Starting next year, Google plans to require all apps installed on certified Android devices, including sideloading, to come from developers it has verified. Many Android developers see the move as a power grab and have started a movement to "Keep Android Open." //
On Tuesday, via the F-Droid blog, he renewed his challenge to Google's assertions about its verification program, specifically the company's claim that "Sideloading is fundamental to Android and it is not going away."
"This statement is untrue," he wrote in his post. "The developer verification decree effectively ends the ability for individuals to choose what software they run on the devices they own.
"It bears reminding that 'sideload' is a made-up term. Putting software on your computer is simply called 'installing,' regardless of whether that computer is in your pocket or on your desk."
Both Google and Apple [PDF] use the term "sideloading" as a pejorative, possibly because they have a commercial interest in running app store toll booths.
Prud'hommeaux proposes the term "direct installing," in case you need to make a distinction between obtaining software the old-fashioned way versus going through a rent-seeking intermediary marketplace like the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
Pointing to The Register's recent report about 77 malicious apps on Google Play that amassed more than 19 million downloads, Prud'hommeaux questions both Google's ability to catch malicious apps and its lack of evidence to support the claim that it "found over 50 times more malware from internet-sideloaded sources than on apps available through Google Play."
