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

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522 points josephcsible | 2 comments | 13 Oct 25 15:24 UTC | HN request time: 0s | 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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JohnTHaller ◴[13 Oct 25 19:19 UTC] No.45572259[source]▶
You can still side-load signed apps. It's a similar limitation to macOS which won't let you run apps that Apple hasn't signed without command line or control panel shenanigans. Compared to iOS, Android still has the advantage of installing your own full browser (like Firefox) with full-fat ad blocking (uBlock Origin, not Lite). iOS is Safari-only right now though, in theory, some alternative engines may be available in Europe later.
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1. ptrl600 ◴[13 Oct 25 19:56 UTC] No.45572649[source]▶
With macOS you run "sudo spctl --master disable", and then you can run whatever you want without sending PII to Apple. Is that the case with the new Android stuff?
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2. flawn ◴[13 Oct 25 22:44 UTC] No.45574126[source]▶
No, the closest would be rooting your phone but then you can't use banking apps properly (there are loopholes to spoof integrity but they are slowly coming to an end as verification runs on TEE)