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Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

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Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#251
post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People who are unwilling to figure out the risks just should not use smartphones and the internet. That train has left the station decades ago. The internet has become an essential part of modern societies. People can't not use the internet (or smartphones), at least if they don't live in the woods.

Have you read my comment in full?

I have, and I have the same objection. Do you have a response to it other than “change society to 15 years ago”?

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#252
post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked at a bank on the backend for architecture and security.. and I've posted this attestation here before, but the sheer volume of fraud and fraud attempts in the whole network is astonishing. Our device fingerprinting and no-jailbreak-rules weren't even close to an attempt at control. It was defense, based on network volume and hard losses. Should we ever suffer a significant loss of customer identity data and/…

Then don't issue an app. Issue people cards to pay with and let them come to the bank for weird transactions.

That'd be great, if your goal was to hemorrhage customers.

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#253

24 hour mandatory wait time to side load!? All apps I want to use on my phone are not in the Play Store. So I buy a new phone (or wipe a used phone) and then I can’t even use it for 24 hours?

1) The one-time, one-day waiting period only applies if you go through the advanced flow to allow installing unregistered apps. You can still install registered apps (ie. apps made by developers who have verified their identity) even if they're distributed outside the Play Store. 2) You can use ADB to immediately install unregistered apps. ADB installs are not subject to the waiting period.

So let's say I'm F-Droid, an organization making a direct competitor to the Google Play Store and openly pointing out how much scammy shit is available in that store. My options are 1) submit my identity to Google (my competitor) so they can identify me and choose to revoke that verification at any point, or 2) I can tell all my users that they must go through these scary dialogs AND wait 1 day before they can use my competing product? That's cool, glad we've got the options laid out in front of us.

I forgot 3) instruct my users how to use ADB from another computer to install my competing app. Awesome.

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#254
post #194
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People who are unwilling to figure out the risks just should not use smartphones and the internet. Sounds great in theory, but just today I was reminded how impossible this is when walking back from lunch, I noticed all the parking meters covered with a hood, labelled with instructions on how to pay with the app. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/city-of-regina-r...

What do you mean by impossible in this case? Can't you just have the coin-operated parking meters back? Where I live, in EU, parking meters even take cards. EDIT: I guess "just" is doing some heavy-lifting, so I won't argue this further, but "impossible" isn't the word I would use either. The city could revert this decision, definitely if enough people wanted them to (that's... I know, the hardest part). I just agree…

No because those cost more to maintain than the digital ones. Nobody is restoring the budget that got cut because the meters got cheaper.

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#255
post #35

This is going to hurt legitimate sideloading way more than actually necessary to reduce scams: - Must enable developer mode -- some apps (e.g., banking apps) will refuse to operate and such when developer mode is on, and so if you depend on such apps, I guess you just can't sideload? - One-day (day!!!) waiting period to activate (one-time) -- the vast majority of people who need to sideload something will probably no…

> - Must enable developer mode -- some apps (e.g., banking apps) will refuse to operate and such when developer mode is on, and so if you depend on such apps, I guess you just can't sideload? What apps are those? I've yet to run into any of my banking apps that refuse to run with developer mode enabled. I've seen a few that do that for rooted phones but that's a different story. I've been running android for a decade…

Brazil government app refuses to operate with developer mode on

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could torture the analogy more and say that this is more like saying "it is possible to make bad food and kill yourself at home, so we require everyone to go to a restaurant."

Well, I mean, do you know many houses burn down because someone fell asleep while frying a pork chop? We should just get rid of kitchens at home because it's just not safe.

The unmonitored copying alone!

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#257
post #150
post #87

At this point I'm convinced that there's something deeply wrong with how our society treats technology. Ruining Android for everyone to try to maybe help some rather technologically-hopeless groups of people is the wrong solution. It's unsustainable in the long run. Also, the last thing this world needs right now is even more centralization of power. Especially around yet another US company. People who are unwilling…

> People who are unwilling to figure out the risks just should not use smartphones and the internet. Sounds great in theory, but just today I was reminded how impossible this is when walking back from lunch, I noticed all the parking meters covered with a hood, labelled with instructions on how to pay with the app. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/city-of-regina-r...

This cuts both ways. Since smartphones are becoming such an essential necessity, we should never ever remove the possibility to adjust these devices for our own requirements

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#258
post #2

tl;dr: - You need to enable developer mode - You need to click through a few scare dialogs - You need to wait 24h once I wonder how long this will last before they lock it down further. There was a lot of pushback this time around and they still ended up increasing the temperature of the metaphorical boiling frog. It still seems like they're pushing towards the Apple model where those who don't want to self-dox and/o…

its so obvious what the real goal is. No sideloading. Period. But nice of them to show their intentions while still giving time to leave.

Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps

#260
post #181

This is going to hurt legitimate sideloading way more than actually necessary to reduce scams: - Must enable developer mode -- some apps (e.g., banking apps) will refuse to operate and such when developer mode is on, and so if you depend on such apps, I guess you just can't sideload? - One-day (day!!!) waiting period to activate (one-time) -- the vast majority of people who need to sideload something will probably no…

That is working as intended. Google wants to kill side loading.

Google wants to kill installing apps outside of playstore.

Installing apps manually or through another store app is not "sideloading".

Sideloading is the new jaywalking, a newish word to pretend that a pretty normal action would be in any way illegal, dangerous or harmful.

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