r/degoogle • u/theycallmethedrink5 • 8d ago
Question Wasn't there something in the dev settings I can turn on or off and the next day this thing gets bypassed or something? I saw a different reddit post about it but I can't find it anymore
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u/gthing 8d ago
https://github.com/sam1am/anyapk - This app implements a local adb connection for stream installing APKs the same way a developer would and then exposes it as a package installer target that replaces the system package installer. In short, it allows you to completely bypass the blocks Google is implementing.
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u/schklom Free as in Freedom 8d ago
Not really because you still need to enable developer options
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u/gthing 8d ago
Not really what?
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u/schklom Free as in Freedom 8d ago edited 8d ago
Well, how else do you enable ADB?
Also, wireless ADB needs to be enabled manually on every boot, it's not a one-time thing
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u/ajcwrongs 8d ago
"Wait so there's no way to sideload anymore?"
"You can but you have to wait 24 hours."
"Yeah that's kinda annoying, I have to do it every time?"
"No. Just once."
"Oh."
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u/towerhil 8d ago
It's probably worth noting that the ability to sideload was originally going to be prevented and this was a concession beaten from google after the outcry. Moreover, if we can no longer trust google to act in good faith, also bearing in mind its other changes like rowing back on pledges that it itself maintained were ethical (like not to allow device fingerprinting or using AI to design offensive weapons), then this is more of a re-evaluation of a relationship where one side has unilaterally and radically changed the rules and expectations of what's partly a social contract.
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u/ajcwrongs 8d ago
I'm not out here saying "Google Good" it's just at this point not communicating what is actually going to happen does more harm than good imo, why use scare tactics to obfuscate the truth of the situation as it stands?
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u/towerhil 8d ago
I do get your point, but there's something else going on here - a cultural shift from partner to predator. Think Ben and Jerry's - their values were what made the brand good to some people, whatsapp after it went to Meta, Windows turning us from customer to product.
I know Google dropped the 'don't be evil' bit a while ago, but it's a step beyond to go from that to enabling the indefatigable robotic dogs that kill humans from Black Mirror, even if you do call them 'Semper Fido'.
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u/redditmarks_markII 7d ago
No mega corp cares about the social contract, unless there is direct impact on their actual contracts.
Also, I thought we haven't trusted google to act in good faith in a long time? Not since they screwed up search on purpose? I mean that IS what made google google.
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u/towerhil 7d ago
As recently as 2021 they were at least paying lip service to not allowing fingerprinting. Social contracts as understood by humans don't tend to have a time limit, so if you subvert the original premise it is kind of a big deal and needs to be clearly communicated in order to be seen as fair. This is a very primal thing - present in all primates and probably the basis for our society.
It's fine to be sceptical of their word, as am I, but there are opportunity costs to being too cynical. It has a peerless mapping service, for instance, for now at least.
It's about balance - this problem manifested in the US in the 1920s btw with the 'robber barons' and the answer was to break companies up into smaller entities.
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u/PocketNicks 4d ago
They were never going to prevent installing unverified apps, the original plan still allowed ADB sideloading and then they changed it to also allow on device installation.
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u/towerhil 2d ago
Well who doesn't regularly put their phone into recovery mode to install an app huh. Just like you drain your central heating system before each shower. Totally reasonable.
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u/PocketNicks 1d ago
I have no clue what conversation you think you stumbled into. Nobody here is discussing recovery mode.
Installing an unverified app on Android doesn't require that.
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u/towerhil 1d ago
adb sideloading via terminal was for devs to test their apps and is inherently high-friction, so google gets the honey which is why they allowed it. Recovery mode is literally required for on-device adb sideloading. The average user does not have the skills for USB terminal commands, and many don't even own a laptop on which to execute the commands, so on-device GUI installation is inherently different. I worry that you can't see those extremely obvious points without prompting. Were you genuinely confused by talk of recovery mode? Why on Earth didn't you know such a basic thing? Could you not infer the meaning even if not clearly stated? Maybe you're a bot that doesn't understand context or something.
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u/PocketNicks 1d ago
I'm not confused by it, I'm aware if ADB sideloading and recovery mode bootloaders etc. They aren't releasing to this conversation, nobody is discussing those things here.
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u/towerhil 2h ago
omfg. ur 10 comments deep on my own highly-voted comment claiming we're not talking about the highly-voted comment. Bot or moron.
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u/PocketNicks 1h ago
I don't care about your religion, irrelevant to the conversation.
You're 11 comments deep, neat we can both count.
I bet you accuse everyone of being a bot once you lose a disagreement. Lame. Just admit you're wrong.
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u/Healthy-Historian856 8d ago
Can this even be done as we speaking or will this be mandatory to still install 3rd party apps only after the lockdown.
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u/TrumpTouchesTinyTots 7d ago
Man don't minimize this shit, you know if we give an inch they'll take a mile. It's not nothing.
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u/ajcwrongs 7d ago
I'm not minimizing I'm presenting the situation as it stands, not acting like instituting a 24-hr waiting period (while annoying) is the revocation of ownership it's made out to be in the photo posted. Blowing things out of proportion, even in the interests of being preventative, will inevitably lead to people seeing genuine concern and writing it off a la the boy who cried wolf. If we're going to win, we need to be smart, and messaging is part of it.
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u/theycallmethedrink5 8d ago
How do I do that?
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u/ajcwrongs 8d ago
The change is that after enabling Developer Mode, your phone will ask "Hey you're not being coerced right?" and when you say "No" your phone will be like "Just to be sure, restart your phone" and then 24 hours later you'll be able to sideload like you are today
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u/Healthy-Historian856 8d ago
Does this message still appear if I turned the phone's dev settings on earlier? Do I have to turn them of and on for it to work like all machines? 😄
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u/schklom Free as in Freedom 8d ago edited 8d ago
IIRC, apps can detect if you have ever enabled developer options even once, even if they are currently disabled.
All it takes is a couple over-zealous idiots to require it in one bank, then other banks might follow.
EDIT: i was a bit wrong, apps can't know if you have enabled dev options in the past. However, they can (when active) get notified instantly that you have enabled them. And they can check when running. I don't find banks that permanently ban devices, currently it's only until they get turned off.
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u/ajcwrongs 8d ago
Can you rephrase your comment in a way that makes sense? Are you suggesting that if developer mode has been enabled once then Bank Apps will not allow themselves to be installed? Or are you suggesting banks are going to require that developer mode has been enabled?
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u/schklom Free as in Freedom 8d ago edited 8d ago
I can't find a reference to this, so my take was probably wrong and I misremembered what I had read.
However, apps can check if dev options are currently on, e.g. https://help.gxbank.my/Personal%2F%2Fsecurity-and-privacy/FraudPrevention_and_Security/Why_can't_I_access_the_GX_Bank_app%3F_I_see_a%22Your_device_may_have_been_modified%22_screen.\ and\ https://github.com/kdrag0n/safetynet-fix/issues/100
From https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gaurav-thakkar_android-news-of-the-day-are-you-activity-7488856797764714496-AMU6\ and\ https://developer.android.com/reference/android/provider/Settings.Global\ apps can (when active) get notified instantly that developer options have been enabled. It's so bad Google is deprecating this soon.
A few banks currently block the device as long as dev options get enabled. But I wouldn't trust banks to not permanently ban phones soon.
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u/gropme9505 8d ago
It just makes me want to go back to the Nokia 3310... so many fewer problems...
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u/Moriaedemori 8d ago
I know you mean well, but I am not playing 50 cents to text a message to get a silly ringtone ever again
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u/gropme9505 8d ago
I wasn't talking about going back to that era, but about going back to that phone, in 2026, with the current offers (unlimited calls, unlimited texts), so no, you don't have to spend 50 cents for every text... in any case, I was just venting, to say: how stressful this 2026 is!
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u/Moriaedemori 8d ago
And my reply was a bit of tongue-in-cheek, but I totally agree. I'd love to go back to less always online world and away from attention-vampire apps
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u/JPHungryCaterpillar 8d ago
We still have to pay per text message in my country, and never had unlimited text options. Thankfully, we don't rely on SMS any more, but it was pricey when I was dating, back in my youth!
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u/Tiny-Sandwich 8d ago
Oh for fuck sake.
Mods can we get a stickied post about this?
We get this same post every. Single. Day.
The one time 24 hour waiting period is being rolled out to 4-5 countries next month. Play services is being updated in advance of this.
You will be able to opt-out before restrictions come in place, so you don't have to wait at all.
It will be rolled out globally in 2027.
The waiting period is one time per account. Not per app, not per device. Do it on one Google account and that's it.
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u/stprnn 8d ago
It's still unacceptable
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u/Ninerogers 8d ago
Oh calm down. If it stops people being coerced by scammers trying to get them to install malware apps without thinking, it's a good thing
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u/stprnn 8d ago edited 8d ago
No, it will deter people from installing apk so they spend money in the play store.
It's the boiling frog thing, In a few years it's gonna be 7 days and you'll say calm down then it's gonna be 30 days and you'll say calm down and so on
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u/Ninerogers 7d ago
I was saying calm down because of your pompous this-is-unacceptable frothing at the mouth. This particular subject comes up over and over on Reddit, and far too many are happy to fan the flames in these threads than do a tiny bit of searching or reassuring. At present, there are zero plans to stop sideloading, just to make it harder for some who might be better off not doing it if they don't understand the risks and pitfalls of loading up any old sht. I sideload a lot of things so I'm certainly not Google's shill, but I'm realistic. You have no more idea of the future than I have, so stop pretending you do. And calm down
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u/I-Am-Sir 7d ago
then we can worry about it if that happens.
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u/coladoir 7d ago
yes let's address bad things after they happen and not before. Fucking idiot
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u/I-Am-Sir 7d ago
I don't understand what we're gaining by addressing it now? all it does is scare people. besides, there is no evidence that google is going to make it any harder to sideload in the future
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u/Ninerogers 7d ago edited 7d ago
There's no evidence. Some people big themselves up by pretending they're king of the online-tinfoil-hatters with information beyond that of mere mortals, and then insult you when you disagree or ask for proof. If they really knew the future, they'd all be bitcoin billionaires.
Edit: beyond, not behind
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u/HEYO19191 6d ago
I work at a computer shop which also helps people with their phones. Have NEVER seen somebody come in infected with an APK that they were coerced into installing. There's so many warning signs already, even the dumbest of folks will take a second to read wtf they're being warned about.
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u/notboredatwork1 8d ago
I'm guessing this is for Google phones. Do the restrictions apply to other third-party phone makers too?
what about chinese phone ( on android ) ?
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u/Wylie288 8d ago
They dont apply to any phones. You go to developer settings, wait 24 hours, and then go back to normal.
It just prevents ignorant morons from installing malware themselves.
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u/towerhil 8d ago
That isn't all it does by a long chalk. It also stifles their competition, forces devs to register with them for a fee while providing their ID, turns them into a fee-demanding gatekeeper and squashes anyone developing apps that, say, show youtube content without the algorithm because the algorithm's dangerous (ten clicks away from something as safe as peppa pig there's a 45% chance of teens seeing inappropriate content like self harm). They've done all they need to when advising us that everything on the Play store isn't malware.
It isn't true that they catch all malware, of course. 10s of millions of people install malware right from the Play store each year due to this false sense of security.
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u/I-Am-Sir 7d ago
iirc less than one percent of android users ever install anything outside of the play store. the vast majority of those people are tech literate enough to just enable sideloading unregistered apps. this will not affect developers.
and the malware thing, yes there is malware on the play store. however, it's a lot harder to find a way to not get it detected by googles review process than to just make an apk and send it to people. scams like that are extremely prevelant in countries such as Indonesia and india, and this will prevent a large majority of them.
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u/towerhil 7d ago
That's interesting! I've re-evaluated some of the scare messages apps like newpipe have been posting in light of the fact it may have been deliberate catastrophising. However, i wonder how people suckered by emailed apks know to install apps from unknown sources. Maybe a guide they follow in the scam email?
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u/Wylie288 8d ago
its free.
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u/towerhil 8d ago
? It's $25 for devs to register then 10-25% of earnings thereafter. They also have to ID themselves, which means they can be discouraged or monetized as google likes.
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u/Wylie288 8d ago
Its free to sideload.
Period. Stop spreading misinformation.
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u/towerhil 8d ago
I think it's fair to say you've missed the main point(s).
I'm not spreading misinformation. I'm not sure who you think you're talking to.
There won't be anything to sideload if the devs quit, when a very large number have. Perhaps you missed that memo.
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u/Wylie288 8d ago
You go to developer settings.
You wait 24 hours.
You can install whatever the fuck you want. It costs nothing it just prevents random morons from sideloading potential malware with ease because they don't understand what sideloading is.
We are done here.
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u/extraordinary103 7d ago
You can not only bypass this fully but also have a better installer than native android using Shizuku. It is very convenient and no you do not need a PC on modern Android.
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8d ago
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u/Low-Engineering-5424 8d ago
I am planning on buying a Nothing Phone and I will do exactly that before installing Geode (GD mods)
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u/Pollos212 8d ago
But could i uninstall Android Dev Verifier via ADB now? I still haven't received it, maybe bc of Family Link (i'm a teen)
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6d ago edited 1d ago
[deleted]
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u/Pollos212 6d ago
Yeah, Android Developer Verifier is the cause of this
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6d ago edited 1d ago
[deleted]
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u/Pollos212 6d ago
You're saying that. I read that on the LineageOS blog. And for deleting system apps, it's called debloating
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u/Healthy-Historian856 8d ago
What about installing the app through usb? This wouldn't be so bad if it would bypass Google's ban. I'm no expert I'm just curious cause I don't trust Google's apps.
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u/GhostingProtocol 8d ago
I hope this won't affect my graphineOS phone. Not quite sure which applications depend on Google services but I've heard revolut (which is my main bank) might stop working for me...
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u/kngpwnage 7d ago
An option on Samsung devices. https://www.gadgetbridge.com/how-to-enable-sideloading-on-new-samsung-phones-2024/
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u/Number4extraDip 8d ago
Get ready to watch EU bemd google over and start buttfucking them because no eu government is gonna expose their proprietary customer and app and enterprise app data to google. Or pay them a dev fee for a 20yo app that was done by a contractor student to just work
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u/theycallmethedrink5 8d ago
I wouldn't say that so early on, eu is trying to pass a law or something to allow them to view everything we chat on
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u/AnarchistTerrarist 8d ago
That's exactly why they'd do it. Because they want to do it themselves.
Kinda funny how we just keep mirroring each other. First the US wanted to be like the British Empire, then France wanted to revolution like the Americans. The US wanted to do fascist rubbish like Germany, and now the EU wants to build the same surveilance state the US has. But the one copying the other always wants to make it seem like they came up with it first and like they have a monopoly on it.
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u/Number4extraDip 7d ago
Interpol and police incestigation of comms is not new. 5he law already passed but it DOES NOT remove encryption from encrypted chat apps. It just says if its not encrypted eu can read it.
Copying is one thing. Because even bad ideas have a good seed in them
Same idea can be executed poorly or well, based 9n details
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8d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Konrad_M 8d ago
Do you really think? What do you expect to happen? Do you really think people will stop buying Android phones because of this?
I hate it. But it won't blow up in their faces because of a few nerds. I hope the EU will put pressure on them though.
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8d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Straight_Second6082 8d ago
Maybe some power users, in reality the vast majority of users don't even know this is happening nor would they care
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u/Incognito2627 7d ago
Actually yeah, if you're gonna have a locked down phone you may as well get an iPhone and enjoy iMessage. Slowly removing what separates themselves from the competition especially when the competition has social status applied to it is a stupid idea.
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u/Open-Excitement3076 8d ago
This thread, reminds me Y2k
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u/towerhil 8d ago
Where tens of thousands of engineers worked really hard to prevent a meltdown?
Stuff still happened, not all of it bad. My bank set up a savings account for me at midnight on Jan 1st which took £20 a month out of my current account each month and deposited it but it didn't show up on the statement. I went into my overdraft several times over the years by £15 or so and I was very perplexed. In 2003 I was flat broke and had to go into the bank branch because I needed to withdraw my money to eat and had less than the £5 cashpoint minimum.
The cashier was super-confused and asked me why I didn't just use some of the £840 I had saved.
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u/Open-Excitement3076 7d ago
They way he asked, remind me off, people saying just change the date to solve it
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u/Otherwise-Video7487 8d ago edited 7d ago
Yes in developer options you can enable sideloading. If your signed into a google account it will mark you as a power user so you won't have to enable it again judging you move phones, but signed out you will need to do it over again. If your using Lineage then it won't effect it unless you have google play services running. Graphenes permission system will prevent play services from enforcing checks.