Google is tightening its control over apps that are sideloaded onto Android devices—those manually installed without using the official Play Store. Sideloading is common when people are using custom versions of Android or want to install apps that aren’t available on the Play Store. While Google has generally tolerated sideloading, it has now introduced a stricter approach using the Play Integrity API.
This API allows apps to check if they are being installed on a phone with a trustworthy software environment, one that has Google Play services intact. Some apps, like the Tesco app, BeyBlade X, and even ChatGPT, have started displaying unskippable prompts telling users to get the app from the Play Store, making sideloading difficult or impossible.
This feature is part of Google’s broader security push. For instance, some apps now block access on phones with modified firmware, such as GrapheneOS, which is a custom version of Android focused on security. The Play Integrity API checks the phone’s software and gives developers a report, allowing them to block the app on devices that don’t pass Google’s checks.
Some argue that Google’s system isn’t perfect and that apps should only perform these checks during sensitive actions, instead of blocking installation outright. Developers might be motivated to block sideloading not just for security reasons but also to avoid bad reviews from users on incompatible devices or to prevent piracy.
Last year, Google began scanning sideloaded apps for malware, and it has also resisted laws aimed at expanding users’ rights to sideload apps, citing security concerns. European regulators, however, have forced Apple to allow sideloading under certain conditions.
