![\"Android](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769283069_32_0x0.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Android is now changing<\/p>\n
SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images<\/p>\n
We know it\u2019s coming. Google has confirmed a game-changing Android upgrade that has triggered a major backlash from users. What we don\u2019t know is how difficult it\u2019s going to be to install new apps on your Android phone when it goes live.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re talking sideloading. Perhaps the feature above all others that sets Android apart from iPhone. Responding to the continuing tidal waves of malware, adware and permission abuse, Google is now clamping down<\/a>. Starting this year and rolling out by region, only apps from verified developers will be available to users<\/a>.<\/p>\n ForbesGoogle\u2019s Android Update\u2014Bad News For Millions Of Pixel UsersBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n As Bitdefender<\/a> points out, \u201csocial engineering attacks often focus on this direct attack vector: convince the victim that it’s a good idea to manually install an app. At the very least, it’s just an annoying app that serves full-screen ads. At the very worst, the victim installs a banking trojan that takes control of the device and drains the accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n The security firm says \u201cthe phone is really dangerous, and people agree.\u201d That\u2019s undoubtedly true. But power Android users don\u2019t want their freedom to run their own phones their own way to be curtailed. I might as well buy an iPhone<\/a>, was the riposte from many on Reddit and elsewhere when Google confirmed the changes.<\/p>\n The Android-maker responded by promising<\/a> that sideloading is here to stay. But sideloading apps will now difficult enough to put off all but the most ardent users. <\/p>\n Per Bitdefender, \u201cone way to make it more difficult for users to get infected is to make the actual procedure for sideloading apps more complicated, or at least to force users to jump through multiple hoops that also inform them of potential dangers.\u201d<\/p>\n We don\u2019t yet know how painful sideloading will become. <\/p>\n