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Consumer choice is important, and while it’s easy to search the App Store to find browsers other than the built-in Safari app, we feel all options should be presented when setting up an iPhone. Or is it an Android phone?
Well, the European Union thought so, so it considers controlling the default browser a monopoly move, forcing both Apple and Google to give consumers more choice than the default browser when setting up their smartphones. Passed the Digital Markets Act. .
The Digital Markets Act came into effect on March 7, and a month later, the European Union is seeing a surge in the growth of third-party browsers.According to reports Reuters, Cyprus-based Aloha (one of the third-party browsers currently included when you set up your iPhone) says users in the EU surged 250% in March. “The EU used to be our fourth-largest market, and now it’s our second-largest market,” Aloha CEO Andrew Frost-Moroz said in an interview.
DuckDuckGo, Opera, Vivaldi, Ecosia and Brave have also reported accelerating user numbers for their browsers since the Digital Markets Act took effect last month. “We are currently experiencing record user numbers in the EU,” Opera Vice President Jan Stendhal said in a statement.
Browser choice needs to be introduced to the US too
It’s very simple. If you give users a choice, they will make different choices. The EU’s Digital Markets Law makes it very easy to prove that based on the growth of third-party browsers to date. Similar options are required for iPhone and Android users in the United States.
I’m not saying the current implementation is perfect. “On iPhone, users only see a selection screen when they click on Safari, and then a list of browsers with no additional information,” the report explains. said one Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner. “This process is quite complex, so it’s easiest for[users]to choose Safari or another known name.”
Of course, detailed information about each browser must be displayed to the user. So Apple is the company that introduced nutrition facts in apps, and you should do the same when choosing a browser when setting up your phone.
Mozilla, which owns the Firefox browser, estimates that only 19% of iPhone users in the region received the update, which was rolled out much slower than previous software updates, the company said.
Despite these issues, third-party browsers continue to grow, in some cases with record growth. The EU has proven that this kind of choice should exist for everyone, whether they live in the EU or not. And that choice needs to extend beyond browsers. Search engines, voice assistants, and many other options should be options that consumers are educated on to make informed decisions.
I hope this is just the beginning of something bigger and more far-reaching.
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