Apple forced to offer Russian iPhone users local apps at setup thanks to new law

iPhones purchased in Russia now show a list of Russian-made apps at startup, thanks to a new law which comes into effect today, MacRumors reports. The prompt is part of the standard iPhone setup process, appearing after the user has selected other options like whether to allow Location Services or App Analytics.

“In compliance with Russian legal requirements, continue to view available apps to download,” the dry text reads, before showing a short list of just shy of a dozen apps. These include various Yandex apps, an email app from Mail.ru, a video live streaming service called OK Live, and popular Russian social network VK. A “Get” icon appears next to each app, giving the user a shortcut to install them.

Continue reading…