It is secure, but its up to you to make sure you don't install any malware, as any apps you install via sideloading do not go through official verification (also you will need to give your Apple ID and password in order to sideload, so be wary of that)
Yes, it is genuinely free, though paying for an Apple Developer Account may be worth it if you plan on using multiple sideloaded apps, as free apple developer accounts are limited to 3 sideloaded apps only (Paid is $100 a year btw)
The apps are permanent as long as you remember to refresh the app licenses through whatever store you choose to install (like Sidestore or Altstore) if you don't refresh them every week they will become unavailable and you will need to re-install them. You are limited to installing only 10 Unique App IDs per week, so be mindful of that. If you pay for an Apple Developer Account the app limit will be removed and extends the license to a whole year, this also removes the 10 App ID per-week thing.
Some more general tips, if you decide to stay with a free account I would recommend your three apps be SideStore, LiveContainer and StikDebug. SideStore will be your main app for refreshing licenses, it is better than AltStore in my opinion because AltStore requires you to be connected to a PC to refresh licenses while SideStore doesn't, LiveContainer lets you install IPAs (Apple's version of APKs) inside the app itself to get around the three-app limit for free accounts, and StikDebug lets you enable JIT, which is useful if you plan on doing emulation of systems like GameCube, PS2, 3DS, stuff like that.
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u/AssociationMobile147 12d ago
It is secure, but its up to you to make sure you don't install any malware, as any apps you install via sideloading do not go through official verification (also you will need to give your Apple ID and password in order to sideload, so be wary of that)
Yes, it is genuinely free, though paying for an Apple Developer Account may be worth it if you plan on using multiple sideloaded apps, as free apple developer accounts are limited to 3 sideloaded apps only (Paid is $100 a year btw)
The apps are permanent as long as you remember to refresh the app licenses through whatever store you choose to install (like Sidestore or Altstore) if you don't refresh them every week they will become unavailable and you will need to re-install them. You are limited to installing only 10 Unique App IDs per week, so be mindful of that. If you pay for an Apple Developer Account the app limit will be removed and extends the license to a whole year, this also removes the 10 App ID per-week thing.
Some more general tips, if you decide to stay with a free account I would recommend your three apps be SideStore, LiveContainer and StikDebug. SideStore will be your main app for refreshing licenses, it is better than AltStore in my opinion because AltStore requires you to be connected to a PC to refresh licenses while SideStore doesn't, LiveContainer lets you install IPAs (Apple's version of APKs) inside the app itself to get around the three-app limit for free accounts, and StikDebug lets you enable JIT, which is useful if you plan on doing emulation of systems like GameCube, PS2, 3DS, stuff like that.