Comment by goodusername
4 days ago
Although I'm slightly relieved there is a way out of Googles verification system, it's still pretty wild if you compare this to installing software on a Windows pc. I'm sure Microsoft is heading in the same direction with Windows, but today its still "only" a few confirmations to install anything.
This will sadly still put a major damper on adoption of open source apps, while giving a false sense of security that apps from the Play store are safe.
Years down the road, the low usage of apps installed from outside the Play store will be used as an argument for removing the functionality completely.
There's an interesting subset of Windows machines out there running in "S" mode [1]. This mode restricts the customer to only using applications from the Windows Store.
We get occasional support tickets about the popups that come when trying to run a regular installer while in this mode. Luckily, people can disable "S" mode, but there's no way to re-enable "S" mode without a fresh install.
1: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/switching-out-of...
Yes, that is what happens with UWP applications, or sandboxing apps installed via the store with MSIX package identity.
Apple has been doing it for years not allowing "unsigned" software to be installed using the same "for the safety of the user" even against the user's wishes.
And they should remain the outlier.