A software application made by a developer other than the manufacturer of a mobile device or its operating system is known as third-party app, mostly these are downloaded from the third party app store iOS devices. For example, app development firms or individual developers create applications for Apple’s operating systems.
How those differ from normal apps
In contrast to third-party apps, manufacturers also create applications for their own devices. These are first-party or native apps. However, there are more third-party apps available as compared to the native ones..
Two major official app stores are Apple AppStore and Google PlayStore. You can access to install mobile applications for your iPhone or Android device.
There are thousands of apps Apple has created for its iOS operating systems. In the same way, there are a large number of Google-built apps for Android devices. So, each distribution platform has native applications.
Both platforms also include third-party apps, in fact millions of them. Developers or companies — third parties, not Apple or Google — create the apps to work on iOS or Android devices.
Why apple hates/restricts third-party apps
Apple is well known for its secure and protected systems. It takes the responsibility for almost all concerns a user may have. But when it comes to third-party apps, Apple is not pleased with them as most of them hardly meet its set policies or expected security and privacy.
Apple is serious about the question, Are those apps safe?
Third-party app stores may not Apply the same level of scrutiny toward the apps that are allowed to be listed in their app stores. Though third-party apps may provide many safe applications, we cannot avoid higher risk factors posing much danger.
Also, those apps may potentially damage your device with malicious codes such as ransomware and adware. This might happen due to ads or codes that might be injected into your device through a popular third-party app. Even some apps are being provided at less price and users after being pulled might be put on some privacy risks. These apps may extract user’s phone numbers, device information, and email addresses. That is the reasons why Apple hates working with the third party apps.
Why those are used?
In addition to native apps, both platforms also have millions of third-party apps. These can be standalone programs or they may add functionality to an existing parent program as a small plugin. Typically, standalone third-party applications involve various programs. Web browsers such as Opera, Firefox, Safari, and email clients like Thunderbird, The Bat!, and Pegasus are nice examples of third-party applications.
A unique third-party app offers extra functionality to a primary program. These are plugins or add-ons. In some instances, system users of Windows Operating System make it more protected to use standalone third-party applications for tasks such as newsgroups, email, Web browsing, and Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Microsoft® applications have usually been a target of a lot of hackers, viruses, and many other security threats in addition to Trojans. So, it can also be said that a third-party application, theoretically lessens the degree of potential vulnerability.