Android will let ‘experienced users’ sideload unverified apps as Google makes case for verification

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.

3 comments

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