GoKawiilTL;DR Google is introducing a new sideloading flow on Android that includes a mandatory 24-hour lock and multiple steps when installing apps from unverified developers.
The change is aimed at preventing scams and coercion, forcing users to slow down and think before installing potentially harmful apps.
While sideloading is still possible, the added friction and new developer verification requirements could raise concerns that Android is becoming less open.
When Google execs previously said sideloading would become a high-friction process on Android, they really weren’t kidding.
The company is finally sharing what Android’s new sideloading flow will look like in practice, and if you’re someone who installs apps outside the Play Store, you’re going to feel it immediately, and you’re going to feel it deeply.
This isn’t a subtle tweak or another warning screen you can quickly tap past. Google is fundamentally changing how sideloading works on Android, especially for apps that come from “unverified developers.”
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Google’s brand-new “advanced flow” for sideloading is designed specifically for what the company calls power users. It’s a deliberately slow and almost impossible-to-rush-through process that will allow advanced Android users to sideload apps from unverified developers, while giving them plenty of caution to keep them safe from malicious apps and bad actors. At the same time, the new process is designed to protect unassuming Android users who might be tricked or coerced into downloading unverified apps.
The new sideloading flow: what you actually have to do
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