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This entire article is naively assuming Google is operating in good faith. Android already has this popup. If they want to change it to say "this could potentially be dangerous", I have no qualms with that.
But that's not what they want. They want to kill sideloading. It couldn't be more clear. And if they can't kill it, they want a piece of the action. They want to be more like Apple.
Absolutely this. This is a solution looking for a problem. There are plenty of obvious ways to make sideloading hard for the average user, but keeping it available to power users. This is not Google's goal. Google wants to play gatekeeper for their Android platform.
Same old sanewashing like anything else in today's media.
Everyone who installs apps outside of Google Play, already knows, that these apps are not verified by Google.
In the best case it will be just a next annoying pop-up. However it's such a straightforward idea, I think Google thought about it earlier and intentionaly won't add this option.
I think Google thought about it earlier and intentionaly won’t add this option
This is very likely true. Samat is almost certainly engaging malicious PR.
Another point to add to this, I don't care what Google's verification of an app entails. There's tonnes of malware on the app store, their word means nothing about security of the end user.
I had to go out of my way to install the app for my huawei watch after they removed it from the play store. Not only a popup like in other pkgs but also allow it in another menu. Security is not the reason Google wants this new restriction.
Doesnt sideloading already require manual steps to enable it, including a "pop-up"?
Who is accidentally sideloading apps without realizing it? Is that actually a thing that happens? I dont believe it.
Can't speak to other Android versions but mine just asks something along the line of "Do you want to allow this app to install other apps?". There's not really any mention of potentially malicious software. So I don't doubt some old people are being told by scammers to install some scammy app.
But the solution is not to create more "trusted" nonsense, it's to improve the disclosures.
Except the scammers have no problems getting apps approved by google. A lot of scams will use something like anydesk or teamviewer. While im sure it can happen, ive never in all of scambaiting seen a scammer resort to needing to sideload anything.
Wasn't one of Epic's wins vs Google that the sideloading wording was malicious which made people scared of sideloading normal apps, so they made it little less malicious
Never heard about that
Sounds like a very deseperate idea and one that will almost certainly not be implemented. If you are already at the bargaining stage where you are offering objectively bad and annoying alternatives then you've already lost.
Yes, it does seem that alternatives like PostmarketOS and perhaps SailfishOS are the only real options.
So 100,000 shitty data harvesting apps are fine - but we can’t let another ICEBlock get published without having a throat to choke
Fuck you Google for kneeling you fucking bitches
King T hasn't been a fan of big tech. This sounds like it could be part of the intent, but I wonder if there aren't better ways to appease a pathetic toddler like Apple's suck up gold trophy. It's an interesting choice for sure.
“Maybe it’ll use your Google account as the signature so you would be able to sign apps for yourself only. Still not a fan of that but better than taking away sideloading altogether.”
The article said something I don't like in that it could be tied to a Google account, but for those of us who don't have and don't want a Google account, that would be a roadblock and effectively amount to the same thing.
Mind you, those of us who do not want, do not have, and do not desire to have a Google account, probably aren't using Google Apps and services on their device, and so they wouldn't have this anyway, but still.
Samat was doing damage control, trying to clarify Google’s position on the new developer identity requirements
The article uses "damage control". I wonder if the pushback Google has gotten on this is really enough to warrant the term damage control.
I don‘t think this popup is any improvement to the current situation. Users that are tricked into installing malware already see a similar popup - and despite the warnings, tens of thousands of devices are getting infected with malware this way.