It certainly helps.
If a heavily sandboxed, walled-garden App Store is still vulnerable on its smaller attack surface, then the open-for-all alternative will be absolutely plagued.
What is the point you're trying to make?
If a heavily sandboxed, walled-garden App Store is still vulnerable on its smaller attack surface, then the open-for-all alternative will be absolutely plagued.
What is the point you're trying to make?
The App Store is a single target. It makes "discovery" easier for malware. Imagine if these apps had to get users the "old fashioned" way, one-by-one, word-of-mouth, etc. It also requires less initial setup for malware developers, as opposed to having to develop their own software distribution infrastructure. Every claim about the App Store making things easier for developers also applies to malware.
Moreover, the App Store race to the bottom undermined the previous paid upfront software model in favor of everything being free, supported either by ads or by "cash cow" manipulative IAP.
Microtransactions were a thing even before the App Store race - remember Farmville, MafiaWars and the other host of Zynga's Facebook games?
Pointing to Facebook just proves the point. Facebook is a walled garden, but does anyone think Facebook is a "healthy software ecosystem" for developers and users?
I would argue that the race to the bottom is caused more by Apples gratuitous 30% cut than anything else, though.
Totally agree the free by default model causes more harm than good in the grand scheme of things when it comes to these app stores.
The Play store is such an unimaginable cesspit of crap that I've now stopped using it entirely except for official company apps, and then it will still suggest me malware clones every time.
Like I wanted a battery display for my AirPods and the choice was stuffed with ads, battery draining IAP from the Play store or a simple, free OSS one from F-Droid:
https://github.com/adolfintel/OpenPods
Of course, go figure, this app had to itself be modified to prevent scam artists from loading it up with advertisements and malware and putting it onto Play, where license violations are widespread and go entirely undetected.
It was more if you've got one walled and protected store and that's compromised, a free open alternative would be more likely suffer the same issues on a larger scale.
Certainly agree with your assessment of the Play Store
Linux doesn’t have an “App Store” instead you have to engage with the community and publish your app source code if you want it easily installed by most users. I guess that’s still not quite a “free for all” (although there’s nothing stopping users from installing whatever they want) but it’s certainly not as strict as what apple does.