[RedComet]

The malware excuse is just a palatable false pretense. "We have to protect granny!" Of course, she is getting fleeced by plain scam calls, not somehow sideloading apks onto her idevice, but the truth doesn't help advance their narrative.

[steve_taylor]

Granny can get scammed using Anydesk, available on Google Play.

[yupyupyups]

Imagine that metaphorical granny that in an instant catches fire and turns into ash if the governments and large corporations don't have complete control over our lives.

What a lovely granny that totally exists.

[Gigachad]

I suspect it's not grandma getting scammed by APKs, but people installing cracked versions of spotify/youtube/paid games.

[fn-mote]

> cracked versions of spotify/youtube/paid games

This doesn't make much sense to me.

To put the strongest face on it, by "cracked" youtube, you mean a version that shows the cracker's ads and maybe somehow generates extra clicks (or whatever) so they can get money out of it?

Cracked spotify? In my mind that's just like YouTube, almost entirely server-side. I guess you're talking about hijacking ads here, too? I feel like a "real" crack of Spotify would let you listen to music for free, but that should be impossible (unless their SWE's are incompetent).

[thephyber]

You are approaching as is the malicious developer was trying to add useful features for the users.

But in practice, these “apps that lookalike popular apps” are not intended to just be adware-less versions of the popular apps. They are frequently “hide the ads, inject the malware with more permissions” Trojan horses.

[Gigachad]

I think there is likely a dual motive from Google where they both want to stop malware _and_ stop people blocking youtube ads. The malware problem is real though.

[const_cast]

Yes but using a real problem as a vehicle for increased control and permission is, in it of itself, a Trojan horse.

Google is doing the same thing the fake apps are doing. Real problem: bad ads. Solution: cracked app. Trojan: too many permissions, steals data.

Google: problem: bad apps. Solution: advanced Google DRM. Trojan: too many permissions, steals data.

[radlad]

They mean apps like SmartTube, Vanced, Instander, Spotify Premium Mod which block ads or grant other premium features for free.

[867-5309]

no, cracked as in the ad-free premium versions, without paying for them

[miki123211]

Those "cracked" versions often require extra permissions.

My favorite was a local "discover which on your contacts is on the leaked Covid quarantine list[1]" scam app. It claimed that the extra permission dialogs are just fearmongering by Google, who is in cahoots with big pharma, and wants covid to spread to sell more medications.

[1] In fact, no such leak has ever taken place, its existence was just part of the setup for the scam.

[imhoguy]

My mother in law is constantly worried by some Google Ads in random apps that her phone is hacked...

[goku12]

Did she ever get anything side loaded like that? I have downloaded malware by mistake before. Not once were they allowed to proceed with installation. The only way I got anything side loaded was if I installed the first one (which is always Fdroid) deliberately via ADB after I enabled the developer mode.

[imhoguy]

No, her phone is clean. The point is GAds quite often are of questionable quality with bullshit scaring unaware people. But then as a solution G worry of grannies being tricked into installing APKs so they turn into gatekeepers of side loading completely for everyone - absurd.