The possibility of installing external applications on Android has been rated as one of the best features of Google’s operating system. Not only does it allow you to bypass the more restrictive Play Store, but it also grants access to software that for whatever reason is not available in the official store.
However, earlier this year, we Android users found ourselves at a crossroads when Google announced that would make it difficult to install applications from external sources for the sake of -always helpful- security. Mandatory verification for developers, even outside the official Play Store, was announced in August and there was a multitude of criticism, from users, organizations and other stores like F-Droid that could simply disappear.
The issue of software was joined by another no less significant announcement, the change in Android development to a “more private” model. Although the company promised that it would continue to support the AOSP open source branch, the process will not be as transparent and there are doubts that the model will be maintained in the future.
These changes are relevant and if implemented as announced they would completely change an Android system, until now more or less open. But Google is playing it. If a user cannot enjoy the freedom of installing the software they want in one ecosystem, they simply move to another. In conclusion: To be in a closed and controlled ecosystem, Better to Buy an iPhone and stay with Apple.
External applications on Android: going back
Google changes course and in an entry on its blog for developers announces that, «Based on the feedback received and our ongoing conversations with the community, we are developing a new advanced flow that allows experienced users to take the risks of installing unverified software«.
Additionally, Google notes that it is building the system with non-coercive procedures to ensure that users are not tricked into bypassing any of the controls implemented with this change.
Although Google does not specify what it means by experienced users, the language of the publication seems to imply that users themselves will be able to determine “if they have enough experience to take the risk”; something Google already does with the hidden Android developer menu, which can only be accessed by pressing a specific option in the phone’s settings a certain number of times.
We will have to wait for the details. Google says it will continue to gather feedback to ensure that the setup for this particular system is ready when it finally launches. For now, we can rest a little easier knowing that Google continues to trust that its users know what they are doing, at least to some extent. And what was said: If Google wants to become Apple, the original is better than the substitute.
