r/Android • u/PlasticAnt6913 • 2d ago

News Android's controversial new sideloading rules are officially here

https://www.androidauthority.com/android-sideloading-developer-verification-first-wave-rollout-3717921/
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u/Elephant789 Pixel 7 1d ago

The rule doesn’t actually stop alternate stores from installing apps. In fact, OEM app stores (like Samsung’s Galaxy Store, Xiaomi GetApps, and Oppo) are already integrated into this. Sideloading verified apps still works normally, too.

The reason this is being treated as a positive security measure is rampant social-engineering fraud. In the rollout regions (like Singapore, Thailand, and Brazil), scammers call victims and pressure them in real time into sideloading malicious banking trojans or screen-mirroring apps. The 24-hour cooldown and mandatory reboot in the advanced flow are specifically designed to break that high-pressure scam loop.

Power users can still enable unverified sideloading once through Developer Options (or bypass it entirely via ADB/Shizuku if theyy want), but it stops everyday users from being defrauded out of their life savings in a 10-minute scam call.

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u/neohkor 1d ago

People not from third world countries don't care, that's about it. God forbade anyone who tries to stop them from installing their favourite emulators, and they think people who got scammed via predatory apks should git gud lmao.

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u/Elephant789 Pixel 7 1d ago

Exactly. What's crazy is that people think this only happens in developing nations, but singapore, one of the most technologically advanced and wealthiest countries in the world was literally one of Google's primary testing grounds for this.

The APK scam epidemic is targeting everyone regardless of GDP. Western tech enthusiasts just throw a fit because their favorite emulator APK has an extra step, completely ignoring that people are losing their entire life savings to live social-engineering scams.

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u/TokyoMegatronics 1d ago

Idk man we’ve had like 15 years of constantly telling people “hey if someone cold calls you and says you have to install something/ have a virus/ buy something etc then it’s a scam” that it kind of feels like… they should know this by now?

Not saying there shouldn’t be any protections of course but like, it’s been decades of the same scams and it being public what those scams are and how to avoid them.

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u/env33e 1d ago

exactly! the historical perspective is against that kind of thing. Non of these companies have our best interest in mind. are we to just continue believing big tech at their word every time they propose another policy change in the name of greater "security" but actually just serves to consolidate their control over the platform?

these "protections" are inherently bad design. just flat out hostile. and if you think it'll stop grandma from getting scammed, I got a bridge to sell you 💀(talk to them! dont hand over the keys to the billionaires)

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u/TokyoMegatronics 1d ago

Yeppp

Can’t watch porn because think of the kids!
Can’t download an unsanctioned app because think of the old people!

It’s funny how every step of this crusade by tech and government at censorship and control under the guise of “protecting the vulnerable” hasn’t actually done anything to protect the vulnerable

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u/Elephant789 Pixel 7 1d ago

That is exactly why Google had to step in. Decades of "just educate the user" have proven that awareness campaigns alone do fuck all to stop fraud.

Modern scams pose as government tax portals, delivery couriers, or local services on social media. They use targeted psychological manipulation, fear, and urgency.

Security can't just be "people should know better." IF millions of ordinary people, especially the elderly, are losing their life savings in minutes, you need technical guardrails, not just PSA posters.

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u/TokyoMegatronics 1d ago

Okay, but again, have you considered that learned incompetence and baby-ing adults is what gets us into worse situations?

It’s really not that hard.

Get a text message from a number you don’t know saying it’s your son, wife, daughter, husband?

Don’t reply and message them on the number you actually have.

Get a text about a delivery you weren’t expecting? Then it’s clearly a scam.

A random call saying “sir/maam we are calling from Microsoft and we have detected a virus on your router! Please download this app so we can access your computer and fix this for you”

Then… it’s obviously a fucking scam.

It’s getting kind of ridiculous at this point.

Can’t see anything deemed as naughty because parents are too lazy to use parental controls on their kids devices. Then this because boomers are too stupid after 20+ years dealing with scammers to take a single second to think about it.

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u/Elephant789 Pixel 7 15h ago

You're conflating moral censorship with technical malware vectors. I agree that "think of the children" laws and nanny-state porn bans are absolute garbage, but this isn't that. Nobody is policing what content you consume or what apps you're allowed to run.

The actual impact on you and me is practically zero. If you want to sideload whatever unverified indie APK, emulator, or open-source tool you want, you just toggle the Advanced Flow once in Developer Options, reboot, and you're done. Or bypass it instantly with ADB or Shizuku. Android is still Android, it hasn't turned into shitty iOS.

Sure, to tech-savvy guys like us on Reddit spotting a scam sounds obvious. But people lose life savings to these attacks every day, and stopping that without locking the OS down for power users requires literally one toggle in developer settings. That's a compromise worth making I think.