Very, very good news everyone! Google has agreed to only gently fuck us in the ass! They were even kind enough to offer to use lube!
Android’s new sideload settings will carry over to new devices
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Re: Android’s new sideload settings will carry over to new devices
#92Key point from the article:
> ADB would be unaffected, and any power users who needed to install an app straight away could always connect their Android device to a computer and use ADB commands to manually install - no delay at all.
So in practice this won't be an issue for anyone tech-savvy who uses their Android device with apps outside of the Play Store, as they can simply install through the ADB mechanism via a separate device. It can even be done using WebUSB.
However, the many, many people worldwide who lack such technical knowledge, and are more susceptible to being scammed via malicious app installs because of it, are still protected by this new process Google are introducing.
Re: Android’s new sideload settings will carry over to new devices
#93None of the comments here seem to discuss or even mention how this situation looks from googles perspective? I feel like HN readers are not aware of the scale of the problem they face or their motivation behind these changes. If you look at the rate of growth of the call/text scam industry I think it's entirely possible that android owners are getting scammed out of more money than google themselves makes on the andr…
That may be, but I think you are missing the point of the outrage: this solution is not good.
So let's discuss a good solution instead of this boring repetitive outrage.
Re: Android’s new sideload settings will carry over to new devices
#94What's the phone OS landscape now? What can someone who values their agency and wants FOSS choose? * iOS - walled garden, so no * Android: * * with a Google account and Play Services - a bit less of a walled garden, but still no * * Android without Google: * * * GrapheneOS - root or adb not supported, so no * * * LineageOS - (edit: root or adb not supported, so no - just learned) seems like a viable option although i…
Why do you want to root? I didn't really feel the need for the past few years.
An alternative if you are using Graphene would be to build your own image with the changes that you want, without or without root.
Re: Android’s new sideload settings will carry over to new devices
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
The scams that are happening in the rest of world are calls posing as bank support about urgent security issues and telling people to install apps to protect their accounts.
All the scams are for apps that are already in the Play and App store.
Absolutely! Never had one problem with apps on FDroid. Not even when tbe Simple Mobile Tools suite was sold to a shady company without a heads up to its users. And that safety isn't an accident.
Re: Android’s new sideload settings will carry over to new devices
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sideloading is very possible on iOS and there's an entire subculture surrounding it.
Not widespread enough to be a viable grift target.
And how much grift happens through Android side loading? (BTW, I hate that weasel word used to vilify a perfectly reasonable activity.) Practically all grift on Android happens through apps on the Play Store. People who know how to 'side load' are also usually careful and smart enough to think about what they're putting in. That's not a useful target for grifts either.
As somebody put it, Google goes after others without cleaning their own house first. It's just abuse of power at this point.
Re: Android’s new sideload settings will carry over to new devices
#97[flagged]
Please don't fulminate on HN. The guidelines make it clear we're trying for something better here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
Re: Android’s new sideload settings will carry over to new devices
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
Given the Epic settlement means Google is allowing alternate app stores, and also the delay only applies for unregistered developers, I'm not certain it won't actually get easier to get folk set up on F-Droid. It still remains to be seen what the actual requirements are, and even if F-Droid could become "approved" that doesn't mean they want to. Time will tell.
Why the hell should we "mother may I" with Google for running apps on our own phones if it isn't sourced from the Play Store? The "security" rationale is horseshit given just how much malware is readily download able on the Play Store. Google never cleans its own house before going after others.
It's not just the US, story through the grapevine is that Google is under a lot of pressure Asian governments over "online scams".
(Allegedly the main actor behind this push is Singapore)
Re: Android’s new sideload settings will carry over to new devices
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't you know? If one elderly person gets scammed we all deserve to be infantilized.
Ok, but the vast majority of people do need their hand held because they're incompetent, naive, or both. IMO this is pro consumer move
If Google actually wanted to protect people from malware, they would not approve Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, …
Re: Android’s new sideload settings will carry over to new devices
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
That may be, but I think you are missing the point of the outrage: this solution is not good.
So let's discuss a good solution instead of this boring repetitive outrage.
The problem with that thought is that Goole isn't creating a good solution, it's creating this specific one.