Comment by bitpush
1 day ago
Isnt the title a bit dramatic? I remember reading you can still install apps but you just need to click a few buttons.
1 day ago
Isnt the title a bit dramatic? I remember reading you can still install apps but you just need to click a few buttons.
In addition to what others have said, it means some developers who were building for Android are going to stop. You can't install an app when someone is obstructed from building it in the first place.
> every Android app developer must register centrally with Google before their software can be installed on any device. Not just Play Store apps: all apps.
> Registration requires:
> Paying a fee to Google
> Agreeing to Google's Terms and Conditions
> Surrendering your government-issued identification
> Providing evidence of your private signing key
> Listing all current and all future application identifiers
Google is not an entity you can can trust with this.
From TFA:
You left out the crucial bit:
that seems better, not worse, that they don't implement this on OS level, so no gapps users are not affected at all
Sounds a bit like trying to transfer my own money to myself at the bank. I.e. it seems designed to prevent old people getting scammed.
That's exactly what this is: Google is trying to prevent tech illiterate users from installing malware.
(Or at least, that's their take on this. You can choose to read between the lines, or not, as to whether they have other motivations also.)
6 replies →
Yes! That is because banking malware is specifically what is being targeted here: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2026/03/android-de...
To be fair, that's a one time process. You do not need to do that for every app you want to sideload.
The malware issue that the flow is designed to mitigate is a very real problem. Perhaps there is a better way, but it's not immediately clear what that is.
I see zero trouble as long as it requires no additional identification, no additional payment, and no mandatory time limit for the sideloaded apps.
That is, fine by me. I can wait for 24 hours once in a few years when I acquire a new mobile phone.
You are thinking about it from the point of view of an enthusiast/hacker who wants to put their homebrew stuff on it. But this is also tightening around developers who may want to distribute their applications to lay users.
11 replies →
Why would you do all that to install an app in a device that you own? It's bollocks.
11 replies →
>Wait 24 hours
Somehow bank vaults and heroin storage boxes don’t take this long.
The 24 hour wait period is so the scammer can't use the element of urgency to keep the victim on the phone where they don't have the opportunity to speak with trusted friends/family who would stop the scam.
1 reply →
This isn't referring to the efforts Google has gone to try to thwart sideloading.
It is another requirement of Google's, where all developers must be registered to them and apps must be signed by them and anything that isn't will be blocked.
From NewPipe : https://github.com/woheller69/FreeDroidWarn?tab=readme-ov-fi...
I wouldn't consider this "a few buttons", it's enough to turn off the less savvy users
Less savy and unmotivated users.. maybe? Whats the main use cases for newpipe? Let me guess: get premium features for free (no ads, downloads etc).
Do you think people wont click 9 buttons and wait 24hs for this?
Its like people forgot how pirated windows/sw used to run on millions (billions) on devices in the past until ads (and some convenience from non-so-cheap-anymore subscriptions) became the norm