Half arse solutions that will not work.

This is just like when they threatened to take ad blocking away from Chrome. They backed down once or twice. Then they went ahead and did it.

Remember, the only reason they're going after sideloading is ad blockers. They don't care if you torrent (steal content from others — their worst-case scenario for that use case, not my opinion) or emulate (emulators are in the Play Store... and the App Store on the Apple side). They just don't want you blocking ads.

Consider, on an iPhone, which cannot block ads at the HOSTS level, so you use DNS filtering (which I'm pretty sure is how un-rooted Android phones do it as well). This routes all ad hosts (or at least most of them, the goal is to get them all but it's a cat-and-mouse game of whack-a-mole) into a wall (localhost) and lets legitimate traffic through. If you use any Google app, the app will actually tunnel around your DNS filter to force ads onto your device. That is a thing Google does... on iPhone. I'm not sure if they do it on Android as well. Probably do. On Android, I Google via Firefox with uBlock Origin. On iPhone, I mean using the Google app itself (which is a mistake for that reason). Obviously if you have Safari (or any browser, they all route through Safari's engine) and a decent content blocker, you can go to Google.com and get pages without ads.

The best reasons to use Android over iPhone have been taken away by Google. First, Android was never open source — AOSP was, and is. Android that ships on phones is not open source, and most of the commercial Google apps (e.g. Gmail, Play Store) are not open source at all. AOSP does include an open source email app, but it is very basic. When the iPhone 7 removed the headphone jack, Google made fun of them for doing it, and then did the same thing the very next year. Google's own branded phones have never, ever given you a memory card slot. Not Nexus and not Pixel. The ones that have, are taking it away. When Apple stopped including chargers, again, they were shamed for it, and everyone followed suit. Now Google is coming for sideloading.

I'm not saying go get an iPhone. Apple has its own problems (the keyboard sucks for one; for two, Tim Cook keeps sucking up to fascists). But if Google is going to take away the advantages of Android, demand that the next Pixel be as powerful as the latest iPhone if it's going to be the same price, or demand that they stop selling your personal information. Tell them they can't have both. Or, you know, get an iPhone. It's five generations ahead, raw power wise, than the Pixel. The Pixel 10 (2025) has the processing power of the iPhone 11 (2019). That's fine if that's what you want and they're open source and you get a headphone jack and a memory card and they don't sell your personal data. If they wanna take all those things and sell your personal data, demand they make the phone comparative to the latest iPhone. Or grow a pair and take your money elsewhere.

I'm not saying take your business to Apple, though that's what I did. Even as an iPhone guy, I like what Samsung's doing. I like what the OnePlus 15 is doing, except I hear its cameras aren't great. Still kinda want one. I remember the old OnePlus phones couldn't be used in the US. Now that "everyone" does 5G, I'm sure it can be used, I'm just not sure it supports all the bands. But it's Android, and it's an Android fork that is designed to look like iOS. Which is weird. If I have just one phone, I don't care, give me the best experience. But as a guy with a 2024 iPhone and a 2019 Android (Galaxy S10), if I replace my old Android phone, I don't want it to be an iPhone clone, I want it... to be an Android phone. Though, I'd much rather have a Linux phone. They're making them, it's not exactly a pipe dream, but they aren't competitive and they aren't everywhere yet.

It feels unclear just how much friction they're adding here to installing from an apk. Near the end it says

Meanwhile, work on a “dedicated account type for students and hobbyists” continues. This will allow for app distribution to a “limited number of devices without going through the full verification requirements.”

Does that mean the way to install unverified apps will require a special type of account, and only be useful for disceminating a small number of an app you're working on or something?

I think thats a separate thing that thing they were already doing, hence "meanwhile... work continues", but I really wish it was worded less ambiguously

How generous of them that we’re allowed to install software on our mobile computers that we own.

I feel like experienced users is going to be people who know how to use ADB, which means that they didn't change anything from their original statement. That's just my concern.

Remember when Google backed off the changes to Chrome that prevented adblockers from working and a short time later implemented those changes anyway? Why TF would Google start caring about what users want now, especially since this issue is way less visible to most people? Google wants people to think they have a voice about what happens with Android, not to actually give them one.

Blocking side loading will force apps and any generated revenue into Google's Play store which is exactly the point of this no matter what Google says.

The bloviating Google is doing now is irrelevant. The company will move forward with blocking side loading within the next few months, guaranteed.

What counts as "experienced"? Because I'm capable of installing a custom ROM

so we gotta pass exams to sideload now? /jk

Honestly if they add a test you have to pass to install anything even from the Play Store and this test blocks my mum, I'm all here for it. 😑 Some people ought to just not be allowed to install apps.

I've been using Android since gingerbread, does that make me an "experienced user"?

I am concerned that they haven't explained how they're going to implement this for (and who counts as) experienced users.

I am also concerned that they have probably found a work around to get what they want while paying us lip service.

Why google is doing this? I just want to download apps from F-Driod. I just want to install software on a device that I own!

Give me root assholes. I'll show you experience.

We are designing this flow specifically to resist coercion, ensuring that users aren’t tricked into bypassing these safety checks while under pressure from a scammer. It will also include clear warnings to ensure users fully understand the risks involved, but ultimately, it puts the choice in their hands.

That sounds great actually! Lets see how they actually implement it though. After how they communicated this previously, I'm hesitant to get my hopes up.

A one hour cooldown period, a scammer would not want to be on the phone with you for over an hour to try to wait for the timer to run out, and any experienced user will enable it when they very first get their phone, so won't have to ever deal with it again. LOL.

Does anyone have one of these phones https://linuxstans.com/linux-phone/ and can say anything about it?
Other Linuxphones would be fine by me as well :)

[rant]
I'm strongly feeling there's an end coming for using Android in the way I used to.
Google Play Integrity bullshit is putting the nail in the coffin, if killing F-Droid doesn't come first.
Too many lickspittle app developers cave to Google's monopoly.
Then again, I was able to grow up without a portable computer and while the world has changed quite a bit since that, I'm sure I can go back to that.
[/rant]

What is and experience user

Dear GrapheneOS or Linux, please create a usable phone ASAP. They are all crazy. Sincerely.

Google says verification forces bad actors to use “real identity to distribute malware, making attacks significantly harder and more costly to scale.”

You are already doing that and somehow there is still malware in YOUR APP STORE

Kindly fuck right off a cliff into a mountain of cati Google

So they're backing out, but in a way that would still conveniently kill f-droid?

The mere phasing of it as them "letting" users do it shows that they fundamentally Do Not Get It and are still failing to respect device owners' property rights.

Fuck Google

I've already switched my pc to Linux. I'm willing to switch my phone to Linux too. My only problem with current alternatives is that none of them feel like a finished product Software-wise. And hardware-wise I have a galaxy ultra so the downgrade would be a lot especially in the performance and cameras.

We need a Linux based/Open-source alternative that could compete with the likes of Apple, Google, and Samsung. It's not impossible especially with current available technology, but I can see why the market incentives are very low.

I was hoping new laws could at least keep the status quo for a bit longer but it turns out as always relying on politicians is a bad idea.

There's a thread about this on HN that I'm having trouble finding now, but I looked at it a couple days ago. It said you'll be able to install unverified programs, but other programs will be able to tell that you have done so. E.g. your banking app could consider your phone "contaminated" and refuse to run, if it knows you're running something unverified, that's presumptively intercepting your typing or whatever.

So are they requiring ADB installations or what?

This is good. I have time to PLAN the de-googlification. Nice.

Wished Apple would do this.

"Install" is the word they're deliberately not using.

sideload

What counts as an experienced user?