Google will block sideloading of unverified Android apps starting next year

El Muerto

El Muerto

Member
It seems like all those emulator handhelds might be safe as they're not official Android devices. But when it comes to phones, or licensed android tv boxes, there may be some .apk files we cannot install. Hoping the custom rom scene resurges like when Android phones first came out.
Google plans to create a streamlined Android Developer Console, which devs will use if they plan to distribute apps outside of the Play Store. After verifying their identities, developers will have to register the package name and signing keys of their apps. Google won't check the content or functionality of the apps, though.
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Google says that only apps with verified identities will be installable on certified Android devices, which is virtually every Android-based device—if it has Google services on it, it's a certified device. If you have a non-Google build of Android on your phone, none of this applies. However, that's a vanishingly small fraction of the Android ecosystem outside of China.

Google plans to begin testing this system with early access in October of this year. In March 2026, all developers will have access to the new console to get verified. In September 2026, Google plans to launch this feature in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. The next step is still hazy, but Google is targeting 2027 to expand the verification requirements globally.
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arstechnica.com

Google will block sideloading of unverified Android apps starting next year

Google says it’s no different than checking IDs at the airport.
arstechnica.com arstechnica.com
 
Not a good moment for the freedom of Android. I still toy with the idea of going back to it, but this doesn't fill me with confidence.
 
free freedom GIF
 
Though truthfully it's because on most APK lists the top downloads are SmartTube and some firm of Vanced/ReVanced, so they're pretty salty about YouTube revenue.
 
So what's the point of buying an Android phone if you can't put whatever you want on it? Might as well buy an iPhone like everyone else at that point.
 
Bojji said:
Fuck them.

I wonder how it will look on EU market.
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this sounds illigal in the EU tbh. because that's exactly why Apple had to open up iOS and allow sideloading, so that there's no monopoly on who decides what is allowed on the platform and what isn't
 
People are saying it's because of Chat control. EU does not want anyone sideloading modified apps and there is a law against unlocking bootloader which was recently passed in the EU.

Say goodbye to your favorite modified Youtube apps, emulators and manga reading apps.

Fuck them. Just make a new Linux phone.
 
Magister said:
People are saying it's because of Chat control. EU does not want anyone sideloading modified apps and there is a law against unlocking bootloader which was recently passed in the EU.

Say goodbye to your favorite modified Youtube apps, emulators and manga reading apps.

Fuck them. Just make a new Linux phone.
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Chat control is still in proposition phase AFAIK, I doubt this is anything to do with it.

It's on Google most likely and EU forced Apple to allow sideloading some time ago.
 
Even if i enable the dev options on the device???

Just don't fu*** mess with my Smartube, ok?
 
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It's been several years since I've owned an Android phone, but are custom firmwares and custom OSes still a thing? Back when I was in the Android ecosystem, they were often better than the OSes that came with most phones.

It seems like a CFW would solve this problem.
 
Poppinfresh said:
It's been several years since I've owned an Android phone, but are custom firmwares and custom OSes still a thing? Back when I was in the Android ecosystem, they were often better than the OSes that came with most phones.

It seems like a CFW would solve this problem.
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Alot of these new phones in the past 5 years or so have a locked bootloader so custom roms cannot be installed. I think the only newer phone that can do custom roms are the Pixel phones and chinese phones like Xiaomi
 
ugh, more and more i hate google
I wish there is alternative, but dang, it's hard to fight their influence in anything
Even I cannot work without them and mic$
Cyberpunk themed movie/game/book was right all along : /
 
Poppinfresh said:
It's been several years since I've owned an Android phone, but are custom firmwares and custom OSes still a thing? Back when I was in the Android ecosystem, they were often better than the OSes that came with most phones.

It seems like a CFW would solve this problem.
Click to expand...
Lots of devices can have custom roms flashed to them, ironically the Google Pixel is the most "open".

Unfortunately for app developers - they'll either need to comply with this (so that their app can be put on the Play Store or F-Droid) or not, meaning their app could only be installed from custom roms not subject to this change.
 
The only reason why I still buy android devices, tablets and phones is because of sideloading apps from Github. When this gets blocked I will switch to apple.
 
If Google makes everything about Android the same as iOS, then fuck it I'll just use iOS like the rest of my family. I'm literally the last Android holdout in my entire family
 
Isn't this exactly what they forced Apple to backtrack on, which is now why I can sideload apps on my iphone? How the hell do they think this will go over well?
 
Damn, were going to need someone big to properly fork Android if this goes through. Android is pretty much the most used OS in the world.
 
This seems to be in line with the massive censorship push that is happening all over the west right now. Seems like everyone is jealous of the control that China has over its citizens. And most people don't give a shit enough to care.
 
Ah, the old "it's free! it's open! use it however you want!... ok, now that everyone's using it, it's not free, it's not open, and you can't use it however you want anymore" strategy.
 
One clarification: it's the developers that have to be verified not the apps.

Fbh said:
Would you still be able to get past this by rooting your device?
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Yes, but there's a lot of apps that won't work on rooted devices (games that are trying not to be hacked.)
 
Also there's almost certainly going to be ways around this but it may involve registering yourself as a "hobbyist dev" and then doing your own builds of apps and whatnot.
 
Bojji said:
We need some fucking competition.

"Free market" is pretty much duopoly of Google and Apple...
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well thankfully Android is just a Linux based OS that is also technically open source.
there are already a ton of home made Android forks like Lineage OS, which aren't that hard to install either.

the biggest downsides these non-standard android versions have currently is that often the support for phone specific hardware is spotty.
so if you have a Galaxy Note/Ultra it might be that it will take a while for the S-Pen to properly work because whoever is maintaining the specific port for your device didn't get to that yet.
 
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Also I really don't think Europe will be protected by this. After all was said and done you can't install totally random apps on iOS in Europe. The developers are all still verified.

This is a specific requirement that device manufacturers decide as well, not necessarily Google.
 
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No way I'm sticking with Android if they ruin the only good thing about it. If so I'm going iOS aswell and actually get a nice UI too. I doubt Samsung is all that happy about this.
 
Can linux phones please hurry up.

I don't even care if they're older in terms of specs. Just a functional, competent phone with freedom built into its bones. Some form of waydroid integration as well to fill the app gap.
 
Retarded. Probably the biggest thing that differentiated them from their only competitor and they said "fuck that noise." because of "user safety"

How about just trust the user to not be retarded and let users suffer the consequences of doing dumb shit?
 
Android has fallen so far since the Nexus days
Really glad I held back on buying a new phone when my tax return came in
I'll just pick up a cheap old 'new' iphone every 2 or 3 years fuck it
 
Apple was right - again!
Android copying Apple - again!
Take that, iPhone haters! /s

Seriously, what are they thinking? That´s a terrible idea.
 
This sucks. They already locked you out of browsing your own files in certain system folders, now blocking .apk installs? Bullshit.
 
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