had to go to the preferences app on my iPhone to approve the fresh “ developer app ” added to my earphone , then enable Developer Mode . Then I had to give JitterbugPair on my Mac , which sire a pairing file so that SideStore can utter to your gadget . I upload that to iCloud on my Mac . Back on my iPhone , I loaded the pairing file into SideStore .
Mind you , I was n’t even halfway done by this gunpoint . Now I require a custom VPN . This does n’t connect to an external host , but essentially let my twist link up to itself over a VPN , which is required for SideStore to refresh itself and any apps I ’ve sideloaded . After that , I open SideStore and sign in with my burner Apple ID . I then had to freshen SideStore , which took a few second – if it did n’t get stuck , that is , which it frequently did .
I then download an .ipa Indian file of the last version of Apollo before it was shut down . This is available on GitHub ; I downloaded it to my Mac and uploaded it to iCloud . After that , I was able to sideload it into SideStore , which install Apollo on my phone .
The procedure was worth it to get Apollo on my iPhone — but I do n’t desire to do it again .
Finally , once I was logged in to my Reddit account in Apollo , I had to create a custom “ app ” for Reddit and Imgur in rescript to get a node ID , which allowed Apollo to talk to the Reddit and Imgur APIs . Then , finally , I was ready to languish the rest of my twenty-four hour period scrolling .
If you ’ve made it this far , extolment ! You might just have enough patience to sideload an app onto your iPhone .
But there ’s more , because of course of action there is . This laborious operation only got Apollo onto my phone in the first place – because of the way this looping of sideloading works – with the rinky - drop shot combination of burner IDs and an expired app ( plus much more ) – Apollo will expire after seven days .
you could tell SideStore to refreshen it , but usually this has to be done manually . I do n’t have the forbearance for that , so I created a usance workflow in the Shortcuts app to automatically review SideStore and Apollo every night when I ’m asleep . This works well most of the metre but requires me to have both Wi - Fi and the custom VPN connected .
The struggle is real
Even once I successfully sideloaded Apollo onto my phone , there were ( and still are ) numerous irritating issues to contend with :
And , of course of action , there ’s the take that you ’re downloading random apps and files from the net , none of which have gone through the App Store review process .
I ’m such a Reddit addict that for me , this knotty process was ultimately deserving it . I have my favorite Reddit client back and do n’t have to use the prescribed app anymore . But I trust I never have to do it again .
Apple is right
More than anything , this whole rigmarole has give me a new discernment of the App Store and a brisk understanding of why Apple opposes sideloading . The App Store mother a great deal of fire for its rules and regulations , but it stool downloading and running apps unco easy . You do n’t even demand to think about it – you just download an app and there it is , do work perfectly on your equipment .
Sideloading – at least in my case – was the diametrical opposite of that . It call for all mode of wind and tortuous steps , and even when you follow them to the letter of the alphabet , thing can and will go wrong . Granted , it would be different if Apple allowed sideloading — or “ alternative app shop ” like it does in the EU — but even where it ’s allowed , the process is far more knotty than instal an app from the App Store .
There ’s a reasonableness why Apple insists on the App Store as the sole method acting of distribution on the iPhone .
I can see why Apple hates all this . The company ’s ware are meant to be wide-eyed and easygoing to use – so simple , in fact , that a grandparent could clean up an iPhone and instal an app . Do you really recollect your grandparents or even your parents would have the wherewithal to install an expired app using a sideloading process , burner Apple IDs , and copulate files , then set up a customs shortcut to insure everything preserve running without expiring ?
Not only does sideloading go against Apple ’s penchant for simmpleness , but it has huge potentiality to spoil the company ’s drug user . And what user is rifle to have a favorable judgement of your product if a key part of it — installing apps — can be so irritating ? ( And that ’s to say nothing of the potential for viruses and malware . )
That said , none of that is going to blockade me from using Apollo . I ’m prepared to put up with the rickety sideloading process for as long as it takes . But I can utterly understand why citizenry want to steer clean — and why Apple has opposed it for so long .
