> (A)GPLv3 does not prevent their projects from being used.
It really does. It stops it being used by people who need or want to use other licences. I believe it stops it being used on iOS and (probably) Android apps. The GPL world and the permissive licence worlds are walled off from each other in significant ways for lots of reasons.
Source: I maintain an app where I didn't choose and can't change the licence. And I come across code I can't touch almost every week.
> I believe it stops it being used on iOS and (probably) Android apps. The GPL world and the permissive licence worlds are walled off from each other in significant ways for lots of reasons.
I fully agree that (A)GPLv3 code effectively stops code from being used by many large companies (every place I’ve worked in the last decade has a near blanket policy on refusing to use code licensed that way except in very specific and exigent circumstances), but it isn’t necessarily true that app developers can’t use (or can’t choose to license) (A)GPL code in their iOS apps, provided they abide by the terms of the license.
Most developers won’t — or can’t — but the advent of dynamic linking of libraries in iOS, as well as the EU-mandated third-party app stores (which aren’t available outside the EU, but still), make the situation a lot more grey from the black and white stands the FSF attempted to take in the early 2010s. And to my knowledge there have been no legal challenges about the use of GPL code in iOS apps, so the issue is essentially unsettled.
That said, in most of the cases where I have seen iOS apps use GPL code, the full app source was available (and that may or may not fulfill the redistribution requirements but I’m not a lawyer and I’m not going to cosplay as one).
On Android, where full Google Play alternatives like F-Droid are available, plenty of GPLv3 apps exist, even if they aren’t available on Google Play.
But yes, when it comes to incorporating GPL code into a non-GPL app, that is much more difficult in the realm of mobile than it is for other types of applications.
> but the advent of dynamic linking of libraries in iOS
I'm not sure you can dynamically link to GPL in this case (LGPL maybe )? And I recall that there's also issues around signed bundles used on the various stores.
But the fact that we're not sure and the fact that we're having this conversation rather proves my point. People who aren't fully in the GPL world usually have to steer clear of GPL code entirely. This goes double for hobbyists and small orgs who can't afford a legal team.
> even if they aren’t available on Google Play.
As much as it's regretful this is a huge issue for most people who want to make apps that other people can use.
It really does. It stops it being used by people who need or want to use other licences. I believe it stops it being used on iOS and (probably) Android apps. The GPL world and the permissive licence worlds are walled off from each other in significant ways for lots of reasons.
Source: I maintain an app where I didn't choose and can't change the licence. And I come across code I can't touch almost every week.