Apple extends deadline for sandboxing Mac App Store apps to Jun. 1

Apple announced today the deadline for developers’ sandboxing their Mac App Store apps was extended from March 1 to June. The restriction coupled with the introduction of Apple’s Gatekeeper feature in Mountain Lion, which automatically prevents apps not signed by Apple recognized developers from running in 10.8, creates a much more controlled ecosystem for apps on OS X. Of course, Gatekeeper can at this point be easily bypassed to run non-Apple approved apps, and sandboxing is simply meant to limit an application’s control within the OS to prevent malicious activity. With tighter control over how apps run on Macs, some devs fear a more iOS-like environment for apps on OS X is on the way.

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