Ironically, this may be a catalyst for better Linux Phones
Just in time for them to be practically outlawed, if my gut can be trusted. I hope not.
Dark times ahead...
I can't see this move by Google as anything but a power grab to reduce competition. If someone wants to bear the "risk" of installing software that hasn't been vetted by Google, why does Google insist on being a nanny that makes it more difficult? Money, that's why. Google is acting to try to enforce its monopoly over android apps. GrapheneOS, which is more secure than android, doesn't make a fuss over this issue. No, this is only an issue with the company that hoovers up all your data in breach of your privacy.
I can’t see this move by Google as anything but a power grab to reduce competition
It locks down phones. Without sideloading the elite controls which messenger services can be used. They most likely can also secretly update apps and replace them with versions that leak the encryption keys.
With Google not being threatened by a competitor this essentially tells us that the elite is serious about moving to fascism.
It's frightening to me that the comment has 85 upvotes but no reply that points this out.
Thank god I run /e/OS. I just hope this won't hurt the popularity of sideloaded apps too much, as this might mean FOSS apps becoming stagnant because they don't receive as much attention anymore
This is my #1 concern with this bullshit.
Hard agree. If I'm forces to only run barely used FOSS apps, then I might as well buy a linux phone.
I also use /e/OS. I'm not too versed in these things, but if I understand correctly from your comment, this decision by Google won't directly affect us right? Only in the sense that it discourages developers to not support FOSS apps?
I only hope that manufacturers respond to this kind of behavior. Motorola deserves full credit for adopting grapheneos. I think some of the Chinese manufacturers have their own forks too?
How? The TOS for selling phones with Google services is that they can't sell phones with an Android fork outside China. Even the ODM is affected, meaning nobody will ever think this.
I saw in Italy that selling phones without Google services is a death sentence, Huawei crashed from 25% marketshare to 0% basically overnight even if they already had a "plan B" where they made "new" phones using the same specs and codename but in a different shape to buy time and when they launched their fork they had a 1:1 replacement for GMS called HMS so devs could still embed Google Maps and it will be replaced automatically by petal maps. Devs could upload their apps with a single click and users could install Google services unofficially installing an "unofficial 😉" APK with all the right signatures. Nobody did that. One click = too much work = nobody touches the default
At least they can leave the bootloader unlockable for us, but fucking Xiaomi really needs to make 200 new fucking models a year with lots of proprietary bits and abandons them after 6 months so it's impossibile for the community to make a well supported custom ROM. They copy everything from apple except the part where they should only make 4 fucking models a year. Basic, standard, pro and pro max. Don't need a "Xiaomi Redmi note 29T pro 5G wideband edition"
To be clear, GrapheneOS or any other fork of Android is not a long term viable solution as it is still dependent on Google. We need to break the Google/Apple duopoly. And of course, Linux phones are an option but people need top get behind it.
Ordered a Jolla phone with their SailfishOs (linux based). Time to leave android
I wonder how much of this is about cracking down on Newpipe, ReVanced and other unauthorized clients.
Nobody (for now),/as it can be easil, bypassed
Saving you a click:
Read the fine print carefully, and Google’s new app-loading processes aren’t as invasive as they could have been. For many users, nothing will change. Even for users exploring apps outside Google’s walled garden, the process is usually a one-time setup with a few simple steps and a short wait, keeping the experience virtually the same as it is today.
We have phone manufacturers who offer unlocked boot loaders as a feature, but require two weeks or more of device ownership, registration using personally identifiable info for an online account, and many times don't even allow you to relock the boot loader. Despite all this hassle, these devices still get updated third party OS's with Lineage and eOS.
Anyone who was publishing to FDroid already is not going to ~~be annoyed~~ give up over the 24 hour scare screen for users. The most inconvenient aspect is that they can't use the same signing keys as a Google Play release, which they should never have been doing anyway. Its absurd that developers were using the same signing keys across all different distribution methods in the first place.
EDIT: Phrasing. Everything about Android is annoying.
The APK installation process is already more inconvenient than it should be, and now it will be getting even worse. There should be no difference in installing an APK via Google Play versus any other method.
The fact that the process will still have a 'security' warning each and every time after the 24 hour wait period shows that even for "advanced users" they want to make it as inconvenient as possible while claiming to still be keeping Android open.
I agree. I do not want to come off as defending Google here. Things will get worse as they always have, and the sooner we got off Googles corporate platform, the better. Google has no business forcing themselves as a "trusted central source", especially with all the evidence showing that the Play Store is a more common and successful attack vector than third party apks. Third party offerings should be as easy and accessible as Googles.
I guess I'm just really annoyed at the public response because it continues to be doom and gloom; as if open source app development was going to die overnight due to this one change. I'm pointing out that there is already more restrictive things on the Android platform, and big projects still exist despite that. As hostile as a development platform Android has been, a new one time, 24 hour scare screen is likely not going to be the final straw for developers.
I agree, this is not going to be the final straw for most developers, but I, and others, will never use android again after this.
I moved away from Microsoft because I don't need a digital overseer policing my usage of the system. Android is moving in that direction, and so will I move, towards freedom.
The APK installation process is already more inconvenient than it should be,
You what. All you have to do is download the apk and then run it on the phone. HTF could it be any easier ?
Every APK installation from outside of the Play Store gives an installation warning. It's unnecessary and deliberately trying to make such installations seem less secure in comparison.
A beneficial warning would be for the many privacy risks in installing apps from the Play Store instead of privacy-respecting alternatives from F-Droid.
Man the custom ROM life just reinforces my idea that stock Android is a fucking nightmare. I use Graphene and it just asks, "Hey, do you want to install this app (+ without network access?" Yes? Neat, it's on your phone now. The literal only roadblock is enabling installs from non-appstore apps like browser or files, which makes sense. No fear mongering, no developer mode, no wait a day to do it.
Anyone who was publishing to FDroid already is not going to be annoyed about the 24 hour scare screen for users.
Bullshit.
It's hard enough to get people to step outside the Play Store ecosystem. Any additional friction will greatly reduce the number who do, and the combination of a reboot and a long waiting period is a lot of friction for the average person.
24h now, a week next year, etc. Not ling to go before is fully enclosed.
See what happened to Xiaomi bootloader unlocking for an example of this in action.
I specifically said publishing. Publishers/developers are not the average person. And the people installing third party apps on the user hostile platform of Android are also already dealing with friction. I'm more concerned with developers giving up because they need to do unacceptable ID verification, or are outright banned from development APKs entirely, than users giving up because "this takes too long..." Frankly, you ignoring the context of my post comes off as you just wanting to be angry.
I read the headline, I read the article, and I answered the rage bait presented in said headline. The impact of this change is "fuck all and nothing". I've got plenty of web sites that are inaccessible without getting around geoblocks with a VPN. Been in communities shut down by corporate media throwing money and legal teams at denying their right to exist. Feels like everyone wants a federal ID to use an online service these days, and Google wont be that far behind doing their own version of it. But this update changes literally nothing for power users right now. Sorry that I'm not as upset because the slippery slope isn't as steep as everyone else says it is.
If you really want something worth being mad at, get mad at the hardware manufactures who release hardware with proprietary firmware that only runs on Android. Wouldn't be having this discussion at all if users were allowed to run completely custom software from boot. If there was an open standard for a battery powered device that could run a modern compliant web browser, and take SMS/phone calls, we could tell Google to kick sand. Instead we have an ocean of built-to-expire mobile phones that end up being "obsolete" within 2 years. I'm pretty sure the mobile carriers/ISPs have more control over what hardware is allowed to exist though. I should probably do more research on that.
If I paid a thousand bucks for a flagship phone, I should be able to install whatever the fuck I want. Full stop.
If I paid twenty bucks for a secondhand basic bitch ass phone I should be able to install whatever the fuck I want. Double full stop.
What's your argument? I can't do whatever I want with my device? Fuck off.
Cool, its never been like that and you kept buying Android devices anyway?
I'd like that too. In what way does "things should be better" counter argument "this update changes nothing"? EDIT: No really, if you have either of these hypothetical phones, what can you not install after this update that you could before? I got shit I want to install but cant because of restrictions to root made in Android 4+. Haven't been to able to run a OS outside of Android since the Pixel 3 era. Am I supposed to reach peak anger over Android being a shitty platform with every change they make? Is that useful or helpful to you? Was I supposed to start my comment with an entire history of Googles anti user behavior so you understand I am not defending them?
I'm gonna stop commenting honestly. Y'all just wanna be mad. Tried to dispel a rage bait article and ended up wasting my time. You already knew what the article was about and wanted to get mad again anyway. There is more useful stuff to do than get mad at someone who agrees with everything you said. Please work on your reading comprehension.
can’t use the same signing keys as a Google Play release, which they should never have been doing anyway
Why? Same author, same signature.
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
