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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

#461

Post by tredre3 »

supern0va wrote: post #439
wswin wrote: post #387

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what's your solution to combat scammers?

Would you support Microsoft doing the same thing to Windows? These are general purpose computing devices. It's sure taking a long time, but Cory Doctorow's talk on the war on general purpose computing is sure starting to become a depressing reality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUEvRyemKSg

Microsoft is doing the same thing, they call it S-mode. A surprisingly large amount of computers are sold with Windows S. Thankfully S-Mode can usually be disabled even if your computer shipped with it enabled.

   Windows S mode is a streamlined version of Windows designed for enhanced security and performance, allowing only apps from the Microsoft Store and requiring Microsoft Edge for safe browsing.

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

#462

Post by [deleted] »

cxr wrote: post #293
VladVladikoff wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Ruining Android for everyone Are they really though? does the average person really care about side loading? I think we are in an echo chamber. I can't picture any of the people in my life installing things from outside of an app store on their phone. However I realize that's purely anecdotal, it would be nice to see actual statistics on this to have a more informed decision.

It sounds like you're not grasping the meaning of the linguistic construction being used by the person you're quoting. (Or you're being deliberately deceptive about your understanding of their intent. But it's probably just the former. I'm guessing you're ESL.) "Ruining Android for everyone" ( "to try to maybe help some" ) does not mean, "Android is now ruined for X, for all X." It means, perhaps confusingly, pretty…

[deleted]

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

#463

Post by rozap »

plst wrote: post #194
hbn wrote: 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…

I parked in a garage in downtown Tacoma, Washington. The only option to pay was via an app. So I downloaded the app (by walking outside to where there was cell service, because I was, you know, underground in a garage) at which point it threw an internal server error when adding my card. There was no attendant on duty, and no way to pay with a credit card. So I left - just drove out of the garage. Then a few months later I got a fine for $75 for not paying. Then I called them to dispute it, and they offered to waive most of it, but it was still more than if I had been able to pay the fee initially.

I'm sure it was sold to the garage as a way to "maximize revenue and unlock operational efficiency". And sure enough, look, the revenue number is up and to the right. Working as designed.

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

#464

Post by torben-friis »

Kwpolska wrote: post #309
torben-friis wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Having to wait a day for a one off isn't a big deal It's my phone. It's my software. Period. The general population is deterred by burying a setting deep. Waiting is a dark pattern and we're not idiots.

Scammers can coerce people into ignoring warnings if they convince them their entire life savings are on the line. It's hard to do if you need to wait 24 hours before the setting unlocks.

Scammers can also convince people to give them their home's keys. Does not allow you to keep me from opening my door without the door maker's permission.

As a non American, losing my ability to run software even if google decides that software can't enter their store feels much higher a risk.

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

#465

Post by marak830 »

darkwater wrote: post #214

They have now successfully turned the temperature knob from 2 to 5. I wonder what 7 will be.

Non-playstore applications will have restricted access(sms/telephony), and bit by bit the screws will be tightened.

"Only 0.0004% of the userbase installs after the initial 24 period, greater than x% take 48 hours or more so the 24hr window is now 72hr", and repeat until its all nice and locked down for them.

"Your google play account will now need ID to prevent children accessing adult software" will come along not long after. For the children.

-.-

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

#466

Post by kogasa240p »

At this point the meta for tech inclined people is to go full dumbphone, get a UMPC with SIM card support, cobble together a cyberdeck with a SIM module, or building an ESP32 powered cellphone (https://www.xda-developers.com/someone-made-a-4g-esp32-smart...). RIP F-Droid.

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

#468

Post by kogasa240p »

mzajc wrote: 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…

>I wonder how long this will last before they lock it down further. As soon as the dust settles probably.

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

#469

Post by nout »

There are multiple apps that I know and want to use that are no longer available on Play Store, but only via Zapstore, Obtanium or similar. I'm just hoping that these changes don't affect solutions like GrapheneOS or that we will soon get linux based phone that's good...

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

#470

Post by whatshisface »

wswin wrote: post #387
tavavex wrote: post #271

The part in the flow where you select between allowing app installs for 7 days or forever is a glimpse into the future. That toggle shows the thought process that's going on at Google. I can bet that a few versions down the line, the "Not recommended" option of allowing installs indefinitely will become so not recommended that they'll remove it outright. Then shrink the 7 day window to 3 days or less. Or only give us…

what's your solution to combat scammers?

Let's say I'm sitting outside of your office with a bazooka and boxes of high explosives. You ask my why, and I say, "someone might try to rob this office." You say, "somehow, that does not persuade me that a stranger should loiter outside of my workplace with a massive stockpile of ordinance." I reply, "what's your solution to combat robberies?"
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