this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2024

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Android apps are blocking sideloading and forcing Google Play versions instead (arstechnica.com)

submitted 6 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

247 comments fedilink hide all child comments

You might sideload an Android app, or manually install its APK package, if you're using a custom version of Android that doesn't include Google's Play Store. Alternately, the app might be experimental, under development, or perhaps no longer maintained and offered by its developer. Until now, the existence of sideload-ready APKs on the web was something that seemed to be tolerated, if warned against, by Google.

This quiet standstill is being shaken up by a new feature in Google's Play Integrity API. As reported by Android Authority, developer tools to push "remediation" dialogs during sideloading debuted at Google's I/O conference in May, have begun showing up on users' phones. Sideloaders of apps from the British shop Tesco, fandom app BeyBlade X, and ChatGPT have reported "Get this app from Play" prompts, which cannot be worked around. An Android gaming handheld user encountered a similarly worded prompt from Diablo Immortal on their device three months ago.

Google's Play Integrity API is how apps have previously blocked access when loaded onto phones that are in some way modified from a stock OS with all Google Play integrations intact. Recently, a popular two-factor authentication app blocked access on rooted phones, including the security-minded GrapheneOS. Apps can call the Play Integrity API and get back an "integrity verdict," relaying if the phone has a "trustworthy" software environment, has Google Play Protect enabled, and passes other software checks.

Graphene has questioned the veracity of Google's Integrity API and SafetyNet Attestation systems, recommending instead standard Android hardware attestation. Rahman notes that apps do not have to take an all-or-nothing approach to integrity checking. Rather than block installation entirely, apps could call on the API only during sensitive actions, issuing a warning there. But not having a Play Store connection can also deprive developers of metrics, allow for installation on incompatible devices (and resulting bad reviews), and, of course, open the door to paid app piracy.

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[–] [email protected] 143 points 5 days ago (4 children)

Just the term "side loading" instantly frames installing software on a device you own as something shady.

[–] [email protected] 68 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Yes, that's the implication, and it's certainly intentional for you to think of it like that.

[–] [email protected] 53 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (4 children)

The fact that an entire generation thinks the only proper way to install software is through an app store is absolutely terrible. Talk about a boon for the gatekeepers, Apple and Google did a bang up job training them to trust no one else.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 5 days ago

Schools and universities in principle should be the place where they're introduced to what really means to own a computer. The trend however seems to give out everyone a locked down e-waste with proprietary restrictions all over the place.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 days ago

"side-loading" is literally the norm on Windows and Linux

[–] [email protected] 37 points 5 days ago (7 children)

I've had people clueless about tech tell me that:

using Linux and not buying Windows I rob MS's developers,

not doing things the way big corporations want I deprive them of profits and thus rob their workers,

using your own device the way you want it is a crime if you have to bypass what the vendor does,

GPL and BSD licenses are not real sovereign citizen stuff, and if I'm not paying someone for software, I'm robbing the working class,

repairing things yourself in your house is robbing people working in those trades,

reading things in the Web is robbing university professors and book store workers and publishers,

having to learn a particular technology while doing my task at work means I'm a fraud and rob my employer or our clients, because apparently I have to keep all the today's tech in my head before needing any of it,

if I don't know some single thing another person knows, they are obviously better qualified than me (say, that other person can write Windows device drivers, while the job is about systems integration),

...

and I don't remember more stupid shit from those people and I don't want to, but generally being not a dumb ape in today's world is considered suspicious apparently.

After that wonderful experience I might be silent about my views with people usually, but really I'll never stop being anarchist (whatever kind of anarchism that is).

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 days ago (2 children)

The EU is going to be furious about this

[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 days ago

I hope so. I don't want Android to become the new Apple

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Nah, I doubt it. The app developers are freely adding this themselves.

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Google and Apple have come out against legislation that would broaden sideloading rights for smartphone owners, citing security and reliability concerns.

Fuck off google.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

...as I upvote you from my Pixel. ☹️ I give the sad face because Google isn't who they once were and I'm just going to have to deal with that.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Never ask a company to pick between the right thing and profit. It was all a matter of time till Google needed to stop growing and start producing profit for investors.

To make it worse the Pixel 9 starts at $800 just like iPhone. So if you're buying Android you don't really save money over an iPhone like you used to.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 days ago

Never ask a company to pick between the right thing and profit.

It's fundamentally impossible for a publicly traded company not to choose profit over 'The Right Thing', fullstop. Shareholders feel that have a fundamental right to growth, and if Google's CEO were to choose 'The Right Thing' over profit, the shareholders can oust them in favor of a CEO willing to choose profits.

Enshittification is where every public company ends up, because the line MUST go up, no other alternative is acceptable.

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[–] [email protected] 279 points 6 days ago (9 children)

If the Play Store becomes required like that then Android's already-shaky status as an open source base platform is going to go out the window. I'm glad there are non-Google distros of Android but there really needs to be more of a push to make a completely FOSS phone platform.

[–] [email protected] 67 points 6 days ago (12 children)

There are Linux phones available. I,m going to guess popularity of those devices to increase soon.

[–] [email protected] 55 points 5 days ago (1 children)

That was the hope with Android, too.

The problem is that as the OS is "free" that means it costs less functionally for the device manufacturer to get an OS on the device, so now they can pour more money into bloatware.

Android was supposed to stop bloatware but all it did was enable it.

Even without a forced "store" Linux is prey to the same issue of piecemeal support from various vendors all with in-house solutions that all stink.

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 5 days ago (4 children)

As much as I want that to be the case, I don't think full mobile gnu+Linux is really ready to use daily?

I haven't exactly been keeping up with things, mind you

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

The whole point of #Android is the ability to control your device without #Apple, or #Google, or anyone else dictating your apps and content.

@lemmee_in @android

[–] [email protected] 207 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (8 children)

This seems like a brilliant feature to roll out as they're getting investigated by the DOJ for being a monopoly.

[–] [email protected] 86 points 6 days ago (6 children)

Also, didn't the EU declare that Apple needs to allow other app stores on their devices?

This seems like a bonehead move all around..

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 days ago (1 children)

They’re still pissed that people won’t put up with their shitty YouTube app and use Revanced instead, eh?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 days ago (5 children)

That's not on Google Play so it doesn't affect it. I honestly don't know what the point of this is.

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Haha, gross: We can't control the devices we own.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago (3 children)

I genuinely don't even know where to buy an affordable device that is free from this kind of control. Some company always has outsized control (and in some cases arguably surveillance) over anything you can find on the market. It sucks so bad.

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[–] [email protected] 113 points 5 days ago (7 children)

Androids best advantage used to be full control of the device... Those were the days. Then it started with saying they know better than you, then locking you out. Now I'm waiting on a new, better solution.

Honestly it's not like native Linux is too far fetched, but there would have to be a big open source common ground device collaboration.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 5 days ago

Man I really hate how they stripped your permissions to access the internal and external storage, files can no longer access data from other apps even if you say allow all file access. Also if your phone supports SD cards, you might notice that you don't have write access to it for some reason on later versions of android. (I really struggled with this with my Galaxy S9 on Lineage), had to use apps that remounted my SD card and what not

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Good that most apps I use now are open source but for those few that I still get from Aurora Store it might be a death sentence but perhaps this API could be spoofed?

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 4 days ago (9 children)

The only reason I'm still sticking with Android is the ability to sideload

I have no reason to use an android if this is the road Google wants to follow and expect my next phone to be an iPhone SE

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[–] [email protected] 85 points 5 days ago (14 children)

So the EU's been forcing Apple to allow sideloading and Google goes Nah, it'll be fine?

[–] [email protected] 51 points 5 days ago (1 children)

No but you see we at Google aren't locking down sideloading. It's the individual app developers. With the api we gave them for that express purpose. Totally not us locking stuff down though, so EU please ignore us trying to indirectly close doors in our walled garden?

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[–] [email protected] 131 points 5 days ago (3 children)

What is a "trustworthy software environment"?

Does that mean that it will get mad and fail you for having Developer options enabled? Having F-Droid installed? Having it plugged into a computer?

[–] [email protected] 65 points 5 days ago (2 children)

There's a bank here that refuses to let you log into their app if you have developer options enabled. Their service was getting much better until that point, but I dropped them completely after that.

I use developer options to get better screen density on my large ass screen, and to you know...develop apps 🤷‍♂️

FUCK THESE ASSHOLES WHO THINK THEY CAN TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CAN NOT DO WITH MY PHONE

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 5 days ago

If it detects wrongspeak it will tell the authorities.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 5 days ago (3 children)

yup they are tightening their grip again

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 5 days ago (13 children)

I get most of my stuff via F-Droid or I could use Obtainium. My tablet is Google-free. This sounds like my phone should be Google-free as well.

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 5 days ago

Was always inching closer, but looks like android has fully outstayed its welcome. The revolving door of executives hit its last person with any integrity on the ass on their way out the door.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Ew. Fuck google

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I hate having to be on the side of "Defending" google... but this is the app makers fault, They are the ones using whats provided and installing the artificial limitations.

Google just provided the capability to do it. The app makers are executing it.

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[–] [email protected] 51 points 5 days ago (4 children)

the google store environment is such a pain, at work we have android based Zebra barcode readers... today when I was sideloading our app one of the devices kept uninstalling it because of google play... what a fucking pain in the ass

only when intune fully took it over did it stop...

DONT MAKE ME LIKE INTUNE GOOGLE.... JFK

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 days ago

Yeah, it happens to Spotify mods as well. This isn't good

[–] [email protected] 51 points 5 days ago (13 children)

It's not like dedicated people aren't going to be able to just patch out the calls to this API from the apps themselves...

This feels like yet another attempt at DRM that is doing more harm than help.

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[–] [email protected] 52 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (10 children)

What's the point of having an android phone then? I fucking hate android so much, but I only use it, not iOS, because of sideloading. ~~Of~~ If they take that away from us then why not just get an iPhone then? Our only hope is Linux phones picking up a little.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

I'm pretty new to this sort of stuff. I was planning to buy Google Pixel 8 sometime in November when they usually have sales. And install GrapheneOS. I never used this type of stuff before.

So will I have some trouble installing some stuff like some of mobile games, banking app, emails, etc? I'm in Canada if this help.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I have an android DAP (music player) that runs Android 7. It's a box with a headphone jack (remember those?) and it's sole purpose is to play offline music from an SD card.

I side-loaded a few music players, because there's no way I'm putting my Google password in android 7 in 2024.

I'd be upset if I couldn't side load. These DAPs never have an up to date android.

Let's hope the music apps I use don't block sideloading.

Poweramp won't. Musicolet?

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Can we do anything ?

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 5 days ago

Long live custom degoogled ROM.

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