- Google is putting together its framework for Android developer verification, connecting dev names to even sideloaded apps.
- Recent additions to the Android SDK offer a little insight into how the system may ultimately operate.
- One variable suggests that users may not be able to sideload even verified apps without an active network connection.
Android’s approach to software openness is changing in some fundamental ways right now, and the shift has not been happening without a fair amount of controversy. While Google has always let you install Android apps from outside its managed app ecosystem, sideloading their APK files, the company will now start mandating that developers register their identity, and block the installation of apps from unverified sources.
For fans of open platforms, that’s resulted in some spicy takes (my own included), but in the weeks since the news first broke we’ve learned a little more about Google’s plans for implementing this program — and hearing about some critical workarounds, like maintaining the ability to sideload unverified apps over a connection to another device running ADB (the Android Debug Bridge).