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jjgreen • today at 3:57 PM • 5 replies • view on HN

From TFA:

    Delve into System Settings, find Developer Options
    Tap the build number seven times to enable Developer Mode
    Dismiss scare screens about coercion
    Enter your PIN
    Restart the device
    Wait 24 hours
    Come back, dismiss more scare screens
    Pick "allow temporarily" (7 days) or "allow indefinitely"
    Confirm, again, that you understand "the risks"

    Nine steps. A mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period. For installing 
    software on a device you own.

Replies

tromp • today at 4:15 PM

You left out the crucial bit:

    Worse: this flow runs entirely through Google Play Services, not the Android OS. Google can change it, tighten it, or kill it at any time, with no OS update required and no consent needed.
    And as of today, it hasn't shipped in any beta, preview, or canary build.
    It exists only as a blog post and some mockups.
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0x3f • today at 4:04 PM

Sounds a bit like trying to transfer my own money to myself at the bank. I.e. it seems designed to prevent old people getting scammed.

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wstrange • today at 4:40 PM

To be fair, that's a one time process. You do not need to do that for every app you want to sideload.

The malware issue that the flow is designed to mitigate is a very real problem. Perhaps there is a better way, but it's not immediately clear what that is.

moralestapia • today at 4:08 PM

>Wait 24 hours

Somehow bank vaults and heroin storage boxes don’t take this long.

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nine_k • today at 4:08 PM

I see zero trouble as long as it requires no additional identification, no additional payment, and no mandatory time limit for the sideloaded apps.

That is, fine by me. I can wait for 24 hours once in a few years when I acquire a new mobile phone.

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