Android apps can now force Google Play download, effectively blocking sideloading

GreenEngineering3475@lemmy.world to Android@lemmy.world – 134 points – Android apps can now force Google Play download, effectively blocking sideloading
9to5google.com

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19650358

Through an updated Google API, Android app developers can now effectively block sideloading and force downloads from the Play Store.

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Isn't that a textbook monopolistic practices lawsuit?

Sounds more like DRM, since it's for developers to choose whether or not to disable side loading their apps

Well, that will make it easy to uninstall apps.

All my homies download from fdroid

Apps on F-Droid are not using proprietary Google APIs and won't be affected.

Okay good. That was my main concern since I opt to download the same app from F-droid over Google play if it is an option.

It's a problem if you need a fucking banking app for example, and the bank won't let you sideload it and you're running a deGoogled OS. Then you suddenly need a backup phone with the full surveillance Android just to do banking.

But the picture I saw said "get this app from play" not, "get this app from a trusted store". That to me does not read DRM.

Because the developers want to check whether you got the app from the Play Store.

If the developers don't care where you get the app from, then they won't check.

So you're saying it should allow for developers to allow exclusive installation from third party stores as well? Like amazon? Fair.

But is there anything stopping them from implementing that?

Afaik this is just a Google play API and the app checks using the API if the current user is licenced or not. Why couldn't just any other store just do the same thing?

They can. IIRC, Amazon apps would check to make sure the Amazon App Store was still installed. And I'm pretty sure Netflix games stop working when you unsubscribe from Netflix

Not really since it's opt in for the developers who chose to distribute only on the play store

I guess the next step in piracy is to change the apk enough that it doesn’t get recognized correctly, if that’s possible? Though then everyone will have to worry about malware-ridden apps.

I think this is horrible, aside from piracy, because you may want or need to stay on an older version of an app. I have had to for devices at work that require a specific version or just an easy way to manage the device and ensure devices only got updates we approved through our MDM.

The app checks if the current user is licenced so you would have to crack the DRM to bypass it. It's not like the DRM is simply a filehash and all you have to do to avoid it is to change a byte or two.

Google made this available so they can encourage developers to use it and say "we're not a monopoly, the developers are adding the check" and see how long they can get away with it.

I wonder if the latest "play integrity fix" module could solve that problem. Its already allowing me to use bank apps on my rooted phone, so I assume it would let me sideload too if the integrity was "fixed". Google is making more problems with paid solutions.

I wonder how that will work for graphene os devices with the sandboxed Google services

This is going to be a pain in the ass for sometime. Almost all the apps that has sell something through google play will use that API now.

Fucking hell just when I decided to get my first pixel after leaving Samsung

Pixels have really good custom Roms available.

But what breaks though? I heard android auto is broke with Graphene. AA is a requirement for me

Edit: apparently AA broke on a crap ton of Custom Roms including CalyxOS

That might be a showstopper and I don't know anything about AA when it comes to custom roms.

This isn't just a pixel thing tho?

Yeah but I was thinking about iOS again since I could upgrade phones. If google is going to make android like iOS why stay,...?

Edit: FYI I had a jailbroken Dopamine iPhone