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

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522 points josephcsible | 1 comments | 13 Oct 25 15:24 UTC | HN request time: 0.201s | 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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chasil ◴[13 Oct 25 17:17 UTC] No.45570888[source]▶
If Google provides a permanent mechanism to disable this in developer settings, then this devolves to an inconvenience.

The setting to allow unsigned apps could be per appstore tracked by an on-device sqlite database, so a badly-behaving app will be known by its installer.

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sidewndr46 ◴[13 Oct 25 17:27 UTC] No.45571000[source]▶
Have you read anything about this? What you are proposing is exactly what is being disabled.
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chasil ◴[13 Oct 25 17:42 UTC] No.45571204[source]▶
Let's say that Google implements this restriction, but allows F-Droid a permanent permission to disable it for apps installed through their store.

Then there is both increased protection and accountability.

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1. pessimizer ◴[13 Oct 25 19:28 UTC] No.45572361[source]▶
No, I like F-Droid, but I don't want them to need an official Google status to operate, or for anyone who wants to compete with F-Droid to have to obtain that special status.

edit: because the next step would be Google paying F-Droid a half-billion dollars for default search engine placement, or something else stupid. It becomes a captured organization, an excuse subsidiary.