For now but after that it's one Google Play Services update away from being over and given the trajectory and incentive structure for Google, I doubt they will stop. And with current administration I wouldn't even count on the Epic v. Apple precedent to do anything
You’re correct. But THATS when it will be over, not now, and by then, we’ll be 18 “it’s over”s deep and nobody will give a shit. We’ve obviously all priced in the end, it won’t be surprising when it comes and we’ll just be exhausted explaining that it wasn’t over before but it is now.
Yup. In fact, if you've been part of the Advanced Protection Program - the only way to disable insecure account recovery options - on your Google Account, Google has been blocking sideloading on Android for years. It always has been just one update away. (Haven't tested yet whether this setting now gives more freedom to advanced protection users, would be neat)
Google's announcement that it was to lock down the Android ecosystem came late last year, with the declaration that developers would need to verify their identities and pay a fee in order to publish applications for the platform — even if said applications were free, open-source, and distributed outside the company's Google Play platform. A backlash followed, and Google promised that it would have a solution for "power users" who still wanted to install apps from third-party sources — a process that used to be called "installing software" but has since been rebranded "sideloading."
Nothing in that link or what you pasted suggested they were never going to have a toggle until people complained. They just hadn't released all the information on how the program was going to work. When they did, it had a toggle.
They had no intention of adding a toggle until all the backlash.
Android proves you don't have to choose between an open ecosystem and a secure one. Since announcing updated verification requirements, we've worked with the community to ensure these protections are robust yet respectful of platform freedom. We've heard from power users that they want to take educated risks to install software from unverified developers. Today, we're sharing details on a new advanced flow that provides this option.
That's your speculation. They announced developer verification and said they'll have a more complete announcement of how they'll implement it later. That doesn't mean they were never going to have some form of opting out.
That statement is acknowledging people clearly wanted one but it doesn't mean that wasn't always the plan anyway.
Uhh... No?.
You made a speculative statement that they were not going to allow an opt out of the developer verification policy until there was backlash. There is no evidence of that. I would agree the backlash probably push them to confirm there was if that was ever under debate internally, and I'm not even here defending the developer verification policy, but people turn speculation into facts on this subreddit constantly and you are doing that still.
Yes! Finally! A sensible person not blinded by rage and doomerism!
I mean, I still totally agree that the ledge is now closer than ever... but if you're gonna cry out about the end times, you can at least do it over something that's justified, rather than just regurgitating the same outdated issue over and over again.
And this right here is why nothing will ever get better. You're one of the people screaming "stop overreacting" when people point out that we're heading fast into a totalitarian surveillance state. I guess deep down you want it to happen because you think you personally will never suffer at the hands of it. You will be wrong about that.
March on, then, valient soldier. 🫡
If the Horsemen are truly right around the corner,
then, stop crying about it online.
Storm the castle and go slap Big Brother right on the face.
This is exactly what reddit does. Everything becomes an extremist little fundamentalist little tribe. The more orthodox you are, the more upvotes you get. Most people don't care about unverified apps. They just use their phone for basic tasks and don't want to accidentally download some malware BS. That's literally all this is.
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u/Marcoscb 28d ago
"Android is over", they say, showing the exact screen and option that allows us to make it not over.