this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2025

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Google will block sideloading of unverified Android apps starting next year (arstechnica.com)

submitted 21 hours ago by themachinestops@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/technology@lemmy.world

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[–] DupaCycki@lemmy.world 13 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

Two things especially worth noting from the article.

If you have a non-Google build of Android on your phone, none of this applies.

This means that at least GrapheneOS will be unaffected for now. Other ROMs without gapps will be unaffected only as long as you don't install gapps. Since Graphene has a sandbox for them, I'm assuming it'll be fine. That is, unless Google decides to lock the bootloader entirely.

In September 2026, Google plans to launch this feature in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. The next step is still hazy, but Google is targeting 2027 to expand the verification requirements globally.

So most users worldwide still have at least 1.5 years until it's implemented. Plenty of time to get a Pixel and install Graphene on it. Or to figure out some other plan.

Don't get me wrong - this is insane, unreasonable and horrible news for everyone. We should push back as hard as physically possible against it. However, at the very least we still have some time to figure things out before the policy rolls out.

[–] lmuel@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 hours ago

I wouldn't be surprised if Google stop allowing BL unlocking soon... Following Samsung and Xiaomi (although Xiaomi technically can be unlocked, in reality you'll not be able to do so nowadays unless you pay someone to do it via remote USB shit for you)

[–] sommerset@thelemmy.club 1 points 2 hours ago

I'm getting Huawei

[–] simsalabim@lemmy.world 16 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

EU: How often do I have to teach you, old man?

[–] Xatolos@reddthat.com 6 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

EU: Thank you Google for complying with the DSA.

https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-services-act_en

This is a a huge part of it, the whole "prevent illegal" parts.

"easier reporting of illegal content"
"less exposure to illegal content"
"level-playing field against providers of illegal content"

The EU isn't going to punish them for this, they will hold this up as the golden standard.

[–] NicestDicerest@lemmy.world 4 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Just as they did with Apple when they forced them to allow sideloading? So yeah, the EU will push massively against this if its implemented there.

[–] Xatolos@reddthat.com 2 points 24 minutes ago

Where does it say that Google is blocking all side loading?

It says they are blocking the installing of unsigned apps. This is the macOS Gatekeeper being the only option on Android. You can still download and install apps that aren't in the Play Store. So the EU will still love this as 3rd party apps can still exist, but at the same time anything "illegal" can be reported to them immediately.

[–] localhorst@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 hours ago

[–] MITM0@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Ok this needs harsh pushback, because phones are affordable, computers are not. There needs to be a massive project dealing with making phones platform agnostic.

[–] Tja@programming.dev 3 points 59 minutes ago

Have you shopped for those items recently? You have 200 buck computers and 2000 buck phones.

[–] mlg@lemmy.world 17 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I will pay hard cash money for some devs to bring postmarketos to quality hardware vendors.

I'm all for buying a pinephone, but man are we missing out on the full potential from some genuinely good OEM hardware stuff like razr flip.

Aside from google doing google things, android has been a bloated java pos toy OS for nearly a decade now. It completely wastes the full potential of superior hardware by running everything on a shitty JVM known as the ART that was designed for when devices had <512mb of RAM. A Nintendo 3DS can do better multi process tasking than modern android which regularly kills app threads for no reason other than to screw with you because you dared to switch to a different app for 5 seconds.

Android was supposed to be the big apple killer because of its closeness to a desktop OS with heavy emphasis on widespread features and functionality. Even technically speaking, rooting got you there if you wanted to run whatever straight on the linux environment or swap kernels.

Its nothing but a ripoff iOS clone now. Android 7/8 was probably the peak of development and usability, and even back then people were complaining it didn't have groundbreaking improvements like 6 or lollipop.

[–] ominousdiffusion@lemmy.world 1 points 24 minutes ago

I don't think that it's the lack of quality hardware what is stopping adoption of Linux on phones. There are many resons why I don't consider someting like PostmarketOS viable as a daily driver for most.

First of all some apps are just not available on Linux. Banking apps are a prime example. Most banks are now requiring some form of app where I live and they don't even consider Linux. But that's also another problem in it self.

Secondly: driver support. Drivers aren't something one thinks about when talking about phones. But they are needed and mobile phones being what they are, most manufacturers aren't really open to do anything in that regard.

As an Android developer I'm also annoyed by the restrictive power management of Android. But it's there for a reason. On PostmarketOS my phone would be dead after sitting around all day doing noting. On Android I can maybe squeeze two to three days of use out of the same phone. And that's not even with the OEM rom.

That being said, I hope for a future were all of the current issues can be solved and we finally have a viable alternative to Apple and Google.

To be clear, I'm in no way trying to defend what Google is doing.

[–] dual_pyramid_reality@lemmings.world 5 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

Where are all the open source phone OSes? Where are the OS agnostic capable hardware phones? Technically some do exist, but I don't think they have any significant market share. Hope I'm wrong though.

[–] sommerset@thelemmy.club 1 points 2 hours ago

Google slowly suffocated all the 3rd party rom vendors.

[–] douglasg14b@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago

Essentially every browser that's not Firefox or Safari is reskinned Google chrome for a reason. Because it's insanely expensive to build and maintain browsers. Mobile operating systems aren't much different in this regard.

[–] NotACIAPlant@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

If you have the ability to, don't use a smartphone. You'll be better off and you don't have to care about stuff like this anymore.

[–] sefra1@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 hours ago

For real, when this thing rolls out, I'm going to stop updating and try to still use my foss apps for as long as they still work, once my phone eventually becomes useless I'm not going to spend 400 on an expensive phone just so I can run custom roms. I will have to just get used to not having a computer in my pocket all the time again.

[–] MisterD@lemmy.ca 34 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

FYI: Apple got sued for blocking other app stores. This would prevent f-droid from being installable

[–] peppy@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

f-droid would be verified right?

[–] JustARaccoon@lemmy.world 1 points 32 minutes ago

It'd be up to Google to do so, and they probably will just as an example of them totally not being a monopoly "look we even allowed a competing store".

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