Apple recently made several changes to the iOS platform in the European Union (EU) following the implementation of new tech regulations in the Digital Markets Act (DMA). One of the more notable changes is the addition of a browser choice screen in iOS 17.4 — now alternate browser option Brave is touting the benefits of the new screen.
According to a post from Brave Software on Twitter/X, the new choice screen saw a significant spike in Brave downloads. The attached chart shows Brave’s daily installation numbers on iOS hovering around 7,500 to 8,000 before spiking to 11,000 on March 6th, the same day Apple launched the new browser choice screen.
The new choice screen is a list of up to 11 browsers that meet Apple’s ‘Default Browser Entitlement,’ which includes having at least 5,000 downloads across all the EU App Stores on iPhone in the prior calendar year. Apple plans to update the list once per calendar year.
Why did Apple and Google make it hard to switch default browsers for so many years?
Because it's a powerful way to block competitors.
Just look at what happened to Brave installs on iPhone in the EU when Apple rolled out a new default browser choice screen on March 6th: pic.twitter.com/Wefz4mCHGi
— Brave Software (@brave) March 12, 2024
In the initial post and in several follow-up posts, Brave calls out monopoly behaviour from Apple and Google and claims the companies made it difficult to switch default browsers to block competitors. While both companies have offered the ability to change the default browser on their respective platforms for a while now, putting the choice front and centre clearly has an impact, though I’m curious to see if other browsers saw similar installation spikes following the change.
Awkwardly, Brave calls out Google for not offering a similar screen on Android, suggesting the search giant is avoiding adding the choice screen to maintain its Chrome monopoly on Android. Except, Google has offered a choice screen for years in the EU and even updated it for the new DMA rules. Back in 2019, Google announced new search engine and browser choice screens for Android users in Europe, and in January 2024 shared planned changes to both screens to comply with the DMA. In the January post, Google said the new choice screens would start appearing on new devices in Europe “on or after March 6, 2024.”
Also, some users have asked what the graph would look like with the Y Axis going all the way to zero. Please see the below image. pic.twitter.com/wbEFK16xHv
— Brave Software (@brave) March 13, 2024
Critics also took aim at Brave’s chart, with some alleging the chart is misleading because it starts at 7,000 instead of zero, which makes the spike in installations look more significant. Brave ultimately shared a second chart with the Y-axis extending to zero, which makes the spike less significant. Regardless, there’s still a notable jump in installations for Brave on iOS in the EU, likely a benefit of the new browser choice screen.
Header image credit: Brave
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