Apple has shut down access to the Apple Developer Enterprise Program (ADEP) for Russian developers, cutting off a key platform used to create and distribute iOS apps internally without the App Store.
Russian IT sources told RBC that developers lost access on February 12.
Before the shutdown, Apple warned companies using Enterprise certificates — which allowed developers to sign and distribute apps — that these would stop working by mid-February, according to Alexander Tuzovsky, head of iOS development at red_mad_robot.
Dmitry Kostin, head of Touch Instinct, confirmed that all program data was erased, rendering ADEP unusable.
Nikolay Nikolenko, technical director at KODE, explained that major corporations and developer companies relied on the platform for internal business apps, corporate chatbots, CRM systems, and logistics tools.
It was also widely used for app testing without publishing to the App Store.
Impact on Russian IT and Business
The ban will have major consequences for Russia’s mobile app market, warns Nikolenko. Companies now need to rethink their strategies, find workarounds, or switch to alternative solutions.
Some developers are turning to Progressive Web Apps (PWA), which function like mobile apps but lack many features of native iOS applications. Others are adapting web services for mobile use. However, these alternatives are not direct replacements for ADEP.
For now, developers are relying on Apple's TestFlight (a beta testing service) and corporate MDM (Mobile Device Management) solutions to distribute apps internally, according to Kostin.
Apple's Gradual Exit from Russia
Apple has been phasing out its presence in Russia since the start of the Ukraine war.
In March 2022, it suspended operations in Russia, blocked Russian Visa and Mastercard cards from Apple Pay, and removed sanctioned banks’ apps from the App Store.
In 2024, new U.S. sanctions further restricted American companies from providing IT services to Russian clients. The bans cover enterprise software such as ERP, CRM, BI, SCM, and cloud-based IT support.
With no direct replacement for ADEP, Russian companies face a difficult transition in the evolving digital landscape.
