Yeah, but to open an alternative store, you need to pay a hefty sum. Even to publish apps on that alternate store, there will be high fees. Open source projects simply cannot afford that.
Has anyone tried asking Apple? I think an offer like:
1. Apps must be FOSS and reproducibly buildable on the store's servers, like F-Droid.
2. No monetization allowed, not even donation links.
3. The store itself undergoes yearly security review by an accredited third-party firm at its own expense.
4. The store undergoes yearly compliance review for these terms at its own expense.
Would be pretty much all upsides for Apple: non of their services are used; they don't pay infrastructure or human costs for app hosting, review, or developer support; and they don't pay these costs for apps that don't make them money anyway.
1. Apps must be FOSS and reproducibly buildable on the store's servers, like F-Droid. 2. No monetization allowed, not even donation links. 3. The store itself undergoes yearly security review by an accredited third-party firm at its own expense. 4. The store undergoes yearly compliance review for these terms at its own expense.
Would be pretty much all upsides for Apple: non of their services are used; they don't pay infrastructure or human costs for app hosting, review, or developer support; and they don't pay these costs for apps that don't make them money anyway.