⚠️ Remember when downloading and installing an app from the internet was just a checkbox away?

For years, Android stood out from iOS because you could install apps from anywhere. Developers, FOSS communities, and users in restrictive regimes depended on it. It wasn’t a bug, but a force. Now Google is extending its gatekeeping from the Play Store to every alternative distribution channel on Android.

The framing is “security,” while many voices from the open-source community are warning that it’s about the one thing that interests Big Tech the most: 🔒Lock-in, which increases their power and decreases our diversity. 🔑

This isn’t about convenience. It’s about who decides what runs on a device you own.

💡 The good news: So-called “sideloading” on Murena smartphones and any other devices running /e/OS remains possible.

👉 https://keepandroidopen.org/

  • lmuel@sopuli.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    29
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    5 hours ago

    While I totally agree with the message, I don’t appreciate this post being LLM generated.

    • HereIAm
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      19
      ·
      5 hours ago

      What 💁‍♂️ do you 🫵 mean? 🧻