runting (u/runting) - Readit News

runting commented on Answering questions about Android developer verification android-developers.google... · Posted by u/rom1v

maest · 3 months ago

> It doesn't take much effort to enable Developer Options, plug into a laptop and run "adb install whatever.apk"

This is clearly a troll, confirmed by the green username.

runting · 3 months ago

Not a troll, just someone who read the article to see what these developer verification changes actually entail.

runting commented on Answering questions about Android developer verification android-developers.google... · Posted by u/rom1v

hn92726819 · 3 months ago

Do you see the direction they're heading? They're now making it so maybe .5% of android users know how to sideload. They're clearly chipping away at it, even though they might not be making all the changes at once.

runting · 3 months ago

What fraction of users do you think have a legitimate need to sideload apps on Android? I would imagine it's much less than 0.5%. Developers and technically-minded power users must be a tiny minority amongst Android users given that it has an install base in the billions.

runting commented on Answering questions about Android developer verification android-developers.google... · Posted by u/rom1v

estimator7292 · 3 months ago

And by what mechanism can you prevent google from disabling adb? Or implementing a situation like iOS where sideloaded dev apps only last for a week and are signed with your personal developer key tied to your credit card?

There's nothing to stop them, and absolutely no reason to think they won't take away adb sideloading in the near future.

runting · 3 months ago

Google have full control to do this on their Pixel devices by rolling out new firmware with further restrictions - though there is no evidence they plan to do so.

However other vendors that build upon AOSP, such as Samsung, can make their own decisions on this.

runting commented on Answering questions about Android developer verification android-developers.google... · Posted by u/rom1v

rcxdude · 3 months ago

They've made their intentions clear. As soon as third-parties start to use adb for sideloading there's a very good chance they start to lock that down as well.

runting · 3 months ago

That is speculation. Is there any evidence?

runting commented on Answering questions about Android developer verification android-developers.google... · Posted by u/rom1v

yoavm · 3 months ago

At least as far as I understand, this would be a huge issue for F-Droid, to the extent that it isn't clear if it can continue at all. Half of my apps come from there, and gets automatically updated. Starting to download APKs manually and install them with ADB isn't impossible, but a huge downside.

runting · 3 months ago

This might open up a market opportunity for an "F-Droid box" that one would plug into an Android phone over USB, to install and update F-Droid apps over adb. Or the equivalent software for a laptop.

runting commented on Answering questions about Android developer verification android-developers.google... · Posted by u/rom1v

oflebbe · 3 months ago

You can sideload apps in ios too, but you may not run it.

runting · 3 months ago

On Android you can both install and run apps over adb. The linked article explains:

> Participating in developer verification will not affect your experience in Android Studio, the official IDE for Android app development. You will continue to be able to build and run an app even if your identity is not verified. Android Studio is unaffected because deployments performed with adb, which Android Studio uses behind the scenes to push builds to devices, is unaffected. You can continue to develop, debug, and test your app locally by deploying to both emulators and physical devices, just as you do now.

runting commented on Answering questions about Android developer verification android-developers.google... · Posted by u/rom1v

po1nter · 3 months ago

Taking away adb install should be the next step. It's a slippery slope

runting · 3 months ago

Is there any evidence that Google plan to do this?

runting commented on Answering questions about Android developer verification android-developers.google... · Posted by u/rom1v

ACCount37 · 3 months ago

Yep, it's as bad as everyone expected it to be. "We aren't taking away sideloading, we're just going to fully control it now! No Google-unapproved code on user devices! For security reasons!"

Chrome isn't enough. We need Android to get clawed away from Google too.

runting · 3 months ago

Not really though, as you can still install apps over adb without developer verification, same as always.

runting commented on Answering questions about Android developer verification android-developers.google... · Posted by u/rom1v

runting · 3 months ago

This isn't so bad. Unlike other mobile OSes (namely iOS and HarmonyOS), you will still be able to install whatever you like on Android over a USB debugging connection (adb) without any developer verification.

It doesn't take much effort to enable Developer Options, plug into a laptop and run "adb install whatever.apk". It's kind of like the floppy disk era again, having to physically insert things into one's computer to install software. Not a big deal.

u/runting

KarmaCake day2October 4, 2025View Original