Sideloading of apps has been a hot subject in the past few weeks and it involves both Apple and Google. While Apple is being forced to make the change, Android has always supported third-party apps and apps stores.
However, it doesn’t seem like Google is not keen for people to install apps from other app stores. Google is battling a legal case against Epic Store this month, and the company’s CEO, Sundar Pichai was testifying in the case on November 14.
During his testimony, Pichai was asked about multiple things, and he decided to use the platform to share his company’s take on sideloading of apps and why he advises people against installing apps this way on their Android phones. “We don’t want to allow you to completely compromise your phone. It can install malware on your phone.. It can really compromise your safety, very significantly," Pichai said.
It is interesting to hear Pichai say these things about sideloading, something that Android as an open source platform has always supported. The fact that he talks about malware while installing apps from other app stores clearly suggests the company is trying to play the scare factor with the public. In fact, it has recently started the process of scanning apps that are sideloaded on Android via the Play Protect feature.
Many people have pointed out that Google will have a greater say on the apps that a person can install. Granted, the company claims that Play Store apps offer the best safety for users but a recent security report from Kaspersky highlighted how Google’s apps store has been the platform from where 600 million downloads of malicious apps have been observed in 2023 itself.
Besides the pitch for safety from Pichai, Apple has always been against the option to sideload apps as it won’t have any control on how and from where these apps are being installed on the iPhone.
Now, Pichai is speaking in the same vein as Tim Cook and Co, which suggests both the tech giants are aware of the 30 percent commission they make of developers hosting their apps on their respective app stores. No wonder platforms like Epic Games have decided to host their app through a website rather than making it available through the app stores.
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