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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: 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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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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JohnFen ◴[13 Oct 25 19:07 UTC] No.45572133[source]▶
> currently this is far from 'killing' non-appstore apps for most of the market.

It means that Android is no longer suitable for my own private dev projects.

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gabrielhidasy ◴[13 Oct 25 19:40 UTC] No.45572500[source]▶
If it's for your own projects, for yourself only, ADB still works without this verification.
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1. JohnFen ◴[13 Oct 25 20:09 UTC] No.45572797[source]▶
True, although using adb requires the use of the usb port, which for some of my projects is highly impractical.

Also, with this move, Google has made it very clear that they don't want people to have any real control over their machines -- so I'm not inclined to think that using adb to work around the problem will always be possible.

It's fine, though. My hobby projects will continue into the future, just probably without using Android.

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2. spogbiper ◴[13 Oct 25 20:34 UTC] No.45573053[source]▶
I didn't think a usb port was required since the introduction of wifi adb?

https://www.androidpolice.com/use-wireless-adb-android-phone...

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3. alex7o ◴[13 Oct 25 22:56 UTC] No.45574211[source]▶
I know that this is how shizuku (0) does it and it is required anyway if you want to install multi apk applications so stiff won't change for most people then?

(0): https://shizuku.rikka.app/