Google is shutting down Android sideloading in the name of security

It's the end of days for one of the main features that differentiated Android from iOS for so many years.

Namely, the ability to sideload apps from unverified developers working outside the official Play Store is going away. Google explained the decision in a blog post, which mostly boiled down to wanting to ensure that every Android app developer is verified as not being a malicious actor, regardless of where their apps come from. Many Android users have held the ability to install unverified apps in great regard for a long time because it's something that's a whole lot harder to do on iOS, and gives users a lot more freedom in what they do with their devices.

But, it seems like Android is done being the mobile operating system for those kinds of people. According to Google, developer verification is no different than getting your ID checked at the airport. That may very well be the case, and it's possible that plenty of these apps will find ways to get verified under the new rules. But it's also true that this was a massive difference between Android and iOS, arguably one of the most noteworthy ones for several years.

It feels a bit like when the National League adopted the designated hitter rule in baseball a few years ago. Logically, it makes at least a little bit of sense, but sentimentally, it's a bummer for two competing operating systems to become more and more homogeneous in how they work.