Android to block sideloading and unsigned apps

[jackm8]

They are closing the os.

https://www.androidsage.com/2025/08/...-android-apps/
https://developer.android.com/developer-verification

[Quoth]

If entirely true it's despicable. Evil. This is greed, not really about security.

Apple has been despicable on iOS. Security is Apple's excuse.

[Quoth]

For student and hobbyist developers
We're committed to keeping Android an open platform for you to learn, experiment, and build for fun. We recognize that your needs are different from commercial developers, so we're working on a separate type of Android Developer Console account for you.

So they have not thought it out fully.

Android isn't an open platform for devices allowed to use the Play Store. This makes it less open. Dishonest.

[slm]

Maybe I misread this, but Google did not say sideloading would be blocked only that it would be restricted to apps signed by developers for whom that have verified name address etc.

[einkpaladin]

Originally Posted by slm

Maybe I misread this, but Google did not say sideloading would be blocked only that it would be restricted to apps signed by developers for whom that have verified name address etc.

I mean, that's kind of splitting hairs to be honest.

Sure, it wouldn't be blocked, but if the developers of an app don't get a verification code (aka approval) from Google, for whatever reason, that app is, effectively, blocked from running.

This gives the power to arbitrarily deny any app Google doesn't like, unilaterally. A horrible potential for abuse of power (one that they've shown already they can't be trusted to avoid doing no less).

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by slm

Maybe I misread this, but Google did not say sideloading would be blocked only that it would be restricted to apps signed by developers for whom that have verified name address etc.

That makes it similar to Playstore. Look at app signing. Also Google won't approve (allow signing) apps that don't meet its rules.

It's effectively the end of sideloading, especially old apps (though those might not work on a newer android anyway, especially if file I/O or permissions are required).

[jackm8]

Originally Posted by slm

Maybe I misread this, but Google did not say sideloading would be blocked only that it would be restricted to apps signed by developers for whom that have verified name address etc.

Android was specifically advertised by Google as an open os. Google shared development, and allowed sideloaded apps. Lately they went in a completely opposite direction. Safety was give as a reason behind it, but one feels there's something else going on.

[einkpaladin]

Originally Posted by jackm8

Android was specifically advertised by Google as an open os. Google shared development, and allowed sideloaded apps. Lately they went in a completely opposite direction. Safety was give as a reason behind it, but one feels there's something else going on.

Things have unfortunately been on that path since they bought Android and brought it in-house. This is just an escalation of increasing control by them that they've been doing for like a decade now at least.

[Quoth]

Ever since Android 4.x

[neil_swann80]

I wonder if Graphene OS will be immune to these changes?

[MarjaE]

I take it this would block updates and new installations for einkbro, KOReader, etc.?

[kandwo]

I liked Cory Doctorow's blog post about it: https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/01/fulu/ (and the Rossman video he linked to in it).

He ties it to the degradation and the greed of corporations that we can see in general.

I just wonder how this will be implemented. Is there going to be some in-built blocking mechanism in newer versions of Android or will they be able to block installations on older devices, as well?

Also, I wonder how this will work in the EU. If I recall correctly, the EU forced Apple to open up their walled garden for precisely this kind of "sideloading" within the EU. Shouldn't that make Google's move illegal in most of Europe? Will they have a separate software for European users?

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by MarjaE

I take it this would block updates and new installations for einkbro, KOReader, etc.?

Only on newer Android versions that get updates.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by kandwo

I just wonder how this will be implemented. Is there going to be some in-built blocking mechanism in newer versions of Android or will they be able to block installations on older devices, as well?

Only if the older devices get updates.

[haertig]

Things like this are a big reason why I do not invest in "high end" digital devices and typically stay in the mid-range. I don't want to be stuck with a lot of money invested in a device that the manufacturer starts handcuffing down the road. It hurts a lot less when your $200 tablet stops doing something you want than when your $800 tablet stops doing it.

Manufacturers/suppliers everywhere are trying to lock you down tight into THEIR product. And it's not just Android/iOS, or Amazon Kindle. You want to stream movies and TV? You used to only need to subscribe to Netflix. But nowadays you also have to subscribe to Paramount+, Peacock, Hulu, Apple TV, Disney+, ... They have all walled up THEIR content so you can't get it anywhere else besides directly from them. Amazon is trying the exact same things with KU. If Amazon gets their way, that content will not be available anywhere except from Amazon.

So I'm going to do my best to not buy a device/OS that forces me into anybody's walled garden. Certainly not an expensive device. That used to be Android devices. But now it looks like they're taking the first steps to change that.

The ONLY thing I still feel confident in maintaining its independence is Linux. I hope that never changes.