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

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522 points josephcsible | 3 comments | 13 Oct 25 15:24 UTC | HN request time: 0.205s | source
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itg ◴[13 Oct 25 16:13 UTC] No.45570037[source]▶
Installing any app I want outside the Play Store was the primary reason I decided to go with Android, despite most of the people I know using iPhones. If I can't do this anymore, I may as well switch and be able to use iMessage and FaceTime with them.
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jadbox ◴[13 Oct 25 16:29 UTC] No.45570261[source]▶
You can still install apps outside the play store, but the developer does need to verify their signing information. Effectively this means that any app you install must have a paper trail to the originating developer, even if its not on the app store. On one hand, I can see the need for this to track down virus creators, but on the other, it provides Google transparency and control over side loaded app. It IS a concerning move, but currently this is far from 'killing' non-appstore apps for most of the market.
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1. AdmiralAsshat ◴[13 Oct 25 18:24 UTC] No.45571700[source]▶
So let's pick a random example app that might be popular on F-Droid today. Oh, I dunno...newpipe.

Given that Google both owns Android/Google Play Store and YouTube: what do you think they would do with the developer information of someone who makes an app that skirts their ad-model for YouTube?

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2. ACCount37 ◴[13 Oct 25 19:05 UTC] No.45572107[source]▶
I can't help but feel that this move is aimed specifically at ReVanced.

The "security" wording is the usual corpospeak - you can always trust "security" to mean "the security of our business model, of course, why are you asking?"

3. constantcrying ◴[13 Oct 25 19:57 UTC] No.45572660[source]▶
Exactly. I don't think Google is doing this so that people don't install some random FOSS alternatives through F-Droid.

Things like Newpipe seems much more of a target, especially if you want to take legal action. More so than stopping users, this gives Google fat more leverage about what Apps can exist. If they ever want to stop Newpipe a serious lawsuit against whoever signed the APK seems like an effective way to shut down the whole project. Certainly more effective then a constant battle between constraining them and them finding ways to circumvent the constraints.