this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2026
211 points (91.1% liked)
Technology
89639 readers
2527 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related news or articles.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Their point is that "sideloading" is a PR framing device to relabel a complete reasonable action i.e. "to install any Software on your device" to something which is not intended, advised and should not be desired.
Yes, the term "sideloading" is more distinct but it carries baggage
Sideloading has been a word for installing apps that aren't from a store at least since I started using Android in early 2010. There was never any negative connotation, aside from the acknowledgment that you wouldn't get automatic updates.
You're adding negative connotations to words that have none. That's like saying that we should rename piracy to "downloading media from alternative sources" or whatever just because corpos are anti-piracy. We use these words because they are precise and concise. Big tech is anti those words. We are pro those words. The word itself is neutral. "Sideloading" is a meaningful category because big tech makes it so by forbidding it, or making users have to use workarounds to do them. "It's not sideloading; it's just installing apps onto the phone you own"—well, that would be lovely, but that's not currently the case.
I'm fully aware of what their point is. My point is it's a senseless boogeyman distinction that someone made up about a word that precedes Google, and replaces it with a much longer phrase.
Then use "Installing an app"
Surely you can see how that wouldn't have conveyed the message I was sending in my comment?
"Installing an app from 3rd parties"; cmon I don’t have to hold your hand :/
And now we're back to using an unnecessarily long phrase that can be replaced with a single word. That's what words are for. And you're now not only being dumb but also a jerk so you're being blocked. 👋
That's not long at all in my opinion, and if what i said is "being a jerk" i am glad you blocked me