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.
What?
Not related to the LLM thing: “I don’t use social media, as it conflicts with my FOSS and privacy principles.” but then linking a Mastodon account on the website, having a “Share this post” bar with Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, and Bluesky, and posting this here is chef’s kiss.
Fair play, you’ve done a proper deep dive there. I’ll hold my hands up—I’m a sysadmin, not a journalist. I use tools to help structure my thoughts because my natural writing style is about as readable as a kernel panic. As for the ‘social media’ bit, the share buttons are a default plugin I haven’t stripped out yet, and Mastodon is the only place I actually hang out because it’s federated. I’m just a guy in a home lab trying to share some tech stories; sorry if the ‘robotic’ prose put you off
Oh, my bad. I thought you were talking about the above the 2 comments and not just the poster. Thanks for the info!