Android's new app signing policy: Can sideloading coexist with user security?
By
ColinWright
9mo ago· 8 min readenOpinion
100/100
Golden Brown
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Summary
The article explores the tension between user freedom and security in the context of Android's new policy requiring apps to be digitally signed by developers registered with Google. The author, a supporter of Cory Doctorow's principles, examines whether it's possible to allow sideloading (installing apps outside official stores) while maintaining user safety. The piece takes a pragmatic approach to the debate between open platforms and security measures, questioning the implications for user control over their own hardware.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledAre you allowed to run whatever computer program you want on the hardware you own? This is a question where freedom, practicality, and reality all collide into a mess.
Google has recently announced that Android users will only be able to install apps which have been digitally signed by developers who have registered their name and other legal details with Google.
To many people, this signals the death of 'sideloading' - the ability to install apps which don't originate on the official store.
In which I attempt to be pragmatic. Are you allowed to run whatever computer program you want on the hardware you own? This is a question where freedom, practicality, and reality all collide into a mess. Google has recently announced that Android users
