Google is tightening control over Android under the guise of ‘security,’ but this crackdown on sideloading is a direct hit to digital sovereignty and FOSS. I’ve written about why this matters for our privacy and the future of open platforms. What do you think—is this the end of Android’s ‘open’ era?
We might want to encourage people to stop using the term “sideloading” and instead say “installing” because that’s what it is; using a different term for it makes it seem unordinary and unintended.
That is a fair point. ‘Sideloading’ is definitely a corporate term designed to make basic ownership of our devices feel like a ‘workaround’ rather than a right. I used it here because it’s the language Google is currently using to justify their crackdown, but you’re absolutely right—it’s just installing software. We shouldn’t let them control the vocabulary of our digital freedom.
You’re apparently taking an LLM controlling your vocabulary just fine, though, given both this comment and post were transparently written by one.