AltStore PAL integrates with the fediverse to expand decentralised app distribution

AltStore PAL, an alternative iOS app marketplace enabled by new regulations in regions such as the EU and Japan, is moving into the open social web. On Wednesday, the company announced support for the fediverse, the decentralised social ecosystem built on ActivityPub, the protocol that powers platforms such as Mastodon, Flipboard, PeerTube, and Threads.

Commonly referred to as the “fediverse,” the open social web allows users to join independent servers that can communicate with one another, or “federate,” making it possible for people to interact, view, and respond to posts across different social platforms.

With the launch of its own Mastodon server, AltStore PAL is becoming the first federated app marketplace.

The company plans to use this server to enable developers to share news, updates, and alerts about their apps. Since those posts are federated, they can be viewed, liked, and engaged with by users across the open social web, including on Mastodon, Instagram’s Threads, and even Bluesky — provided Bluesky users have bridged their accounts. Hence, they are accessible within the fediverse.

“So that means, like, if you have a Mastodon account or Threads account, you could follow these accounts. You could follow the source from our Mastodon server. Then, in your timeline, you would see when there was an app update,” AltStore PAL co-founder Riley Testut said last fall, when the company was previewing its plans and announcing its $6 million Series A.

Those interactions will also appear directly in the AltStore PAL app, where users can sign in with their Mastodon or Bluesky accounts to like apps, app updates, and news alerts within the marketplace itself.

At launch, several apps are already taking part, including Loops, a federated short-form video app; PeerTube, a federated video platform similar to YouTube; and iPhanpy, a Mastodon client developed by indie creator Matt Fantinel.

Some larger apps are expected to join this federated marketplace later, after Apple finalises changes to its commission structure in the EU. Because of potential liability concerns around payments, those apps are waiting for Apple to replace its Core Technology Fee with the new Core Technology Commission, a change the company made after regulators pushed back against its earlier overhaul of the commission model.

To access AltStore PAL’s Mastodon server, users can go to fosstodon.org/@altstore. Users can also explore apps and sources through AltStore PAL’s Explore page at explore.alt.store. Alongside this announcement, the AltStore PAL app has also been updated with an iOS 26 Liquid Glass design and a new icon.