Sideloading: Difference between revisions

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Another often cited reason for restricting this is the use of sideloading for malware distribution: since this installation mechanism is controlled largely by the user, the ease of this procedure allows tricking an uninformed user into installing malicious software on their devices. Whether the extent of sideloading restrictions is limited to fighting this, however, is debatable.

== Background ==

==Background==

Throughout most of its existence it has been a niche technical term, and as such, its meaning hasn't been very stable. All known meanings share the etymology of the word as "the process of ''loading'' from the ''side''" within the context of electronic devices, but the object of the process (what's being loaded) and what constitutes "the side" have changed several times.

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Modern uses of the term, however, usually refer to installation of software outside of the "official" channels and generally only apply to platforms where such channels exist at all.

=== Failed introduction on Microsoft Windows ===

===Failed introduction on Microsoft Windows===

On platforms where it's common for the user to obtain their software in channels outside of hardware manufacturers' control, such as downloading [[Windows]] software installers on software vendors' websites, there is no need to distinguish sideloading from installation.

[[Microsoft]] seems to have intended to introduce ~~the~~ distinction it by building their own [[Microsoft Store]] and incentivizing software vendors to publish there, e. g. by making it the only source of software on a new cheaper edition [[Windows 10 S]], but poor reception of that edition seems to have stopped that plan from progressing any further.

[[Microsoft]] seems to have intended to introduce this distinction by building their own [[Microsoft Store]] and incentivizing software vendors to publish there, e. g. by making it the only source of software on a new cheaper edition [[Windows 10 S]], but poor reception of that edition seems to have stopped that plan from progressing any further.

==Why it happens==

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It is unclear how moving to a single authority for trust would improve user experience on Android devices. For example, the [https://f-droid.org/ F-Droid] project, a repository of open source apps where, unlike in Google's store, volunteers actually inspect the source code of every single app to ensure that they are safe and tracking free, announced the announced changes would mean the end for them.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=marcprux |date=2025-09-25 |title=F-Droid and Google's Developer Registration Decree |url=https://f-droid.org/en/2025/09/29/google-developer-registration-decree.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250929015129/https://f-droid.org/en/2025/09/29/google-developer-registration-decree.html |archive-date=29 Sep 2025 |access-date=2025-10-07 |website=F-Droid}}</ref>

== See also ==

==See also==

==References==

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 Another often cited reason for restricting this is the use of sideloading for malware distribution: since this installation mechanism is controlled largely by the user, the ease of this procedure allows tricking an uninformed user into installing malicious software on their devices. Whether the extent of sideloading restrictions is limited to fighting this, however, is debatable.
-== Background ==
+==Background==
 Throughout most of its existence it has been a niche technical term, and as such, its meaning hasn't been very stable. All known meanings share the etymology of the word as "the process of ''loading'' from the ''side''" within the context of electronic devices, but the object of the process (what's being loaded) and what constitutes "the side" have changed several times.
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 Modern uses of the term, however, usually refer to installation of software outside of the "official" channels and generally only apply to platforms where such channels exist at all.
-=== Failed introduction on Microsoft Windows ===
+===Failed introduction on Microsoft Windows===
 On platforms where it's common for the user to obtain their software in channels outside of hardware manufacturers' control, such as downloading [[Windows]] software installers on software vendors' websites, there is no need to distinguish sideloading from installation.
-[[Microsoft]] seems to have intended to introduce the distinction it by building their own [[Microsoft Store]] and incentivizing software vendors to publish there, e. g. by making it the only source of software on a new cheaper edition [[Windows 10 S]], but poor reception of that edition seems to have stopped that plan from progressing any further.
+[[Microsoft]] seems to have intended to introduce this distinction by building their own [[Microsoft Store]] and incentivizing software vendors to publish there, e. g. by making it the only source of software on a new cheaper edition [[Windows 10 S]], but poor reception of that edition seems to have stopped that plan from progressing any further.
 ==Why it happens==
@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 It is unclear how moving to a single authority for trust would improve user experience on Android devices. For example, the [https://f-droid.org/ F-Droid] project, a repository of open source apps where, unlike in Google's store, volunteers actually inspect the source code of every single app to ensure that they are safe and tracking free, announced the announced changes would mean the end for them.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=marcprux |date=2025-09-25 |title=F-Droid and Google's Developer Registration Decree |url=https://f-droid.org/en/2025/09/29/google-developer-registration-decree.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250929015129/https://f-droid.org/en/2025/09/29/google-developer-registration-decree.html |archive-date=29 Sep 2025 |access-date=2025-10-07 |website=F-Droid}}</ref>
-== See also ==
+==See also==
 ==References==