155
Google wants to make sideloading Android apps safer by verifying developersβ identities
(androidauthority.com)
Lmao "safer" FOH monopolistic pieces of shit.
this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2025
155 points (89.7% liked)
Android
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An accurate title would read something like: Google wants to make side loading apps more difficult by adding extra steps under the guise of security in order to maintain market dominance and continue spying on the user.
I've never wanted to get all my devices totally detached from google until recently.
They are going full mask off right now.
They're prepping to be the surveillance service for the global fascist oligarchy.
Yay, Google adding another hurdle for alternative app stores and their developers...
F-Droid store/repo is safer than Google Play Store. Google's own store has many shady apps, including spyware and occasionnal malware.
I don't get the argument that Play Store is safer than others.
Google play services is spyware
I know my sideloaded apps are safe. I have far less confidence with the apps Google allows in their App Store.
Sure, to make it safer in the same way Microsoft made you safer by making it harder to install Linux with UEFI.
Isn't it actually easier with UEFI since you can have multiple bootloaders and updating windows doesn't overwrite any other bootloaders? I think the issue arises from secureboot
The person you replied to is probably talking about this: https://wiki.debian.org/UEFI#Force_grub-efi_installation_to_the_removable_media_path
Ridiculous, mother of bullshit! Switching to Linux appears to be the only option left for a personal computing device.
I really hope phones get better Linux support soon... it really isn't daily driver material for most phones at the moment.
In this time and age, do you still doubt that Linux might be outlawed for consumers? To prevent criminal activity, of course /s.
They already consider you a criminal if you use grapheneOS on a pixel. It's not a joke.
Just turn off Google Play Protect and it'll let you sideload whatever you want.
Where did you hear this? I've seen a couple of articles on this now but none of them have mentioned its specifically play protect or that it can be turned off
You can't seriously actually trust that turning it off in the Google owned app they control or update will be meaningful. I'm really sick of people claiming it is, and I hope this will get them to realize that.
If you want to crush it fully, disable google play store as a whole, and make sure to tell your friends too because if that solution doesn't get more popular there might not be third party apps to install since the devs will just quit.
I dunno, you're the one claiming stuff that isn't necessarily true (yet). This is a proposed update to Google Play Protect. You don't have to have Google Play Protect enabled, and disabling it doesn't really impact anything unless you're the type of person to just download an apk from unverified sources.
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Let Android be free, fuck off Google.
Every year that goes by mobile computing gets less and less interesting.
Might as well just buy the cheapest one that will do the job and call it done. So sense in spending top dollar very often when it is just a severely limited black box, like a video game console.
At some point that stops being sideloading.
( Ν‘Β° ΝΚ Ν‘Β°)
Hopefully there are Linux phones available in near future.
If not, I'll probably buy an iPhone. When both phone OS are locked down, might as well get the one that's supported for years.
Fairphone have 7 years of guaranteed support, possibly longer with custom Roms. :P
Not available in India unfortunately.
Clove Technology ships worldwide, but you might have to deal with your country's customs and might have to pay import fees.
Even if you can buy it, you can't file a warranty return if you are outside Fairphone's small support area.
Fairphone has guaranteed 0 years of support in my country.
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Year of the Linux phone in 2026?
In the meantime, we're already verifying signatures for sideloaded apps. Can't say the same about play store apps.
Great, Apple style app notarization is just about the last thing I want on my damn phone.
Glad i run only LineageOS with no gapps.
I wonder if this will do the same thing that happened to Windows when Windows 11 wouldn't support older devices and people switched on mass to Linux.
Either way, you're gonna have a bifurcated Android. One Android for the plebs where Google controls everything, and one Android for those who know where Google controls nothing.
Sounds like this is going to stop things like me telling my friend to install new pipe from afteroid because they can skip YouTube ads.
Oh I see someone already made a post. I can't see how this is enforceable except for highly modifying the OS. It would have to be enforced at the device level correct,?
It'll be part of Google Play "Protect", part of "gapps" not AOSP. Manufacturers have to ship all of gapps or none. Its not clear if this will block installs/updates, add a nag screen occasionally or fully block running these apps/disable them.
This is the equivalent of Apples Notarization which they just used to block apps after the EU told them to allow users to install apps.
So disable play protect and this goes away
Edit: I do want to add that I HOPE this is what is needed to bypass this... If they block my modded and github APKs I'm going to go fucking nuclear
EDIT: further research shows this will not be based on play protect but will be implemented in the APK itself. I hope this shit can be patched out because you know Google is doing to do this with YouTube to kill revanced
So disable play protect and this goes away
You'll probably have to disable Play Store for it to go away, Turning off Play Protect isn't very effective anyway. Even with it off it has still disabled apps automatically and warned me. I disabled Play Store and the behavior went away.
EDIT: further research shows this will not be based on play protect but will be implemented in the APK itself. I hope this shit can be patched out because you know Google is doing to do this with YouTube to kill revanced
I think you might be confusing this with App Integrity which Google offers to developers to include in their apps, this change is to prevent people from installing their own apps, likely with a dialogue to interrupt it. Play Protect can already interrupt installations asking you to agree or not. That's in all likelihood the mechanic they'll use to enforce this.
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