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I think that sideloading represents a greater security threat in terms of what the sideloaded app can do, but it's counterbalanced by the number of users sidelo

I think that sideloading represents a greater security threat in terms of what the sideloaded app can do, but it's counterbalanced by the number of users sideloading - especially if sideloading is designed to be a highly technical process, the number of users doing it is going to be quite small. Even now very few Android users sideload. By contrast, third party app stores could open an entire one-click universe of privacy abuse. Even if individual apps can't do as much damage, the overall footprint is much larger as the information that's accessible is scattered across a far wider spread of companies/developers by giving them access to users who don't possess the technical aptitude to get themselves in trouble with sideloading.

webmobdev 5y ago
> By contrast, third party app stores could open an entire one-click universe of privacy abuse. This is similar to the argument made for censorship - we should also censor newspapers, books, television, movies and the internet to ensure that people get the right information and values, and are not influenced by "harmful" content. At some point, you have to start treating adults like adults, rather than mollycoddle everyone as some immature and / or innocent being.
- kitsunesoba 5y ago
  I think the key difference is that in the case of media, people aren't unknowingly signing up for anything – those partaking decide they like what they see and continue to partake. Media also has no element of lock-in… if one media source becomes untrustworthy in one's eyes, it's pretty easy to switch to some other outlet. With third-party app stores and even apps themselves, it's very easy for users to get more than they bargained for at mass scale. As I noted in my original comment, it's very likely that an app store run by the likes of Facebook would operate in such a way, and the worst part is that many users wouldn't have any choice but to go along with it — they're forced to install the Facebook Store and accept all that it and the apps on it (WhatsApp, Messenger, etc) entail in order to continue to connect with their friends and family. Malicious app stores can effectively hold parts of users' lives hostage to force access to data. Which is why I'm not against third party app stores, but rather third party app stores without regulation that makes foul play a costly mistake on the part of the developer.

webmobdev 5y ago

> By contrast, third party app stores could open an entire one-click universe of privacy abuse. This is similar to the argument made for censorship - we should also censor newspapers, books, television, movies and the internet to ensure that people get the right information and values, and are not influenced by "harmful" content. At some point, you have to start treating adults like adults, rather than mollycoddle everyone as some immature and / or innocent being.

kitsunesoba 5y ago
I think the key difference is that in the case of media, people aren't unknowingly signing up for anything – those partaking decide they like what they see and continue to partake. Media also has no element of lock-in… if one media source becomes untrustworthy in one's eyes, it's pretty easy to switch to some other outlet. With third-party app stores and even apps themselves, it's very easy for users to get more than they bargained for at mass scale. As I noted in my original comment, it's very likely that an app store run by the likes of Facebook would operate in such a way, and the worst part is that many users wouldn't have any choice but to go along with it — they're forced to install the Facebook Store and accept all that it and the apps on it (WhatsApp, Messenger, etc) entail in order to continue to connect with their friends and family. Malicious app stores can effectively hold parts of users' lives hostage to force access to data. Which is why I'm not against third party app stores, but rather third party app stores without regulation that makes foul play a costly mistake on the part of the developer.