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Supreme Court deals Google a blow, forces major Play Store overhaul
(www.androidpolice.com)
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this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2025
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Seems that google's announced plans to restrict sideloading on Android are now in direct conflict with the Supreme Court's order to open the Play Store to alternative app stores and reduce its control over app distribution.
How will this play out in the end... 🤔
with a $500m check made out directly to the commander in sleep
No, that's illegal. They'll make it out to the Trump Presidential Library
Don't call it "sideloading" it's a negative term attempting to rebrand installing any app you want: taboo and illegal by effect. Call it what it is, installing apps. Thats it.
I like this way of thinking right here.
Not at all, they can still require apps to be signed, so long as you're free to allow app installations. They'll weasel out by saying the signing is for safety/security reasons, to avoid malware and shit.
Nope. No apk you can get a hold of will be installable without googles over the internet check. At current it looks like you'll be able to force an install using adb shell commands, but that will effectively gut almost anyone from installing an unsigned apk. Also, Google would be able to remove even that option if they so choose.
The OS will probably check the signature of any app you're trying to install regardless of if it's from F-Droid or the Play Store
No, as it stands this is the end of F-Droid. Each developer registration must include the manifest IDs of all apps they publish. No way F-droid can include all the apps they publish in their registration.
Or of course, each developer themselves becomes responsible for "registering as a developer" and thus loses all anonymity as a dev.
That won't work either, because F-Droid produces the builds themselves.
So this means they'll take responsibility for malware and offer support, right? Right?
Of course they will! /cough
Right and then they might well lose the next antitrust suit for weaseling around. Judges know what this kind of behavior means, though who can say how they'll react.
The timing is too perfect, the effects are too apparent.
To be clear, it's not the Supreme Court's order, they only declined the appeal or to issue a stay, so technically it is a "regular" court order, which is just as binding.
Google's announced plans aren't actually about restricting "sideloading" (aka installing). They're about restricting actually running the code, and developing/distributing the code.
Content distributed through these "other app stores" and elsewhere will remain installable, but your phone will refuse to run the software if that content isn't signed with the special Google's Favorite Boy token that the developer got by providing personally identifiable information to Google. Get that "certification"? Your app can be run on Android no matter how you distribute it, including "side loading" (download APK file, install app).
Don't have the ~~Official Nintendo Seal of Quality~~ Verified Developer token to sign your app with? The only way a user can run your code is by connecting to a PC and installing your app with adb (a development tool).