Mozilla will not build a version of its Firefox browser for iOS unless Apple changes its approach to third-party browsers, reports CNET.

Speaking at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival, Mozilla VP of product Jay Sullivan said the company has no plans to replace the Firefox Home app that was withdrawn from Apple’s App Store in September.

Sullivan said the issue for Mozilla is that Apple won’t allow it to carry over its rendering and javascript engines to iOS, meaning it cannot offer users the browser experience it would like.

Apple prevents users from making another app their default browser, meaning the move away from Safari is very difficult.

Mozilla currently holds a 0.01 per cent of the mobile browser market according to NetMarketShare, while Apple has a 55 per cent share with Safari.