In a shocking betrayal of Android’s foundational principles, Google has announced what can only be described as a death blow to the open ecosystem that made Android the world’s most popular mobile platform. Under the guise of “security,” Google is implementing draconian developer verification requirements that effectively eliminate true sideloading freedom for millions, if not billions, of Android users worldwide.
This isn’t security enhancement—it’s corporate control disguised as protection, marking the beginning of the end for Android’s open nature, starting with banning sideloading of Android apps.
It’s not the first time Google has attacked sideloading. It’s a systematic deprecation of an extremely useful feature that made Android what it is today. Prior to this, a new Google Play Integrity API was released to block apps from running on Android devices that do not meet certain Play Integrity checks including rooted, bootloader unlocked, custom ROMs, or phones that have even the Developer Options enabled.
This was further met with another obstacle, wherein app developers have the power to force Android app installations through Google Play Store only. The said apps wouldn’t even launch if not installed through Google Play Store.
Soon Sideloading will be added to the KilledByGoogle list.
