Alternative app store AltStore PAL joins the federation

AltStore PAL, the alternative iOS app store available in the EU and Japan, is joining the social network. in Post on WednesdayAltStore PAL announced that users across Mastodon, Threads, and Bluesky can now interact with apps that developers choose to standardize on explore.alt.store website.

Any likes from the social network will appear on AltStore PAL, according to Creator Riley Testot, who participated last October “You’ll be able to comment on an app on Mastodon, such as a news update on Threads, and then open the AltStore and view all of those same interactions within the app.” Users can now also log in to AltStore PAL using their Mastodon or Bluesky accounts.

“Our goal in adding various features to AltStore is to improve the discoverability of apps by making them shareable on social media,” says Testut. Edge. “In the future, we would like apps to gain native support within ActivityPub and become a standard ActivityPub object like Notes and Articles, allowing them to appear like any other item in your feed.”

Along with this update, AltStore PAL is adding three eco-friendly apps to its store. This includes the open source short video platform EpisodesVideo sharing app PertubeAnd a Mastodon client iPhanpy. You can access these new apps from the store’s redesigned Resources page, which now includes collections of apps in categories like Popular, Independent Gems, and Federal Favorites.