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

arstechnica.com

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

#791

Post by frizlab »

pea wrote: post #636
lelandfe wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An actual example of this lives in the Gmail iOS app. Click a link in an email and every x days, a sheet appears: https://imgur.com/a/nlGS4Yk 1. Chrome 2. Google 3. Default browser app (w/unfamiliar generic logo) They removed the option for Safari some time in the last two years; here's how it looked in 2024: https://imgur.com/1iBVFfc And the cherry on top of dark UX patterns: an unchecked toggle rests at the bottom.…

The darkest UX pattern I have ever hit is trying to cancel Google Workspace; whereby they disable the scrollbar on the page so you cannot actually get to the cancel button.

Oh yes, I have had that! I tried disabling workspace for my brother-in-law through screen sharing and I thought it was a screen sharing issue. I successfully did it on my own computer but I’m glad to learn this was probably on purpose. I’m not crazy!

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

#792

Post by Macha »

pea wrote: post #636
lelandfe wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An actual example of this lives in the Gmail iOS app. Click a link in an email and every x days, a sheet appears: https://imgur.com/a/nlGS4Yk 1. Chrome 2. Google 3. Default browser app (w/unfamiliar generic logo) They removed the option for Safari some time in the last two years; here's how it looked in 2024: https://imgur.com/1iBVFfc And the cherry on top of dark UX patterns: an unchecked toggle rests at the bottom.…

The darkest UX pattern I have ever hit is trying to cancel Google Workspace; whereby they disable the scrollbar on the page so you cannot actually get to the cancel button.

I get this on cookie consent modals too

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

#793

Post by tjpnz »

silver_sun wrote: post #34

It's a little inconvenient for someone setting up a new phone to have to wait a full day to install unregistered apps. But while I can't speak for others, it's a price I'm personally willing to pay to make the types of scams they mention much less effective. The perfect is the enemy of the good.

Give me a break bro. Google are among the biggest crooks in the game and knowingly allow all kinds of fraudsters to use their ad platform. This is all about ensuring their cut.

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

#794

Post by shafyy »

pea wrote: post #636
lelandfe wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An actual example of this lives in the Gmail iOS app. Click a link in an email and every x days, a sheet appears: https://imgur.com/a/nlGS4Yk 1. Chrome 2. Google 3. Default browser app (w/unfamiliar generic logo) They removed the option for Safari some time in the last two years; here's how it looked in 2024: https://imgur.com/1iBVFfc And the cherry on top of dark UX patterns: an unchecked toggle rests at the bottom.…

The darkest UX pattern I have ever hit is trying to cancel Google Workspace; whereby they disable the scrollbar on the page so you cannot actually get to the cancel button.

Yes, I want through this last year and documented it in a screencast. This is how it looks https://mstdn.social/@can/115243851196253381

How is this legal?

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

#795

Post by gumby271 »

kuschku wrote: post #727
gumby271 wrote: post #512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which I also don't like, but at least that can be done offline. The signature could be verified on device without sending everything to Google. If they have to track the 20 seats for the hobbyist accounts then they have to be tracking every single install

But they're not. They're actually sending each signature to Google and asking whether that's been verified anyway.

Really? So all app installs on Android 17+ will have to be done online?

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

#797

Post by swiftcoder »

I’m often annoyed at the 10 second timeout when installing Firefox extensions - 24 hours is beyond egregious. Telling me to come back tomorrow to install software on a device I own is a giant “fuck you”. Pretty sure I’d rather they banned side loading outright than this

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

#798

Post by mschuster91 »

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…

> Can't you just have the coin-operated parking meters back? Where I live, in EU, parking meters even take cards.

That costs money. Coin operated machines routinely are targeted by vandals, with each case making easily 100x the damage for loot. And card-acceptance also has its issues, the terminals need a data uplink, someone needs to take care of the machines. That's why so many (especially private parking lots) shift over to purely app based schemes. Orders of magnitude less tech you need to worry about.

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

#799

Post by eru »

al_borland wrote: post #579
lelandfe wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An actual example of this lives in the Gmail iOS app. Click a link in an email and every x days, a sheet appears: https://imgur.com/a/nlGS4Yk 1. Chrome 2. Google 3. Default browser app (w/unfamiliar generic logo) They removed the option for Safari some time in the last two years; here's how it looked in 2024: https://imgur.com/1iBVFfc And the cherry on top of dark UX patterns: an unchecked toggle rests at the bottom.…

I hate this pop-up so much. I don’t even have Chrome installed on my phone. How about open up on the only browser I have installed… This kind of thing should be illegal. The default browser is the default for a reason, to avoid this kind of stuff. I think I’ve reported this as a bug to Google a couple times, in a couple different apps… as they do it in their other apps too. The only thing that bothers me more are the…

> This kind of thing should be illegal.

That's a bit silly.

Some people think pineapple doesn't belong on pizza, but that means you should avoid buying pineapple pizza, not outlaw it.

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

#800

Post by Tepix »

eru wrote: post #799
al_borland wrote: post #579

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate this pop-up so much. I don’t even have Chrome installed on my phone. How about open up on the only browser I have installed… This kind of thing should be illegal. The default browser is the default for a reason, to avoid this kind of stuff. I think I’ve reported this as a bug to Google a couple times, in a couple different apps… as they do it in their other apps too. The only thing that bothers me more are the…

> This kind of thing should be illegal. That's a bit silly. Some people think pineapple doesn't belong on pizza, but that means you should avoid buying pineapple pizza, not outlaw it.

If you have a monopoly, different rules apply.
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