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Android's sideloading limits are its most anti-consumer move

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424 points josephcsible | 2 comments | 13 Oct 25 15:24 UTC | HN request time: 1.402s | source
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HiPhish ◴[13 Oct 25 16:27 UTC] No.45570232[source]▶
We need to stop calling it "sideloading", we should call it freely installing software. The term "sideloading" makes it sound shady and hacky when in reality it is what we have been able to do on our computers since forever. These are not phones, they are computers shaped like phones, computer which we fully bought with our money, and I we shall install what we want on our own computers.
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1. api ◴[13 Oct 25 18:20 UTC] No.45571652[source]▶
I always found this term utterly bizarre. It first showed up in the early days of the mobile "revolution" and felt astroturfed, since no developer would think we need a fundamentally new term for downloading software. It felt like something some dark patterns team came up with to discourage free installation of software on your own device.

Of course maybe I'm overthinking it. It's common for people deep in the bowels of an industry to invent pointless jargon, like "deplane" for getting off an airplane. Anyone know where the term "sideload" was coined or by whom?

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2. ncr100 ◴[13 Oct 25 18:45 UTC] No.45571921[source]▶
No I don't know.

But: "side talking" Is a worthwhile distraction to Google and look at Nokia N-gage memes.

I prefer the term "unlocked install". Consumers are already familiar with the terms: locked phones and unlocked phones.