So this effectively means, if you buy a new phone and want to set it up, you'll have to do it tomorrow, because of an arbitrary flow Google created to save their play store percentages...
Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps
841–850 of 1001 posts
Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps
#842The 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…
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 don't understand why people don't use alternative mail clients to avoid that? Is the Gmail app the only one that is good enough? If so, and if it is essential to you, just go with the bundle (Gmail, Chrome, etc). (FWIW, I left gmail entirely, I pay for my email provider)
Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps
#843Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you think regular desktop computer should be locked down like this too? Scammers can also tell people to run Windows programs. Should that be banned too? I'm fine with an opt-in lock-down feature so people can do it for their parents/grandparents/children. Also, just let people get used to it. People will get burned, then tell their friends and they will then know not to simply follow what a stranger guides them t…
Keep in mind that Android has like a billion users who have never touched a Windows computer. (And unmanaged Windows was/is also a disaster zone.) Coming at this from a internet forum perspective is missing the scope of the problem. > I'm fine with an opt-in lock-down feature Me too, but it's really just some UI semantics whether this is 'opt-in' or 'opt-out'. Essentially it would be an option to set up the phone in…
Not really. With opt-out, if I buy a new phone or even just reinstall OS, I will now have to wait 24 hours before doing anything useful with it.
Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps
#844So what's the solution? Graphene OS? Let's convince everyone we know to buy the upcoming Motorola phone. If it's sales hit 10s or 100s of million devices, only then Google will listen.
Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps
#845It is way past time to build a 'people's phone', funding it through a platform like LiberaPay [1][2] or Open Collective [3][4], with a requirement for the device to be completely open-source.
[1] https://liberapay.com/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberapay [3] https://opencollective.com/ [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Collective
If we start today, we could have a new phone in 2-3 years. Future generations will thank us.
It's not just phones. There is a concerted movement by massively-moneyed folks to destroy the fabric of open society, so there are a number of different areas that need attention. A coordinated effort across the breadth of society to restore, maintain or improve the foundations of open society.
Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps
#846The 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?
I wonder how this will help combat scammers. Do you really think they don’t have $25 for a fee?
Furthermore, this verification system also functions as a US sanction mechanism—one that can be triggered against any entity the US decides to ban.
Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps
#847The 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…
I hope the EU cracks down on them like they did with Apple.
Fast forward, and a few years from now, developers will have to sign their app with some EU bureau, otherwise it won't install anywhere. It's a choice about from whom come the restrictions. I don't like how much EU mandates and regulates hardware and software. It is about 20% helpful and 80% garbage regulations so far.
Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps
#848The timing is interesting. With the measurable shift in quality of models and the agentic workflow becoming more popular (exacerbated by SaaS companies trying to democratise app building), there will probably an explosion of even more apps (as if there aren't enough already). The programmer in me likes that because I can easily build an app that is specific to my needs. But so can a person who doesn't have the technical background which combined with poor security track record of LLM generated code, is a risky combination security-wise. Not sure if that was actually the motivation or whether it was preserving the revenue from the developer ecosystem by creating another walled garden.
Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps
#849Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
It's probably not but no one has challenged them on it.
Re: Google details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps
#850It is way past time to build a 'people's phone', funding it through a platform like LiberaPay [1][2] or Open Collective [3][4], with a requirement for the device to be completely open-source. [1] https://liberapay.com/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberapay [3] https://opencollective.com/ [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Collective If we start today, we could have a new phone in 2-3 years. Future generatio…
Open phones are all fine and well, but good luck convincing banking and government applications to work on those (especially in countries where bank login is used to access government services).