Google CEO Pichai advises Android users not to sideload apps
Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai advises Android users not to sideload apps for security reasons.
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.
Because it's an excuse.
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.
I advise him to stfu
That is great advice.
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
It’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.
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 “we want our 30% cut”
What he really means is “we 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 possible”
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.
FOSS via F-Droid is gaining momentum, they don't like it.
They don't like Epic Game Store gaining momentum. They don't care that much about F-Droid.
It's kinda funny to watch two garbage corporations fighting each other
Yeah, no a lot of lost revenue from f droid
I'll keep sideloading if they don't allow F-Droid, NewPipe and LibreTube on the Play Store.
To late already formatted and installed lineageOS and f-droid
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
“We’re trying to strike a balance. Apple’s iPhone only allows the App Store, but we believe in choice, so on Android we allow you to sideload and install additional applications.”
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 🎵
Well, not all the apps I want are on your store, so 🤷♀️.
Pichai advises Android users not to sideload apps for security reasons
s/security/financial
/g
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."
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.
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 🤷♀️
Ok asshole I won't sideload apps from the Play Store anymore.
naa i'll keep doing what I'm doing
That's the only right option
Sorry, not sorry, not giving up on New Pipe. Best ad-free YouTube experience, period.
That's ultamately what they want you to do. to give up on f-droid, and alternative app clients, and alternative free apps in general.
They want you to give up your freedom
I advise Pichai to suck my dick
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.
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.
K thx bye I'm not logging in with a google account on my phone
Based
Of course i do, and install more and more sideload apps. Newpipe is good, smarttube is great, youtube premium is lame ;)
Also check out LibreTube
Yeah I'd advise that too if that was a source of income
Haven't he heard of F-Droid?
He obviously wants people to use his crappy centralized proprietary store that collects all of your information instead of a superior FLOSS platform
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.