Glossary

What is sideloading on iPhone?

Sideloading means installing an app on an iPhone from somewhere other than the App Store. On iOS it is tightly controlled: the usual routes are signing the app yourself with an Apple ID, TestFlight, ad hoc or enterprise distribution and, in the European Union, alternative app marketplaces.

More about Sideloading

Signing an app with your own Apple ID is the route developers use for their own devices. With a free Apple ID, Apple lets you keep up to 3 such apps on a device at a time, and each one needs signing again every 7 days.

Sideloading with Borel

Borel Companion, a free download for Windows and Mac, does this for the apps you build in Borel on Pro. It signs the app with your Apple ID and installs it on your iPhone: by cable the first time, then over your Wi-Fi. Companion signs each app again for a fresh 7 days while it runs.

Related terms

All glossary terms

Make your iPhone app in Borel

Describe it in your own words. Borel writes it in Swift, builds it on its own Mac and puts it on your iPhone.