Google: “Based on this feedback and our ongoing conversations with the community, we are building a new advanced flow that allows experienced users to accept the risks of installing software that isn’t verified. We are designing this flow specifically to resist coercion, ensuring that users aren’t tricked into bypassing these safety checks while under pressure from a scammer. It will also include clear warnings to ensure users fully understand the risks involved, but ultimately, it puts the choice in their hands.”
Thank god. I would’ve ditched Android for good if this went through, and while it sounds like it would be annoying for casual users to enable unverified apps, at least we can still install them.
For now. You just wait. Evil corp is gonna evil corp it all up.
I miss the days when their slogan was “Don’t be evil”
Straight from the playbook. Announce something terrible, then back off with something bad. Everyone calls it a win.
See: Wizards if the Coast, Unity
Rockstar too
Thank god. I would’ve ditched Android for good if this went through, and while it sounds like it would be annoying for casual users to enable unverified apps, at least we can still install them.
You would have ditched Android for ios if it were implemented?
Not hardly. I’ve been looking for a reason to support Linux phones, and that would just have been the thing to do it.
I would not have done so, but I think there’s a reasonable argument that if Apple and Google’s mobile platforms are indistinguishable in terms of user freedom and Google is going to try to be Apple, ya may as well just go with the better Apple
No freaking way this was because of “feedback”. This was because the European Commission will keep escalating their fines if Google keeps at it with the monopoly bullshit.
Quite some time ago, the messaging I was getting from Microsoft was that Windows 10 security updates were going to end this year. I didn’t really keep up with the news on that front, but I did notice that there was some kind of law suit in the EU that from what I recall basically came down to the fact that MS would have to continue to provide security updates to Win 10 free of charge for EU users.
Literally within the last week, a buddy of mine asked me to look at his computer and see if I could upgrade it to Win 10. I could not, as it doesn’t have a supported processor. But what I noticed is that MS now offers the option to extend security updates until 2026 with the click of a button.
So, thanks EU folks! Already knew ya’ll were awesome, but I assume this change of heart from Microsoft was a result of that suit. I appreciate it.
Eh, I’m probably gonna ditch that smartphone thing anyways, at least for a while. Android becoming a closed-off garden was the last straw and I was kinda looking forward trying to go without a phone to test if I can adapt. I started leaving the house without my phone more and more and I kinda like it.
Sure, it’s fun and convenient to have the Internet in my pocket. Heck, it’s even required in some cases, but this digital mess we are currently in is too much for me. I remember how I was looking forward having one back then; I was really looking forward having acces to the Interney wherever I was, but nowadays I kinda miss being less conected from all the bullshit especially when outside.
I guess I could get a linuxphone one day if I miss having a phone (if I somehow manage to completely remove the smartphone from my life in the first place).
My guess is they’re going to do what Microsoft do (or used to do until about 6 months ago) when you want to sideload anything on their consoles: They charge you. You buy dev access for your account and use it to unlock your phone.
We are designing this flow specifically to resist coercion, ensuring that users aren’t tricked into bypassing these safety checks while under pressure from a scammer.
Translation: if they want scamware, it better be from Google Play, where Google gets a 30% cut. On top of the cut they got for the phishing link in Google Ads.
And if anything thinks I’m being hyperbolic, go on Google Play and search for pretty much anything. Or turn off your adblocker.
The fee is 15% below the first $1M of revenue and it should go without saying that app developers only pay that fee for paid apps, in-app purchases or digital subscriptions. It’s very unlikely that a scam app would be paid, or work off a subscription, and if those phishing ads are doing their conversions, you’ll never see the user again.
I doubt Google’s making more than a few cents off each of these scam apps.
Helped a disabled pensioner recently with her phone that kept plaging loud obnoxious ads at her even while locked.
She had 4 different “virus scanners” that were all fake adware.
Google: "Based on this feedback and our ongoing conversations with the community, we are building a new advanced flow that allows experienced users to accept the risks of installing software that isn’t verified.
And we will NEVER trust you again because we know you’ll retry this next year or so in a few smaller steps that all have cutesy innocent names that are supposed to lull us in a false sense of security
Fuck Google, stop paying them for anything, stop using their services wherever possible.
Wait, so Google listened to our feedback, and we’re still mad? What would a positive outcome have looked like?
Because no one believes that Google (Evil Corp) did this to deteer scammers, as they claim their reasoning was. If that was the case, they would take a much better care about the virus apps that gets released on Play Store, or the phishing ads that gets served through games.
This was always about monopoly.
I genuinely believe that it was motivated by the desire to deter scammers. What leads you to believe it’s not? There are many gullible people out there who will follow, precisely as you pointed out, phishing links that encourage them to sideload an unverified app.
No system is perfect, and I also believe that Google Play does a fair job of removing malicious apps.
I’m sorry to try to bring some nuance into this thread as I know that discourse isn’t welcome on Lemmy, but I’m just trying to wrap my head around the outrage. Providing a way to let experienced users continue to sideload apps while safeguarding the more gullible seems like a good idea and I still genuinely don’t understand what your preferred solution would be.
I think it was fairly obvious that the move was going to piss people off, they just misjudged to what extent. Modern business strategy is to claim to listen to customer feedback and just quietly plan to implement it anyway, just do it more subtly, more quietly, and more slowly.
I would understand the outrage if Google didn’t stick to their word, but unless I’ve missed something, they’ve not, have they? Are we now protesting that they reversed their decision? Wasn’t this what we wanted?
It’s still worse than before. Really need to break mobile away from Google and Apple. Preferably as close to standard Linux as possible
AOSP makes a lot more sense to me. We just need to adopt Graphene or Lineage en masse and start contributing to support more devices, grow that out into a real alternative with support for the already existing android app ecosystem, and real alternatives to Google Play services
Graphene doesn’t fix the problem because it’s only available on Pixel devices
Not for long. They’re going to start working with their own OEM.
Google: “Based on this feedback and our ongoing conversations with the community, we are building a new advanced flow that allows experienced users to accept the risks of installing software that isn’t verified.
I’ve been side loading apks since I bought my first Android phones and am much more concerned about malware “safe” apps from Google’s Play store. Google’s quality control is shit.
Quality control is not the words. They are unethical garbage pieces of shit who make the world a worse place. These big companies buy smaller ones just so they have the good devs and no competition. Then they make everything in the market insufferable as fuck.
I’m just waiting for the moment Valve also decides to enter the mobile market :)
Well, they do have few mobile devices with Ryzen and QC chips, they have been investing heavily in Linux OS recently, so crossing fingers Libre phone would collaborate with them to release Libre Phone Black Magick to the gamers, that would sway a big chunk of Android enthusiasts to switch, and then apps would follow.
If they decide to make the Steam Deck 2 actually a Steam Phone with controller attachments that could be a way for them to enter the mobile hardware.
Not enough cooling. A better idea would be to release a Steam Deck 2 with the same form factor as the 1 and a Steam Deck Mini with a phone form factor and the same performance as the original Deck.
I like the sound of the Steam Deck Mini. Maybe it could be the return of the Sony Xperia style phone.
It’s not sideloading, it’s installing. Stop giving into this idea that installing other apps is somehow bypassing normal methods!
I heard that if you don’t get your groceries via Walmart+ delivery, then it’s smuggling.
Great analogy
Transporting?
That’s not good enough. They’re just going to keep lightly pushing against the bad publicity until everything not controlled by Google on your phone goes away.
We need an alternative made without googles shitty hands in the mix. This forced duopoly between Apple and Google sucks. No phone competition in the US also sucks. Overpriced Samsung or a Google phone, while companies Like Red Magic have fan and liquid cooled phones with huge batteries, more ram, and more storage, for less than a grand being sold around the rest of the world outside the US.
Oneplus had great success but then enshittified. Raised prices to match Samsung and Google, outsourced support to some place that didn’t sound like they were even in the same dimension as any English speakers and took away their ability to help customers even by accident and finally quality of their phones went to shit.
They could’ve sucked the Chinese government subsidy tit for another few years and would’ve established themselves as legit competition, but that would only delay inevitable enshittification by a few years.
They’re a descent phone right now with their OnePlus 15. Huge battery, good and bright screen, top of the line processing and 16GB of the fastest ram you can get in a phone, and less than $1,000.
My issues with it are that their potential unlocking and rooting is a bit up in the air, and that they only offer up to a 512GB with no SD card.
I’d buy a damned Red Magic 11 pro if they didn’t block root and supported band 71.
Nah, I’m not doing back to OP. I hate to say it, but If you’re going to use android, nothing beats pixels. Not even close.
If GrapheneOS manages to actually work with a decent hardware maker to get a phone to the market, I’ll get that next, but only if Android auto and banking apps work. Phone’s useless to me without those.
Only reason I’d give those up is if I can get another Linux phone as polished as Nokia N9. Still the best phone I’ve ever owned.
Not a popular opinion, but if those two options are unavailable, I’d rather switch to iPhone than use a non pixel android.
Stop it. You’re reminding me why I want to move my family out of the US. Its not just phones, everything is a facade here.
Easing is not removing.
Anything more than a warning and disclaimer popup is too much.
I’m OK with jumping through more hoops – once.
Once I told the device that I know what I’m doing, it shouldn’t be more than a pop-up per install.
I’d agree that the option is inportant to turn it off but one and done shouldn’t be the default cuz people fucking dumb, yo.
We are designing this flow specifically to resist coercion, ensuring that users aren’t tricked into bypassing these safety checks while under pressure from a scammer. It will also include clear warnings to ensure users fully understand the risks involved, but ultimately, it puts the choice in their hands.
The current system requires user to enable developer options, which is already hidden behind a
darkobscure pattern (tapping the Build number multiple times) then enabling the installation of apps of unknown sources for specific apps, which also comes with a warning.It’s basically what we have already, so cut the bullshit and leave it be.
dark pattern
This is not what dark pattern means.
Also, I don’t think enabling developer options is required to install arbitrary APKs.
Err, that’s not true on the last fee devices I’ve used, Pixels and a Fairphone. Installing apps from APK files doesn’t require me to enable dev options. In fact trying to install an APK from say Files brings me straight to the permission setting. It’s also per-app. It can be accessed under Settings > Apps > Special app access > Install unknown apps.
That’s not a dark pattern…
That’s not what the phrase “dark pattern” means.
On Samsung it’s: download APK, run it, see the warning, tap “allow third party installations”, flick a switch, tap “install”.
In some ROMs at least, unknown sources for specific apps is not in the developer options.
that warning was not at all prominent, and as others have said, t does not exist anymore on modern android
