Android’s new sideloading delay won’t be as frustrating as you feared

Google plans to make some big changes to Android sideloading this year. It will make the entire process much more restrictive, in a bid to thwart scammers and malware-infected apps. Following backlash to its initial plans, Google announced a more flexible advanced flow, which adds a 24-hour delay before you can install unregistered apps on your phone. The company has now clarified that users only need to enable this advanced flow once, even when switching devices.

In a video posted on X by the official Android Developers account, Matthew Forsythe — Director of Product Management for Google Play Developer Experience — confirmed that the advanced sideloading flow only needs to be enabled once per account.

He explains that once you enable the advanced flow on your existing phone, the setting automatically carries over to your new Android device. This means you won’t unnecessarily have to repeat the process each time or wait 24 hours before sideloading unverified apps.

The only way to bypass the initial 24-hour delay is by using ADB commands. But not everyone is comfortable with ADB, and it requires access to a PC, which isn’t always possible. Allowing the advanced flow to be enabled just once per account makes the process far more manageable.

Since the feature targets power users, this added flexibility makes sense. Without it, the 24-hour delay would quickly become frustrating for those who frequently install apps from outside the Play Store. I frequently switch phones and can’t imagine waiting 24 hours to sideload some important apps.

Apps can’t detect advanced flow

The FAQ video also reveals that apps — sideloaded or downloaded from the Play Store — cannot detect if advanced flow is enabled. More importantly, to keep updating an unverified sideloaded app, you must have advanced flow enabled.

Enabling the advanced flow first requires turning on the hidden Developer options. Forsythe clarifies that you can disable Developer options afterward without affecting the sideloading functionality. This is important as many banking apps do not work with Developer options enabled.

Based on Google’s latest tweaks to Android’s sideloading changes, things aren’t as bad as they first seemed. If anything, they strike an ideal balance between giving power users the flexibility they need while protecting regular users.