A week ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke about iPhone security in an interview. He viewed sideloading apps as a major security flaw on Android phones. He said that sideloading apps on iOS devices would destroy the security of iPhones as well as the privacy initiatives built into the App Store. Cook even claimed that Android contains 47 times more malware than iOS because of sideloading.
However, the ability to sideload apps on Android phones or other devices like Android TVs is one of the best things about the platform. It gives users control over the apps they want to use on their devices even if they are not available in the Google Play Store.
With the arguments for and against sideloading, we considered asking you whether the ability to sideload apps on your phone is important to you. This is how you voted in our survey.
Interested in whether your phone has the ability to simply sideload apps?
Results
Our poll received a total of 1,779 votes and most of them (49%) said the ability to sideload third-party apps on your phone is a must for you. This is not too surprising as the feature is one of the biggest draws for Android phones and other devices.
By now, 30% of you have agreed that side loading functions are desirable but not essential. Some of you (22%) even voted that you don’t care about sideloading apps.
Your comments
EasyCare: These malware excuses are getting slow. I have a Windows laptop and an Android phone, both of which have been virus-free for years. Both have adequate security measures to protect against malware. The rest depends on your common sense. Obviously, it is your own fault if you download pirated software and receive malware. I have apps from my company that I need to get from their marketplace, so I’m sideloading. Malware only comes in if you allow it – Android disables and warns you by default before sideloading.
MatteBlack: I think most things have decent safeguards – it’s not the product that is the problem, it’s the people. I remember hearing that a Flashlight app with millions of downloads was malware on the Play Store. When did people buy these phones? Or didn’t they know that almost every phone for eons has had a native way to turn on the flash for a flashlight? Plus it’s 2021, are people really bothering to download some stuff from the site now? The only thing I load sideways is the damn Peacock app on my Firestick because the “big guys” always have some kind of piss match.
Nazo: I personally sideloaded two apps. F-Droid and AdAway. Three, if you count that I sideloaded an old APK for an app that has issues in newer versions (ok, in theory there could be conceptually security issues, but it’s a music file player app, so not exactly exactly the place for Exploits – especially since I would actually have to put the file there manually as it only accesses certain directories on my SD card that normal apps would have to request access to anyway.) This third one is actually available on the Play Store, I’m only using an older one at the moment Version. For everything else, the Play Store adequately met my needs.
Jason: I really hate that. The lack of sideloading is the number one reason I never consider an iOS device. I don’t want any company to dictate what software I can install on MY device.
Rui Rego: Apple has a prison system, I prefer freedom of choice over prison security! And one more thing, Apple doesn’t respect users.
He’s lying, Tim knows whenever they allow sideloading apps, their app store revenue will go down.
Sklosss: Nobody forces you to load an app from the site, it’s optional. Don’t see the problem here
Homer: As a developer, it’s very easy. The App Store does a good job of sorting out bad programs, while Google Play doesn’t. The only thing I was ever turned down by the Play Store for was trying to play a YouTube video right away … I find it ridiculous that people care so much about sideloading apps, there’s not even a reason to do this to do it in Android, null. It costs $ 25 to be a developer and it hits the Play Store right away.
What I find really interesting is that you are making sideloading a priority, not performance. Android is a POS operating system and it runs terribly. When testing identical code on Android and iOS, there is a significant performance difference from Android devices. It’s like running Python vs. C ++ … just no comparison.
Justin: Personally, I believe that Android’s sideloading feature improves security and privacy on the device. I don’t think Apple’s store does a good job of weeding out potential threats. It’s pretty clear Apple knows that too.