Google CEO Pichai advises Android users not to sideload apps

raptir@lemdro.id to Android@lemdro.id – 131 points –
Google CEO Pichai advises Android users not to sideload apps
phonearena.com
77

I can advise Pichai to lick my nuts

I would not made those assomption. You would be surprised.

Those who complain about iOS being a "walled garden" should understand why Apple doesn't allow sideloading.

We already know. It's because Apple wants their 30% cut, you fuckin' dunce.

What makes Apple think they're the only ones who can "keep their users safe" from malware? Google can't do it just as well? Amazon can't? Samsung? Sony? Wal-Mart? F-Droid? Plenty of malware on the Apple app store.

I don't know why this is news. Most consumer Android phones, Google's included, require you to acknowledge a warning before the ability to sideload is enabled. Their stance has always been "at your own risk, we don't recommend it" and we always just laugh and say "okay, whatever dude" before we do it anyways.

we always just laugh and say "okay, whatever dude" before we do it anyways.

The thing is for people who aren't used to modding and you try to side-load a random cool app on their phone (or somehow they end up doing it themselves) they might be frightened and may even cancel the installation.

But there are also users who interpret dialogs like that the old way:

A family member always downloaded and installed APKs from the internet and didn't know about the Play Store cause that is how you did things on Windows.

The person is question has low tech literacy, and they were doing this for years

Yup. Some people try out Linux (and to some extent MacOS, although their app store is a lot less all-encompassing) and attempt to do the same thing, finding random executables online that may or may not cause issues and may or may not even be from the actual developer themselves.

The ubiquity of Windows means that MS's software decisions - good or bad - have knock on effects to other software, such as people doing as you say to find apps, as well as things like ignoring security prompts because of how poorly they implemented Window's User Account Control dialogues.

It's not always a bad thing, sometimes it can act as a positive pressure to improve - e.g. Window tiling/snapping becoming a much more widespread feature after Win7 included it. But man it really can be a bad thing sometimes.

I think it's news as they say it as they are in court against epic games about their Google play store.

Can someone please tell Pichai that I can do whatever I want with my phone that I paid for. (Also tell him to fuck off and that he can suck ma balls)

Be Pichai.

Tell people not to sideload apps fOr SaFeTy.

Find out [Insert Malware App] has been on the play store for months and tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people have downloaded it.

Could you imagine Laptop manufacturers saying "do NOT download apps from other websites. ONLY download from the Windows App Store"

Like, fuck off Pichai, you're insane

Are phones the only devices out there that receive such scrutiny in the tech world?? My laptop can literally do the exact same thing but better

That's different then the owner off the defualt android appstore telling you. If a device manufactuer did say this, i'd question why.

Did google pay them to?? or more specific to your comment did microsoft pay them

People should do that though

Itโ€™s good security practice to use your package manager and if you have to download off the internet then you should build it yourself

I will with you halfway through with this, here is how I view it.

If you have little experience with telling between safe sources and sketchy, then yes, stick with the defualt.

If ypuu know about some safe appstores or repositories then that's when you could say you are qualified to make thes decisions. Like I know Fdroid is safer and better than the defialt on everyway for the users best interest, but if you dont know your sources then you should not sidelode untill you do know how to make good decisions.

You usually can add more repo/source to your package manager though.

You over estimate the average user if you trust them for that

Not really planning on sacrificing privacy and safety from monopolies by doing that thanks. Not everybody's threat model is that ridiculous.

What he really means is โ€œwe want our 30% cutโ€

What he really means is โ€œwe want to take your freedom away and lock you into our proprietary ecosystem so we can mine all of your data and extract as much profit from you as possibleโ€

That's why you should use GrapheneOS

I agree with him. If you don't know what you are doing and just blindly install something off the Internet, it's a security concern. I would not recommend that most users side-load apps, either. You have to remember that this crowd is not representative of the average user.

Just don't take the option away from those of us who do know what they are doing.

I'll keep sideloading if they don't allow F-Droid, NewPipe and LibreTube on the Play Store.

I own my device. I get to choose what I install on it.

Google Chrome isn't on the Microsoft Store on Windows or macOS Store on macOS. Should I stop "sideloading" it according to his advice?

Edit: Found more about the quote on The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/14/23960811/pichai-we-dont-want-to-allow-you-to-completely-compromise-your-phone

โ€œWeโ€™re trying to strike a balance. Appleโ€™s iPhone only allows the App Store, but we believe in choice, so on Android we allow you to sideload and install additional applications.โ€

I'm so conflicted about it. I don't want people to have to suffer for intentionally or unintentionally installing garbage on their phones, but I can't let that take away from how I use my device as well.

Google Chrome isn't on the Microsoft Store on Windows or macOS Store on macOS. Should I stop "sideloading" it according to his advice?

Yes, actually no one on this planet should be using Chrome or any proprietary browser when superior FLOSS alternatives like Firefox and LibreWolf exist.

Google CEO Pichai can go fuck himself.

Fuck you Pichai, fuck you Google, fuck you Big Tech. I'm not doing what you are telling me, I'm not using your crappy proprietary services that are built to spy on everyone, I'm not watching your shitty advertisements, I'm definitely not giving you any of my data. I hope your piece of shit company goes bankrupt and you end up on the street, that's where you belong to. I'm not a slave of your totalitarian system, I'm free to choose where I download my software and what software I want to run on my devices. I do everything to avoid your surveillance capitalism, I use FLOSS software wherever I can. Your business model is a piece of trash, it will inevitably fail at some point. I am sure that you will try to do everything to mislead the public and to get them to believe your lies, but not everyone is as stupid as you would like them to be.

Fuck you I won't do what you tell me ๐ŸŽต

Well, not all the apps I want are on your store, so ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ.

Clearly this is BS. Sideloading is perfectly safe if you just reputable resources.

What he's really saying if that the average user is too dumb and will install any rubbish from anywhere. He's not wrong but that shouldn't prevent competent users from sideloading.

At least they've made the process scary enough that the average user don't even bother to do it

It's a non issue that shouldn't be given any time.

I've sideloaded for years and never had any malware.

He doesnt want to name specific types of people or it might make it seem like google attacking specific people. So instead all users get bundled in this. They will use the most careless users as a reason to take it away from all users. It benefits them.

I think that Google really just wants to get less and less people to sideload and then shame others that do through public shaming. 'oh that's dangersous son; you shouldn't be sideloading that Fdroid app! Google said so.' That's why they brought it up to begin with, this is as google goes over court with epic games over the app store fee.

Want to know why they might really be saying to not sideload apps, because they are saying without saying it "screw you epic games, screw you 3rd party YouTube clients that get rid of our ads and screw you f-droid for offering something to people for free that isn't piracy, now we have to compete with that and make good products, or do we mwahaha."

Yeah and it feels like there's a "study" coming out every other month how many hundreds or thousands of apps on the playstore are filled with spy- and malware, I'd think that can also "really compromise your safety, very significantly." So ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ

If we're not careful there will be a new generation of users who have no concept of "apps" at all, and will conflate sideloading (or anything 'not authorized') with an illegal process.

Ok asshole I won't sideload apps from the Play Store anymore.

oh oh. a new tech war is coming for independant app developers.

I hope this doesn't lead to Google to keep saying this repeativly for awhile and eventually removing the feature to side loading apps in the feature, them saying saying something like 'sideloading an old outdated way we use to use the internet and it has security flaws'

They really just want to kill f-droid. Once they do that, it gets harder to block Youtube ads after all. Apps like new pipe would have to find a new home.

Are devs people going to wake up and make a new commercial os that will actual compete with android and iOS? no a new Linux distro is not going to come anywhere close to even, Macos marketshare. It needs to be new, and needs to be preloaded on computers and sell in stores. It needs to be simple.

Use GrapheneOS, it's a completely independent non-profit mobile security research project that has probably created the most secure mobile operating system out there. GrapheneOS doesn't use any Google services by default, and it makes fundamental security improvements to the entire Android operating system stack. It also doesn't have an official app store that comes with system privileges, so technically every app installation on GrapheneOS is 'sideloading'. In my opinion, it's by far the best option for a mobile OS.

I really hope linux phones take off by then at which point I'll switch for certain

I meant as a user, go ahead and switch to it. But to rid of the monopoly, they nee competition. No one is creating that for normies who don't know how to Linux. If Linux phones make their way into walmarts and targets, then maybeee. It has to be as simple as buy it, and use it. like how you buy a Nintendo switch and it just works.

"CEO says" annnnd ignored. next time get someone with a soul to say whatever it is.

Oh well, I guess I'll return the Pixel 8 I just ordered.

Nah, I'll just install Calyx, and invite Sundar to suck my dick.

Proper attitude! Getting tiring of these tech daddies trying to dictate what I will do my devices.

These creeps really think they own the devices but I guess why wouldn't they when normies take it and even say thank you.

If playstore wasn't utter shite maybe I wouldn't sideload apps

As long as an advertising company that spies on everyone owns and controls the Play Store, it will always be a complete and utter piece of garbage

What's Apples excuse? Their store seems worse then Googles.

Don't even get me started on the flaws with Apple, their walled garden and the App Store

It's the reason I left the Apple ecosystem and switched to a far superior operating system that actually respects the user and gives them freedom over their devices. GrapheneOS is awesome!

Id rather become a hermit than pay for and give up all my privacy like these assholes want. Boycott everything, enough is enough. Even grocery companies are gouging us with record profits.

Stop spending $$.

Just one question,are you certian all of them are seeing record profits, sure the big names like kroger might be but what about the smaller ones.

Hope there will be movement from some governments to forbid having no choice about store for apps. I don't know about iPhone but is there really no other way but apple store to install app? Apart from jailbreaking? If so I am concerned nothing has / is already been done about forcing their stores on users.

There is already one in the EU. Regulation just passed a while ago, will be in effect in March. Windows is getting a less shitty EU version because if it for example.

Look up the Digital Markets Act.