Google has news on what you will need to do for still being able to sideload apps:

[dequei@masto.es]

@stw @grote Yeah, just start using linux phones, like the #Jolla and done

[razemix@mamutovo.cz]

@nazokiyoubinbou @FifiSch @grote
> "Install LineageOS"
Oh, is that an app or something? Can i download it from the Play Store?

You're naive. I'm not saying it's okay for Google and Apple to do whatever they're doing. I'm just saying that the whole process to switch OS is hard and claiming otherwise isn't helping anybody. Also, the thing is, users shouldn't be forced to switch OS just to install an app they want. The same way they shouldn't be forced to self-host a whole-ass cloud stack just to keep their privacy (see https://neilzone.co.uk/2022/07/self-host-it-is-not-the-answer/). It simply isn't a viable solution for regular users. There should be much stricter regulations in place to prevent these kinds of things in the first place.

[ariac@donotsta.re]

@grote woah memories from unlocking a (recent) xiaomi bootloader return

[31113@kolektiva.social]

@shivvr but how often does that happen to you vs how often do you unlock your phone in the presence of other people or cameras who could see what you're typing?

[tedmielczarek@mastodon.social]

@TimWardCam @grote I feel like you're inventing a weird fictional scenario here to be mad about, but Google Play already has support for limited distribution of apps for internal testing without requiring all of the steps required to publish an app in the Play Store: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9845334?hl=en

[zaki@plasmatrap.com]

@grote@chaos.social okay, i need to ask this since i can't quite seem to find info anywhere

what would happen to the sideloading permission if developer options was disabled?

if sideloading also gets disabled as a result, i presume re-enabling it would require repeating the steps outlined, yes?

if that would be the case, it would still be borderline useless on any daily-use phone, since a considerable number of apps (notably ones to do with Money) would actively refuse to start with developer options enabled

conflating having "unapproved" software installed with having access to more direct system settings is kinda Not Great tbh

and just because it isn't directly approved doesn't immediately mean it's malicious, either (said detection/blocking would also effectively conflate the two)

[ngm89@social.vivaldi.net]

@grote

Just one step:
Make your own mobile OS.

[itseperkele@mastodon.social]

@grote you and google are underestimating the lengths I'll go to avoid googles bullshit.

Would be great if I had a money so I could buy a Jolla.

[gulfie@yiff.life]

@burnitdown @grote I'd be willing to bet most are from AdSense ads

[epic_null@infosec.exchange]

@nazokiyoubinbou @FifiSch @grote and my response is that's only comforting to those who are already confident in their ability to complete the task at hand. If this is your first time, you have no clue what "something really stupid" looks like, or what happens when that occurs.

[pavel@social.kernel.org]

@CalcProgrammer1 @grote Google is evil. It should have been clear after they change from their "don't be evil" motto.

Not sure what the thing is with PIN or biometrics. Are biometrics now required?

Anyway, if they are not evil, they should allow "sideloading enable" while doing full wipe.

[nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social]

@Epic_Null @FifiSch @grote Ok, let me say it more clearly: you can't mess it up to such an extent that it won't boot ever again without doing some things that basically require you to know what you are doing and intentionally screwing it up because you wanted to make some kind of point or something.

And, again, even if they screw it up to that level, they can just boot back to the original which wasn't overwritten because again, as I just said, modern phones use two separate partitions. When you tell it to flash, it goes to the unused one unless you very specifically manually tell it to use the wrong one.

You really really really don't like the idea of having control over your own device do you?

[kevinrns@mstdn.social]

@raymaccarthy @utf_7 @grote

Dont use bank apps. Find a Credit Union

[nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social]

@argv_minus_one There probably are a lot of possibilities there. I'd definitely be interested to see how RISC-V pans out.

ARM is very weak per cycle compared to most other processor techs. I can't say where RISC-V is though. (After all, ARM basically is a form of RISC...) So it's not impossible a 2GHz processor could perform very favorably compared to ARM. Or not. It really depends... I don't have enough info on RISC-V to say one way or the other.

(Bear in mind that benchmarks are shockingly artificial and basically let processors cheat a lot.)

[grote@chaos.social]

@tedmielczarek My weird fictional scenario is normal people using @fdroidorg to get their apps. They have apps that are downloaded millions of times per week. A hobbyist exception to distribute one app to 20 people who need to first opt-in doesn't cut it for those. Also your link goes to Google Play testing, so you may not have understood the issue.

[tian2992@mastodon.social]

@grote this is BS

[numodular@c.im]

@grote But... ya know... 'unbridled' Capitalism!..

[itsfriday@toot.community]

@Li @CalcProgrammer1 @grote True. I see "advanced user" as just some one knowing a bit more as the average user. Maybe there is a better term.

[pavel@social.kernel.org]

@grote Yeah, "committed to openness", what an ugly lie.

And "one time 24 hour wait" ... I bet that will be a lie, too. I'm pretty sure this will hit me more than once :-(.

Google is evil.

[tedmielczarek@mastodon.social]

@grote @fdroidorg sorry, that was directed at Tim, not you. I understand and appreciate what F-Droid provides and agree that this sucks badly. I just also think that people have a tendency to get off in the weeds instead of focusing on the things that matter.