posted in Technology
F-Droid gets its biggest update in a decade with new UI and smoother app installs
arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/09/f-droid-gets-its-biggest-update-in-a-decade-with-new-ui-and-smoother-app-installs/
Replying to @return2ozma@lemmy.world
Google says “power users” can “still install” unverified apps. Here’s what that actually looks like:
Delve into System Settings, find About Phone
Tap the build number seven times to enable Developer Mode
Dismiss scare screens about coercion
Enter your PIN
Restart the device
Wait 24 hours
Come back, dismiss more scare screens
Pick “allow temporarily” (7 days) or “allow indefinitely”
Confirm, again, that you understand “the risks”
Nine steps. A mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period. For installing software on a device you own.
Worse: this flow runs entirely through Google Play Services, not the Android OS. Google can change it, tighten it, or kill it at any time, with no OS update required and no consent needed.
Replying to @NarrativeBear@lemmy.world
It won’t be a problem on a de-googled phone. Get it running LineageOS or GrapheneOS. Then install F-Droid (and probably Aurora store too). Some Google junk won’t work, but you’ll soon be more limited by having Google services on your phone than not having it.
Replying to @pHr34kY@lemmy.world
Hardly the point though. For us this is a bother at most, but we can cope because we’re already doing our own thing and know what we want. Imagine trying to get your non tech-savvy friends to “sideload” (install) an app from outside the Play Store. Right now it’s not a big deal, so if they’re interested in the app, they’ll likely install it. But this amount of friction and scary warnings is way more likely to stop them.