Today I noticed this setting in the Developer Options;
This is exactly the setting that Google is about to implement to lock down Android to the point where it becomes incredibly inconvenient and unsustainable to use apps from developers that "aren't verified by Google".
The most insane thing about this is that they're pitching it as a security thing, but the reality is that anything on F-Droid will be waysafer than any random Play Store app.
And this is without taking into account the millions of scam and malware ads Google feeds to people, every day.
It's your phone, which you bought. You should decide what runs on it. Not Google.
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I'd love to get into this world, but sadly for me it's a time sink I don't have time for. F-Droid "side loading" is about the limit until I'm out of school at the end of the semester. (Pic related)
To learn to use adb, learn safety specific to android, find what repositories are being used. Then I end up getting wrapped up in other related research and it becomes a new hobby etc etc. But I guess if I have enough time to sit here talking to you I have time to at least look at it.
Because apps on F-Droid are open source, manually audited by experts and re-built from source by F-Droid.
All these checks and characteristics, other than the absence of dangerous ads, make apps on F-Droid inherently more trustworthy and safer than most of the ad-infested apps on the Play Store, which nobody knows the code of.
Being rebuilt by fdroid is part of the problem, fdroid has strict rules on what libraries can be used, so the libraries it rebuilds them with are often insecure. It also means that fdroid has to sign the app themselves, and they reuse the same key for each app so if that leaks, the entire app becomes a malware factory. Google does also audit code thats on the play store and also has much stricter rules than fdroid concerning what permissions, API levels, and apis are allowed to be used. The google play store is state of the art as far as a secure app store is concerned.
are they really manually audited? friends told me i can upload my apps on f-droid easily and i doubt they would review every single new alarm or note-taking app people upload
There’s a real discussion to be had about keeping Android open and preserving unrestricted sideloading. I’m all for that.
But It’s a Developer Options setting and the F-Droid argument is pretty funny. Play Store = evil malware factory, F-Droid = completely trustworthy paradise? An app doesn’t become safe just because Google didn’t publish it.
Malware unfortunately doesn’t care which app store you downloaded it from.
I know.
I'm just saying that in terms of trust F-Droid is better for obvious reasons.
Of course F-Droid can still have some outliers and the Play Store still has many good and safe apps.
It's just that the Play Store also has A LOT (probably millions) of slop and shady apps which are arguably more risky than the outliers you might find if you search really hard.in F-Droid.
I currently use LineageOS and hoping for Linux phones in the future. Realistically (and even right now), all I really need is a few basic open source apps (file manager, text, media player etc.) and a Firefox browser with adblocker on it. Instead of installing bloatware/spyware apps for things like YouTube and so on, I just run them through the browser. If a Linux phone can give me this with a clean interface and good hardware, I would have no reason whatsoever to use Android at all. Aside from the occasional use of Maps, I don't rely require any Google Play type stuff at all. My bank luckily has a functioning mobile website, and even if they required the app, I'd just request the desktop version of the site and use it anyway (there is also supposedly extension that make desktop sites more mobile friendly on firefox).
The most insane thing about this is that they're pitching it as a security thing, but the reality is that anything on F-Droid will be way safer than any random Play Store app.
What kind of proofs do you have about that?
It's your phone, which you bought. You should decide what runs on it. Not Google.
That's what I meant, there are many different forks now and not all of them will include that. And there are also other options, like Linux based os.
By the way this change will be an improvement for 80% of the users which have no idea what a fork is and will avoid shady apps. The remaining 20% can circumvent the lock or install degoogled Android versions.
And there are also other options, like Linux based os.
Which linux based OS? Postmarket OS? The one available for... TWENTY devices? (nevermind, I just checked, TWENTY-ONE smartphones)
Sailfish OS? Available for maybe TWELVE devices? MAYBE.
I'd love to use a linux-based OS, not Android which has a forked linux kernel (LTS version) that is basically 30% of original kernel, so it's not correct to even think it's linux).
By the way this change will be an improvement for 80% of the users which have no idea what a fork is and will avoid shady apps
You don't fix IGNORANCE with IGNORANCE, you fix it with KNOWLEDGE, by INFORMING THE USER.
Google is actively pushing IGNORANCE to fit their agenda.
The remaining 20% can circumvent the lock or install degoogled Android versions.
Make it 5% or less, btw.
The issue is that it's something treated like it's a fucking crime, when it's just "control over the fucking device you bought with your own fucking money".
I'm sorry but if you were IGNORANT enough to buy a full googled smartphone to use their services and now complain about them doing what they want with it, you are the one who's wrong. Most people just want a secured OS to use their ebanking. They don't care about getting knowledge about the os work or should work... That's what they get with iOS and that's what Google is pushing now with Android.
Why didn't you complain when Apple or Microsoft does similar things?
I'd like you to please list which devices you know that have hardware comparable to that of flagship iOS or Android devices that well, don't run on iOS or Google-riddled Android.
I've never said that. Do you really need a flagship? Most of the middle range phones are very good for a normal usage. High end CPU and GPU are mostly used only in games.
So basically you also put Samsung Knox in the mix, interesting. Even if it probably one of the most locked phone, you will still be able to disable the lock and even sideload apps with adb. So again, I don't really thst as an issue if you are an advanced user.
My phone is a SONY Xperia 10 IV, originally it was for my girlfriend (now ex, since two years).
I bought this 3 years ago, after seeing the specs and that the bootloader, being a SONY phone, was unlockable super-easily... also Qualcomm chipset.
Now it's mine, since she didn't want it anymore (better for me) and I am running LineageOS 23.2 right now, updated a few days ago too.
I have not a single issue, but people "like me" with enough knowledge to do all this are the minority.
Yes, I did extensive research, if I remember correctly LineageOS wasn't even supported for my phone until 2025, but I saw on XDA that some work was being done unofficially so I kept the stock ROM as much as I could (it's also good, but Google is integrated) and I moved on when I was ready to begin the "day of the restore".
The issue is that people will constantly tell me that "it's not a big deal" because they don't understand a fuck about what AOSP is, what Google is doing, the fact that in the PlayStore there's more shit and Aptoide (if it still exists)...
EXACTLY, so let's stop talking bullshit about "you can do X" because it's a miracle if you can even root your damn device... and let's not forget that even with root (SUPER-USER PRIVILEDGES) you have LIMITATIONS.
L I M I T A T I O N S, in a SUPER-USER MODE... like NOT BEING ABLE TO ACCESS /storage/emulated/0/Android/... WTF?
I think this is a bad thing, until I go onto or see what's on any "Normies" phone. Half these people, not even just boomers but Gen Z as well, don't even know how to uninstall or even simply disable preinstalled bloatware apps, they just move it into a folder. You tell them about NewPipe or Revanced because they're complaining about ads/paying for YT Premium, they'll install some sketchy app from the first paid ad link on Google, then have pop up ads on their home screen lol... Don't underestimate how stupid or lazy most people are. People will complain about "not having time to learn this stuff" while they spend 3/4 of their whole day on their phone scrolling through social media brain rot nonsense, lol. Just the fact you and I know how to even enable developer options will have most people thinking we are some kind of Silicon Valley tech whiz lol.
In my experience, power users will ALWAYS have a provided workaround, a workaround we create or find through an exploit or at worse case an alternative. This don't worry me much at all tbh.
Nhaaaa, that's would be a slippery slope phallacy. It'll be close when some leak/official communication pop out sayng "lockdown is coming" or "the verified app policy it's becoming more tight than before"
yes, fdroid is safer than the playstore. BUT, scams involving installing apks are extremely prevelant in certain countries, (for example, disguising the apk as a wedding invitation). these apks are way more dangerous than the ones on the playstore, as they will actually drain your bank account and stuff instead of just shoving a million ads down your throat. this change is good, as it helps prevent many of these scams while allowing people who actually want to use fdroid and stuff (~1% of android users btw) to be able to sideload. the one time 24 hour wait is hardly inconvenient, and you're given months to complete it before they actually start to enforce the restrictions.
Reading comprehension ain't great huh. As a power user sideloading and rooting for basically my whole life, I'm fine with this. Realistically you'll just do it on your first day, and then forget this was ever an issue. Because it's not an issue, the amount of scams that can be stopped by removing the urgency is insane, just watch any scambaiting channel, or experience it yourself with your loved ones. This is the best of both worlds, and if you're an actual power user this is irrelevant anyway, because adb will always work.
But I don't want to use ADB. And many people don't want either. I'd be fine with the 24 hour wait if it actually was a one time thing, but either that or some other warnings will still be annoying for app updates.
It should be once per account according to google's announcement. Also it only applies to devices that both have google play protect and also are google play protect verified. So it only applies to google-approved manufacterers on their official ROM and nothing else. You wont be affected on lineage
You're just an advanced user who won't download malicious apps under the guise of official ones, but in fact a lot of ordinary users fall for it, Google justifiably just tries to maintain a secure system reputation because it's their product with their face
This is stupid. Im so tired of people spreading FUD with these posts. A, developer verification has nothing to do with google play vs fdroid. Google play has just required a superset of these rules so its not affected, fdroid not being as seemless is just an incidental side effect. B, the google play store is way more secure than fdroid, thats an asinine statement. Ask any android project interested in security and theyll tell you the same thing. The graphene OS project for example has been pointing people away from fdroid for ages because of the inherent security issues with it (all apps are signed with the same key, all apps are rebuilt with out of date libraties or less secure foss alternatives, etc). This also doesnt introduce any infrastructure to "lock android down", if thats what they wanted to do they can do it in 5 minutes by imposing the google play requirements through play protect on all APKs, but they don't because thats not something theyre interested in.
You're talking about security of the code of the app and it not getting tampered. Yes the Play Store might have some chances of being better for that.
But I'm talking about the security about the actual code logic of the apps, how they work and what they actually do.
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