Since Google’s goal is to improve security
Is it though? Really?
Google's plan to restrict sideloading on Android has a potential escape hatch for users
Submitted 3 weeks ago by ardi60@reddthat.com to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.androidauthority.com/how-android-sideloading-restrictions-may-work-3595355/
Comments
AbidanYre@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
radix@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The security of their bank balance.
Sxan@piefed.zip 3 weeks ago
No.
Ulrich@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
This publication is always repeating Google’s nonsense.
scarabic@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
What ulterior motive do they have for blocking sideloading?
AndyMFK@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Essentially banning any apps that would hurt googles profits.
I thought that was pretty obvious.
QuestionMark@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
Since Google’s goal is to improve security
This is an obvious lie.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 3 weeks ago
they want to improve thier AI and datamining capabilities.
nomadjoanne@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
What am I not seeing? How does this improve datamining capabilities?
Eggyhead@lemmings.world 3 weeks ago
They never specified who’s security…
SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
Whose*
Who’s = who + is
Whose = an indication of possession
espentan@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Their revenue probably felt very threatened.
Ulrich@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
tl;dr you can still “sideload” via adb.
This is so incredibly inconvenient as to be meaningless.
gaylord_fartmaster@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It’s not completely meaningless because if it’s truly the only option I’m going to be using it until I eventually replace my current phone with one with an unlocked bootloader.
Ulrich@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
I’m afraid that won’t help. There will be even fewer people developing apps specifically for the 0.01% of us using custom ROMs.
watson387@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
When my current phone dies I’ll be buying a flip phone.
Goodlucksil@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Rimjob_steve moment
blargh513@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
It will be stupid, but I presume there will be a rise in desktop apps or webapps that require you to only plug the phone in and it will handle the rest.
gaylord_fartmaster@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yeah, if something like Obtanium needs to run on my desktop instead of my phone and I have to plug it in every once in a while, that’s not the end of the world.
KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
There are already android apps that allow you to ADB into your own phone without root, so you could VERY EASILY just make an app store that utilises that, you only need to install the app from desktop once
dukatos@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
good luck updating all your apps that way…
Ulrich@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Exactly
hansolo@lemmy.today 3 weeks ago
Not at all, just get comfortable with ADB and use Claude to walk you through the steps.
I see this as an absolute win.
Ulrich@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
No one thinks it’s hard. It is, however, as I said, extremely inconvenient and time-consuming to do this every day, and no one wants to do that.
Arghblarg@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Perhaps someone could write an ‘adb loopback’ app – get that into the official app store, and said app would then squirt other .apk files through adb on the phone to itself, thus sideloading it.
KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
ADB loopback apps already exist, such as Shizuku
Ulrich@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
As far as I know, ADB needs to be run on another device which is plugged into the phone.
cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
We already have to do that to install older apps. It’s inconvenient, but not as bad as having to boot up an ancient phone every time you need to use the app.
gnuplusmatt@reddthat.com 3 weeks ago
I’m not sure why google is over engineering this, proper mainline distros have this solved since forever. Let the community setup trusted repos with gpg keys, then let me trust the repos. If Fdroid trusts the package and I trust Fdroid, who should care?
Lemminary@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Probably because they want to target software that cracks theirs to avoid ads, like ReVanced.
SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Ding ding ding ding ding. It’s so obvious, it’s because Google wants to be in control and block apps it would rather not exist. Newpipe, FreeTube, Revanced and the like.
Xatolos@reddthat.com 3 weeks ago
Then why aren’t they already doing that by blocking DuckDuckGo?
The DuckDuckGo app blocks all apps from sending to Google (and other advertisers) tracking/ad data on a system level. And it’s freely available on the Play Store (has been for years.
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.duckduc…
If they wanted to prevent apps from blocking their ad abilities, this app would never have been allowed on the Play Store.
olsonexi@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Because it was never actually about security to begin with. That’s obviously BS. Google just wants control.
Zak@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
If Google wanted to add developer verification without being evil, it could use SSL certificates connected to domain names. I think the whole concept is ill-conceived, though I’ll admit to a modest bias against protecting people from themselves.
tauonite@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
They couldn’t. Domains and SSL certificates can be obtained very easily anonymously and thus wouldn’t let Google identify the developers of malicious apps, which is the goal of this
coolmojo@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The trouble is Google’s definition of malicious apps. Are adblockers malicious? How about alternative apps for YouTube? Based on the recent history, I don’t think you will be able to install those apps on the phone you purchased.
Zak@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It provides a way to open an investigation into a malicious developer without giving Google the ability to ban anyone it doesn’t like.
Squiddork@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yeah I mean some form of asymmetric encryption/validation would work but it stops the real reason why Google wants to implement this.
LodeMike@lemmy.today 3 weeks ago
The problem with that is that certificates expire before someone would want to keep using the app.
xthexder@l.sw0.com 3 weeks ago
Code signing certificates work a little differently than SSL certificates. A timestamp is included in the signature so the certificate only needs to be valid at the time of signing. The executable will remain valid forever, even if the certificate later expires. (This is how it works on Windows)
drmoose@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This is actually worse than integration in Play Protect which can be disabled very easily. Now you can only install unsigned apps via ADB which means just developers can do it.
arararagi@ani.social 3 weeks ago
And very annoying too since some government apps don’t like it when you have developer mode on.
Zanshi@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Not only government. I can’t see my daughter’s insulin pump status if I don’t disable developer mode.
SparroHawc@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Or anyone with a computer who installs ADB. You don’t have to be a developer.
drmoose@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Nah you can’t realistically distribute your app with adb requirement. No one will bother to go through such friction.
COASTER1921@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
Leaving ADB open to unverified apps is more than I was expecting. ADB is reasonably straightforward to use even without actually being an Android developer.
There was never any way they’d integrate it to play protect and still allow play protect to be disabled. I prefer this to being required to use play protect personally, though the services do seem somewhat redundant. Presumably the whole point of doing this is to create an Apple style walled garden (which is of course very profitable). Google likely doesn’t want to fully lock it down and risk legal trouble, they just need to make it difficult enough that the masses don’t bother installing unapproved apps that may not act in Google’s interests.
I still hope the EU takes legal action against this anyway.
drmoose@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I don’t think this adds anything tbh as peoppe with adb would always be able to bypass this. The issue is that this kills distribution and thats exactly what Google wants - have full competitive control. Once they don’t like your app they’ll block your account and what do you do with your customer base? Give them adb install instructions? That’s basically a death sentence for any app.
6nk06@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
We hope that Google keeps its word and preserves ADB installation
lol, adb is the first loophole that will be closed.
balder1991@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I don’t know, even people here are already considering it a loss of the only way is through ADB, because it’s not practical for everyday usage. But it’s better than nothing.
cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
why can google not just code something like this into android:
allow apps from:
( ) All sources
( ) Just Google Play
( ) Apps which have been verified by Google Developer Programcerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Because they want to stop people from using ad blockers.
palordrolap@fedia.io 3 weeks ago
Option 1 is a potential cause of "lost" revenue.
Late stage capitalism absolutely forbids anything that could cause that, even if the cost of implementation outweighs any potential gain.
mariusafa@lemmy.sdf.org 3 weeks ago
Because it’s Google
SanctimoniousApe@lemmings.world 3 weeks ago
Taking Google at their word for a moment, it’s far too easy to scam the clueless masses into selecting the first one.
littleguy@lemmy.cif.su 3 weeks ago
That would give users choice, and corporations want as many people as possible to be incapable of making decisions for themselves.
stevedice@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I can see it already:
() Just Google Play (safe)
() Verified apps (not recommended)
click on Advanced settings
() All sources (Unsafe. Will probably kill your cat and burn down your house)
tick the box
Are you sure?
click yes
ARE YOU SURE?
click yes again
ONE HUNDRED PERCENT SURE?
wait for the 30 seconds timer to count down
click yes
( ) I do not love my cat and want him to die.
tick the box
( ) I accept the very real risk of my house burning down
tick the box
Please wait 24 hours for the change to apply. You can reverse it at any time from this menu.
get spammed every hour for the next 24 hours with notifications asking me to fix my security settings
get a bigass ⚠️ every time I turn on the phone
every once in a while the change just straight up reverses and I have to do it all over again
mastod0n@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
We should embrace oldschool SciFy and go for (DIY) Cyberdecks.
SanctimoniousApe@lemmings.world 3 weeks ago
covert_czar@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Which means I can make an app for this “Sideloading” by shizuku…
goatinspace@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
napkin2020@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I honestly think that this is just not going to happen. It’s already a giant pain in the ass to install apps from anywhere else than Play Store. With Shizuku it got much, much better.
hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 3 weeks ago
So a lot of speculation and we don't know much except 2 paragraphs in the FAQ... I'd like to mention though, they've recently stripped the Pixel devices if their status as developer devices and now push for their emulator for development. Once they follow that kind of logic, there isn't really a reason to keep ADB working as is on real devices.
ideonek@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
Image
JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
It’s the technical term that defines the process of transferring files not from an external networked device - downloading - or to an external networked device - uploading - but between two local devices - sideloading.
It’s over two decades old, you downloaded an mp3 from napster, and then sideloaded it to your player.
ideonek@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
And companies ofted do it. Thay recoined jaywalking to put the blaim of the accidents to pedestrians and take away the road from them. They change what littering means in attrmpt to delute the responsibility for polution... We are better than that this time, right?
G3NI5Y5@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
Like "Jaywalking", suddenly, walking is no longer the norm, but the car is preferred. The victims are seen as perpetrators.
ideonek@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
And "littering" is the "real" culprit why we all drawn in uneccesey plastic. We should blame consumers not the polluters.
Corporations do it all the time.
joshchandra@midwest.social 3 weeks ago
FTFY, at least here in a certain country…
yardratianSoma@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Don’t forget “side effects”, when really, medications only have “effects”. Whether the effects are intended or not doesn’t change the fact that they happen.
knitwitt@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Cough medicine can induce drowsiness, but you probably shouldn’t be taking it as a sleep aid. The distinction between intended vs unintended effects is an important distinction to make, in my opinion, to prevent drugs from being unintentionally misused.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 3 weeks ago
you shouldnt be taking medication not for his intended purpose, it has many warnings.
jjlinux@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Wait, so now I have to talk to a doctor before installing from F-Droid? Well, shit.
Ulrich@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
What would you call it?
Wrrzag@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
“installing” as in “installing software”