The European Union's pioneering digital market regulation appears to be shaking up competition in the mobile browser market.
It's been just over a month since the Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into force, and there are early signs that it is having an impact by forcing phone makers to show browser selection screens to users.
On Wednesday, Reuters reported on growth data shared by Cyprus-based web browser Aloha and others, which it said suggested the new law was spurring competitiveness and helping smaller browser makers gain share or at least attract more attention than they had been.
But it's still early days for DMA implementation, as selection screen rollouts are still underway, and many EU users haven't seen one yet. Although Aloha isn't the only other browser to report a surge in interest since the DMA compliance deadline began on March 7 — Brave, Opera, and Vivaldi also shared positive stories of increased interest — several others, including DuckDuckGo and Firefox, told us that It is too early for them to assess the impact of the regulation.
TechCrunch reached out to 16 alternative browser makers with questions, as well as Apple and Google, to inform our reporting. We also contacted the European Commission to inquire about its own tracking of the impact of DMA in this area – but it declined to share any data.
Neither Apple nor Google responded to questions about any changes in regional usage of their respective browsers since choice screens began rolling out to mobile users.
Select selection screens
The EU's goal of the DMA is to promote competition against Internet “gatekeepers” whose control over dominant platforms gives them many operational advantages over smaller competitors. The regulation does this through a list of “do’s and don’ts” that tech giants must adhere to. In the case of browsers, it requires companies like Apple, makers of iOS and Google's Android, to display browser selection screens, forcing them to direct users to alternatives to Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome.
Choice screens aim to work against platform dominance and self-service defaults by alerting consumers that other options exist. But users must still decide to switch to an alternative app so that the selection screens can boost competition. The design of the displays is also important.
Some alternative browser makers are still concerned that the design of selection screens isn't where it needs to be. We believe this leads to a reluctance of some vulnerable people to share data on early impact, especially as the EU is currently investigating Apple's selection screen design for suspected non-compliance.
In other words, some browser makers may be playing a waiting game in hopes of encouraging the Commission's implementers to push for stronger implementation. At the same time, some really small browser operators may see more gains to be had from good old-fashioned publicity – for example, sending out a press release touting early interest – as a tactic to raise their profile to try to attract more downloads through increased awareness.
Overall, it's still very early. Many regional mobile phone users may not have yet seen the selection screen that appears on their mobile phone. Google, for example, says the screens are being offered on newly launched Android devices, but for existing Android devices, it's up to device makers to offer the screens of choice to their users. So there is no clear timeline for implementation on Android.
While in the case of iOS, Apple says it has been offering selection screens to iOS users since iOS 17.4. But users who haven't updated to this version won't see anything yet.
Mozilla, the maker of Firefox, told us that it estimates that fewer than a fifth of iOS users have been shown a choice screen so far. It is believed that fewer Android users have seen one in the wild yet.
With this incomplete picture of the Android release in mind, it seems likely that more iOS users will have seen selection screens than Android users so far – even though Google's platform has a larger regional market share.
Measuring the impact of the DMA on the market share of alternative browsers is further complicated by differences in the applications seen by mobile users in different EU countries. Some alternatives, such as Firefox, may appear on the iOS selection screen in all EU markets. While others are much more limited: Vivaldi, for example, can only appear in eight countries. Therefore exposure to potential users can vary greatly depending on the browser. (Apple lists the options it currently offers in each market here.)
Alternative browsers on top?
Aloha, a privacy-focused browser that claims not to track users, told us it has seen 250% growth in new users (i.e. app downloads) since the DMA went into effect last month. Reports indicate that there are approximately 10 million monthly active users globally – and it is estimated that around 1 million of them are in the European Union. So he remains a very young player.
However, since Aloha says it doesn't collect any personal data, including location data, it told us it can't be accurate about where its users are located. However, she told Reuters that the EU has gone from being its fourth-largest market to its second-largest since the DMA compliance deadline began.
Aloha also claimed to have seen an uptick in US users since the DMA came into effect – however the regulation does not apply in the US market, so US users do not encounter it via browser selection screens. Aloha told TechCrunch that she believes privacy awareness is on the rise overall, but also suggested that growth in new installs in the EU may help raise its profile in the US App Store.
Meanwhile, Norway-based Opera is also claiming market share gains since the DMA took effect on March 7. According to new metrics shared with TechCrunch on Wednesday, Opera said new user growth from February to the end of March was 63% — so it's reporting a significant increase in the number of people downloading and trying out Opera.
It also reported a 39% growth in the number of iOS users specifically choosing their browser as their default, from March 3 to April 4.
Previously (as of March 18), Opera reported a 164% growth in new EU user influx on iOS following Apple's deadline to implement the DMA-mandated selection screen. So it actually appears that there was a decline in the rate of growth that we saw during this period – that is, after a larger initial spike in interest.
Regardless, Opera seems very happy with the extra level of interest it's seeing. In a statement, Jørgen Arnesen, executive vice president of mobile, said the DMA is “leveling the playing field,” adding: “We are pleased to see that it has become easier for users to express their choice of browser and that choice.” To be respected.”
Another browser maker with a positive experience since DMA compliance day is Vivaldi, which was also developed out of Norway.
It told TechCrunch that it has seen a 36.7% increase in downloads in the EU (overall) since the iOS selection screen went into effect. But the increase in downloads is even greater when you look at the eight markets where Vivaldi is actually displayed on iOS select screens. In those markets, it said downloads have increased by 69.6% since users began offering the selection screen.
Despite this uptick in downloads, Vivaldi is unhappy with the current design of Apple's selection screen.
A company spokesperson told us: “There are significant flaws in its implementation, including when it is shown and what is shown.” “Users can only see the selection screen when they click on Safari. The list of browsers does not display additional information and does not help users make a meaningful decision. If the user has already selected a browser of their choice, the selection screen can try to take them away from it, and may not include it Even in the list you provide to the user.
She added: “We believe that priority should be given to cross-platform browsers, so that the same browser can be used on all user devices.” “Apple looks at it very narrowly, per platform and country. We think the main browser options should be visible, and we're not. We should be on the list for all countries.”
We've also heard positive things from Brave. The US-based privacy-focused browser said it had seen a “significant spike” in installs since the DMA came into effect. (Although it does not announce the number of users per region, it declined to reveal total usage figures in the EU.)
“Daily installs of Brave on iOS in the EU rose from around 7,500 to 11,000 with the new browser panel last March,” a company spokesperson said. “In the last few days, we've seen a new all-time high of 14,000 daily installs, which is nearly double our pre-selection screen numbers.”
“In terms of retention, users who choose Brave from the DMA screen are retained at par or better than our average,” she added, arguing that the uptick in interest Brave is seeing overall “confirms that users want choice.”
On the other hand, three other alternative browsers we contacted — DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, and Firefox — suggested that it's too early to tell if DMA is helping them.
DuckDuckGo, the veteran privacy-focused browser maker, declined to share any data, saying it was too early to draw meaningful conclusions.
“While we've seen some positive signs, the rollout of the selection screen is ongoing, and for a competitor like us that sees billions of searches and millions of downloads per month, we need more time to carefully assess the impact at scale,” she said. In the current situation.
DuckDuckGo also told us that it lacks access to “basic information” to be able to assess the impact of the DMA, saying, for example, that it had no way of knowing how many people viewed the search engine or browser selection screen.
“This is key because it will help us understand how often we get selected on the selection screen and how widespread the rollout is,” the report noted, adding: “We are at the beginning of this journey, not the end.”
Another alternative player, Ecosia, a non-profit focused on tree planting and environmental work, told us it did not have enough data to accurately assess the impact of the regulation. “We have not received selection rates or any other meaningful datasets, so it is difficult for us to provide a robust report on the effectiveness of the selection screen at this stage,” said Sophie Dembinski, the organisation’s head of public policy and climate action.
She stressed that Ecosia is not happy with the current iOS selection screen, which it believes is holding back potential growth – also pointing to the open case brought by the Commission investigating Apple's implementation.
“While Ecosia jumped to second and third place in some European markets for utility apps in the Apple App Store, our search numbers barely changed,” she said. “This is due to several design issues within Apple's Choice screen – such as displaying the Choice screen to users who have already chosen an alternative to Safari; an overly complex installation process resulting in a significant number of users being lost; and keeping the Safari browser app in the best position on the home screen.” .
Another veteran browser operator, Firefox, is also keeping its powder dry when it comes to assessing early impact.
“We're not currently sharing absolute numbers, both because we have some serious concerns about the current selection screens and because we estimate that less than 20% of users on iOS and likely even fewer on Google have been exposed to them so far,” the Mozilla director said. . Kush Amlani, Global Competition and Regulatory Consultant.
“The DMA represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create competition and choice for consumers in the EU. Realizing this potential depends on gatekeeper compliance and European Commission enforcement,” he stressed, noting also the Commission’s investigations into suspected non-compliance by gatekeepers.
“While we see many thousands of people choosing Firefox over choice screens, we don't think this should distract from the fact that the iOS choice screen has significant flaws that prevent people from making real choices,” Amlani added. “The critical challenge is for powerful, deep-pocketed gatekeepers to be incentivized to protect their existing closed ecosystems and fight DMA implementation, which would open them up to competition.”
TechCrunch's outreach to browser makers who might benefit from DMA selection screens also led to one report that has had no meaningful impact since the requirement went into effect: Yandex, a Russia-based browser that can appear on iOS selection screens anywhere in the EU, told us, Thus, it has not seen “any meaningful changes in user metrics in the region yet.”
In the case of Yandex, its potential lack of interest in switching may be related to consumer concerns about using or supporting software developed in Russia in light of the Ukrainian war.
