SFP#54: Policy and EU: Keep Andriod Open, what is the FSFE doing?

So later updates were also quite interesting, quote unquote.

So Google has proposed that users who wish to install unverified apps may eventually need an advanced user flow.

This is for those who are willing to navigate through these additional security warnings and procedures.

the process it could involve like a sequence of additional steps uh not only to make installation technically hard and complicated but also uh discouraging it altogether for example like mandatory cooling off period of up to 24 hours or warning screens when you want to install this this app that is unverified there will be a scare screen that oh this is This is an unverified application.

Do you want to continue or not? So it requires and the user has to acknowledge that they may be under coercion or under a social engineering attack.

So it involves around nine steps.

And first involving that the user has to go to settings, turn on the developer mode, and i mean yeah in our how to turn on developer mode is also like you need to click uh go to settings and click tap on the build number for seven or ten times depending on the device and then you enter the developer mode and and then the next steps come in then you have to there will be a 24 hour cool off period So you can't do anything in this 24 hours.

And then you again have to go through the scare screens that, okay, now you want to install an unverified app.

You have to click, okay, I acknowledge the risks involved.

And so it involves nine whole steps that Google thinks is a way for...

Let's just use technologically savvy users.

If they want to install or take educated risks, then they have to follow this multi-step process to install apps on the devices they own.

So basically they are trying to lock everything down to the Google Play Store for normal users and to like have all the personal data of developers.

Because if you submit something to Google Play Store, they want you to share those kind of data and avoid having other platforms where you can get apps.

Yes, it involves a lot of friction, right? So the later updates, this advanced flow program, it involves a lot of friction for a user.

Let's just look at a user journey.

Like I consider myself as an average user.

And I would like to install an app that is unverified.

Let's just say from F-Droid.

F-Droid does not require any of these verification processes for their developers.

And I want to install something from F-Droid.

And I have to go through all these nine steps, like developer mode.

So this, in a way, it affects... average users like me massively, it discourages users to not use unverified apps.

Interestingly, I can give one reference.

Epic Games, last year they released a study on this multi-user step process.