Google: Pull your pants down. Bend over and grab your ankles. Hold that position because this is going to take a while.
this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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The process is designed to create friction. Users must first enable developer mode in system settings. They then need to confirm that they're not being coerced. After that, they need to restart their phone and reauthenticate. And then they need to wait one day.
I hope this little interview is entirely on-device. It would be terrible if installing apps of our choice on our hardware required any contact with Google (even in the background).
On device? While google services are present there? In this universe?
EDIT:
The process is designed to create friction. Users must first enable developer mode in system settings. They then need to confirm that they're not being coerced. After that, they need to restart their phone and reauthenticate. And then they need to wait one day.
Fuck all the way off, google
You can probably bypass the 1 day wait time by changing your system time but they really want you not do it
That's really unlikely
"Scammers rely on manufactured urgency, so this breaks their spell and gives you time to think." - Are these scams actually a real thing? I've never heard of such a thing happening, but I'm not well connected to things like people and their experiences.
it strikes me as another manufactured concern, to justify their malignent ambitions
It definitely is a thing, especially for the elderly. I'm not sure what percentage of scams are done that way, but it's much easier to scam someone if they don't have a chance to think much about what's happening.
That being said, most of the scams I know of that do this don't ask you to install an app on your phone. They just ask personal questions or for login details or something like that
most of the scams I know of that do this don’t ask you to install an app on your phone
ok, so what has blocking 'unverified' developers got to do with protecting people from scams, then? To be clear, I'm not asking if scams exist, I'm asking if scams that ask people to install dodgy apps exist. I'm extremely sceptical about this part!
On PC they'll have the user install TeamViewer. I'm assuming there's some scammers that might do this for phone
The process is designed to create friction. Users must first enable developer mode in system settings. They then need to confirm that they're not being coerced. After that, they need to restart their phone and reauthenticate. And then they need to wait one day.
Waiting one day is totally unreasonable. However, I don't mind turning it on in developer settings.
Android is a joke.
Balance *user acceptance with *control
Chocolate Factory describes concession as an attempt to balance openess with safety
I describe the concession as an attempt to balance ending user agency with public backlash
I have a sideloaded program that hooks in as an accessibility app. Several times a week android asks me to review the programs access. Its maddening how far they go to shit on user choice.
I think I would call this a win. Can't imagine life without reVanced.