What We Talk About When We Talk About Sideloading | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository
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We recently published a blog post with our reaction to the new Google Developer Program and how it impacts your freedom to use the devices that you own in th...

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/38001927

In this post, I hope to clarify and expand on some of the points and rebut some of the counter-messaging that we have witnessed.

  • artyom@piefed.socialEnglish
    11·
    3 months ago

    A lot of this is just straight up wrong. All terms are “made up”. Sideloading was coined before Android ever existed, meaning:

    the process of transferring files between two local devices, in particular between a personal computer and a mobile device such as a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, tablet, portable media player or e-reader.

    You could argue that it was co-opted, but not “coined” for some insidious purpose.

    But more than that, “sideloading” is simply a whole lot shorter to say or type than “installing apps from outside of the Google Play Store”. This is why we have words for things.