@grote "In these scenarios, scammers exploit fear – using threats of financial ruin, legal trouble, or harm to a loved one – to create a sense of extreme urgency."

In these scenarios, Google exploits fear – using threats of financial ruin, legal trouble, or harm to a loved one – to justify taking control over your phone.

"According to a 2025 report from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), 57% of surveyed adults experienced a scam in the past year, resulting in a global consumer loss of $442 billion."

We don't have any data on harm being caused specifically by sideloading apps, so here is some completely unrelated data that is very worrying.

@grote I'm very thankful to google for covering the incredibly common case where I'm forced at gunpoint to install a malicious apk. Now such attacks will require attackers to kidnap me for a couple of days, which severely limits their options.

We can finally break the cycle of coercion where after being scammed into installing an apk, I started scamming people into installing apks.

@Rainmaker1973 What is smarter than tool use? Tool delegation.