I like Android. I think it is a very well-designed operating system and I love using it. However, Google recently made an announcement which effectively says they want to prohibit so-called ‘sideloading’ of apps without the developer uploading their ID to Google. I am furious. So furious in fact, that I will probably leave Android if it happens.

The Android feature people call ‘sideloading’ is the feature that allows you to install apps from sources other than the Google Play Store. We should stop using this term. It implies Google Play is somehow more legitimate as an app store than anywhere else. This is wrong. We should simply call this feature ‘installing’ because that is what it is. However, for the sake of clarity, I will refer to this feature as ‘sideloading’ for the rest of this post.

Google’s announcement tries to gaslight you into thinking that this change is being made for your security. While this may be some of the motivation behind this, it is clearly not the primary goal. Google wants to do what Apple has been doing for years. They want to control exactly what apps people install on their phones so they can block apps they don’t like and possibly make more money in the long term. They say this doesn’t affect the openness of Android. This is complete BS. For an operating system to be open, the user should have the freedom to install and use whatever software they want, regardless of whether a company approves of it.

‘Sideloading’ is the defining feature of Android and an Android phone without it is a brick to me. It doesn’t matter if it makes downloading malware easier. Google has no right to say what software I can install on my phone. I use GrapheneOS and I get most of my apps outside Google Play (in fact, I don’t even have Google Play installed right now), and while GrapheneOS won’t be directly affected, there will certainly be secondary effects. For example, developers who make apps for alternative app stores like F-Droid (which is an awesome app store) might not want to upload their ID to Google, which makes sense. This means that the vast majority of Android users won’t be able to run their app and so the developer might stop developing their app. This would affect everyone, including people on custom ROMs which allow ‘sideloading’.

Some people have responded by saying they are going to switch to iPhone. While I understand where they are coming from, there is no way I would ever do that. iOS gives users significantly less freedom than Android, even if this malicious change is implemented by Google. It may seem, then, that I have no platform to migrate to, and honestly there aren’t many well-established ones. I will consider switching to a Linux phone, which is a Linux computer which happens to be small, have a touchscreen and be capable of making phone calls and texts. These obviously don’t have many apps specially made for them (although you can run most desktop Linux software) but I am willing to put up with that if it means having an operating system not controlled by Google. Alternatively, I might switch to a dumbphone which doesn’t allow me or the manufacturer to install additional software due to its nature. This is fine since those devices are not capable of having additional software installed and the manufacturer isn’t placing artificial restrictions on that.

It is a shame things have to go this way. I have always loved messing around with Android devices and I have been in awe at just how incredible the operating system is. But I simply can’t keep using it if the company that makes it removes its most important feature, even if it won’t immediately affect my phone.

I am probably going to keep using GrapheneOS on my Pixel phone for now. Google may still change their mind due to the backlash and even if they don’t, my phone isn’t going to lose any functionality since it isn’t running Google-certified software. However, if this change happens, then I will probably abandon Android. In the meantime, I will try to prepare for my eventual switch as much as possible, by reducing my overall dependency on Android apps.

F**k you, Google, I hope you change your mind about this.