TBH I’m still skeptical that Google’s actually going to push this through without some option for power users to bypass or disable it. But assuming they don’t… This is actually the perfect time for the custom ROM community to step up. I’m under no delusions your average person would install a custom ROM but if we could get back to XDA’s heyday that would be cool. Power users can and would install custom ROMs on their phones to keep this functionality. I’ll be shilling GrapheneOS and LineageOS around the internet.
adb will be usable yes
but…
and the rest of the users…won’t be able to install the same apps, right:? the rest will be tied to Play forever
can’t recommend them Newpipe, Fennec… they can’t install Conversations for free… all good in your mind?
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You’re doing the “that’s a completely different sentence” meme. Don’t put words in my mouth. I didn’t say that.
Explain?
which part of “only custom roms will be free” did I misunderstand? those are like 0.0001% of users
The part where I never said it was alright that regular people would have to use ADB to install apps. Although I’d imagine someone would make a GUI frontend to do it. Considering those already exist for iOS. It sucks but it’s not the end. That’s all I said.
I never said otherwise either, we agree 
Shizuku is an option too. It uses ADB on device to install and update apps. So it’ll probably keep working even after this change if they really are exempting ADB from the signature checks. You either grant it ADB permissions over USB or use the WiFi debugging method on device. It’s a bit more involved than just installing the F-Droid APK and calling it a day but it’s still a potential option for stock android users if native Shizuku support was added to F-Droid.
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What is the likely hood that the politics are above Google’s head? That maybe the US government is pushing it to do this. Like with banning TikTok, if they ban an app that big right now, users can still download it from servers outside US jurisdiction and sideload it. And for an app that big, it would influence a lot of normies to be comfortable with sideloading. And that is not something the US government wants. “A threat to national security” Ya know how the US enjoys having leverage.
Next to zero. It’s far more likely Google’s just being greedy/paranoid after Epic Games won in court regarding IAPs. TikTok’s ban has been extended multiple times too. Plus it would be easier to add Tiktok to Play Protect’s harmful app list and block those individual APKs. That functionality is already in Android.
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What a joke article, how many times did you use ADB with your old buddy’s phone you randomly met at the supermarket so they can install Conversations and chat? You did not? You would not? C’mon….
Exactly. Not just that, will everyone be able to use ADB to install apps? Non-rooted ones, stock recovery ones, and how many will even allow you to do that. This is just a piece of thing, which foogle is trying to take over completely, like the “Mars” in “Total Recall” movie.
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Time to make a f-droid pc client with adb integrated.
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How will that help Android phones?
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Lol. Their solution is literally what I said. They even say there’s ways to do it on device and link an article with Shizuku in it. Might be worth adding Shizuku support to F-Droid.
Shizuku is still non-free.
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IDK. Maybe someone could make an open source clone that does the same thing. If Google really goes through with this something Shizuku-esque seems like the only option for stock users.
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A class action lawsuit against Google would be nice…
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Let’s hope this idea gets quietly abandoned like 90% of Google’s projects.
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Today, I went through the early access process to see what changes would be made to my account in the Google Play Console. I will be happy to report back if desired.
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