# The Apple Rule Still Limiting What Web Apps Can Do

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/for-a-better-web-7035190/the-apple-rule-still-limiting-what-web-apps-can-do
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/for-a-better-web-7035190/the-apple-rule-still-limiting-what-web-apps-can-do.md
Podcast: [For a Better Web](https://stenobird.com/podcast/for-a-better-web-7035190)
Published: 2026-07-29T12:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/forabetterweb/episodes/The-Apple-Rule-Still-Limiting-What-Web-Apps-Can-Do-e3mjvuq
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/fa587fdc/podcast/play/123387290/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-6-27%2F428705298-44100-2-f0054e7cc6a5d.m4a
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/for-a-better-web-7035190/episodes/the-apple-rule-still-limiting-what-web-apps-can-do
Duration seconds: 2720

## Resource

This podcast series follows Bruce as he interviews people from across different communities and industries who, in their own way, are fighting for a better web. Bruce's victim this time is Alex Moore, co-founder of Open Web Advocacy. We discuss why web apps still barely work on the iPhone, the rule that forces every browser on iOS to run on Apple's engine and quietly limits what web apps can do, and the five year regulatory fight, spanning the UK, EU, Japan, the US and Australia, to change that. Alex also walks through the moment Apple tried to kill web apps across the EU entirely, and why he thinks Apple's privacy and security arguments don't hold up. Chapters: 00:00 Introducing Alex Moore 01:31 What Open Web Advocacy does 02:49 The founders and volunteers behind OWA 04:31 Apple's attempted EU web app ban09:40 Why Alex took on this fight 10:17 The coffee shop job that started it all 12:28 Tweeting at WebKit and getting ignored 14:08 Turning to regulators instead of Apple 16:18 Every regulator OWA has approached 18:10 Is this just an anti-Apple crusade? 20:54 Why no other OS blocks browsers like iOS 23:35 Why does 10% of phones matter? 26:06 How interoperability makes or breaks apps 28:20 The real cost of Apple's 30% cut 29:55 Is Apple really more secure and private? 38:33 A day in the life of a web advocate 41:42 Are they going to win? 44:11 Closing thoughts and how to get involved Show notes: Open Web Advocacy Alex Moore PWA open letter Apple rule 2.5 (the WebKit restriction) Stuart Langridge Japanese "Smartphone Act" (PDF) WebAPK minting How Russian firms get their apps into App Store despite sanctions "A plastic butter knife to a gunfight" Loupe app Apple says Safari's browser engine sandbox for orders of magnitude more secure than that for nati…

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