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Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

9to5google.com

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Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#31

Post by chenxiaolong »

If this is enforced via Play Protect, then the whole mechanism can likely be disabled with:

    adb shell settings put global package_verifier_user_consent -1
This does not require root access and prevents Android from invoking Play Protect in the first place. (This is what AOSP's own test suite does, along with other test suites in eg. Unreal Engine, etc.)

I personally won't be doing this verification for my open-source apps. I have no interest in any kind of business relationship with anyone just to publish an .apk. If that limits those who can install it to people who disable Play Protect globally, then oh well.

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#32

Post by _benj »

It seems that it was only about time… it just feels like the pace of enshittification with big tech being able to get away with anything is crazy!

I’m hoping that projects like Precursor can take off because we’ve buried ourselves in such mountain of complexity that seems like only a billion/trillion dollar big tech company can make an OS.

But then again, some body called BS on browsers and we might have a good option soon in Ladybug!

https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/precursor

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#34

Post by hagbard_c »

antiloper wrote: post #10

Why even run Android at that point anymore? iOS devices get security updates for longer and have much less data collection than stock Android. GrapheneOS won't survive the next generation of devices because bootloader unlocking will also go away ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44765939 ), and without kernel security updates that OS can't continue. Now there's also no more sideloading, so what purpose does Andr…

> Why even run Android at that point anymore? iOS devices get security updates for longer and have much less data collection than stock Android.

Because Google-free AOSP-derived Android distributions are far more versatile, offer far more freedom, impose far fewer restrictions and tend to end up being far less expensive than whatever the fruit factory decides their dedicants have to use today. If Google goes the way of the fruit folks and AOSP no longer offers these freedoms the next step is not to surrender to the Church of Apple but to find a way to evade those restrictions.

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#38

Post by 3036e4 »

shadowgovt wrote: post #7

This has the potential to be disastrous for Google, but maybe not. Personally: I don't use Apple because I like being able to whip together little apps to side-load without having to check in with a walled-garden mothership. If Google is going to move closer to Apple in that regard... Apple's UX ecosystem is better, so I have far fewer reason to keep using Android.

Android also allows apps that can run arbitrary code, like emulators and various other runtimes. I think iOS still doesn't? I have not written an Android app in ages, other than at work, but I often write silly little things running in the Löve 2D Loader, or TIC-80, or DOSBox, or just command-line tools running in Termux (I hear there is an X-server as well to run GUI applications from Termux?).

As long as they still allow running stuff inside of apps like that I will probably not abandon ship yet.

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#39

Post by prism56 »

EMIRELADERO wrote: post #19

So that's it then. If this actually goes through, there will be no option in the mobile OS market for an OS that both: a) allows the installation of apps without any contractual relationship with any party, and b) allows the use of mainstream and secure apps like banking

I'll just have to disable it and choose a banking app that works on the browser. Tonnes of my apps are sideloaded. Quite a few are on the playstore or the dev might upload their details.

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#40

Post by prism56 »

chenxiaolong wrote: post #31

If this is enforced via Play Protect, then the whole mechanism can likely be disabled with: adb shell settings put global package_verifier_user_consent -1 This does not require root access and prevents Android from invoking Play Protect in the first place. (This is what AOSP's own test suite does, along with other test suites in eg. Unreal Engine, etc.) I personally won't be doing this verification for my open-source…

What does this break?
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