[bjornroberg]

Yeah, this. The vocabulary ratchet is underrated as a policy tool. "Install" became "sideload." "Sideload" became "install from unknown sources." "Unknown sources" is becoming "unverified packages." Each rename shifts the Overton window a little further from "this is the normal way to put software on a computer you own" toward "this is a suspicious deviation Google has graciously decided to tolerate for now."

By the time the technical mechanism lands, the framing has been prepared for a decade. The 24-hour cooldown, the seven taps, the three scare screens all _feel_ proportional to the danger the language has been implying. That's not an accident, that's the policy working as designed.

[bigfishrunning]

On the other side of the coin, those of us doing tech support for unsavvy family members do not want them installing software from any source but some vetted app store. Making it a bit harder is a real boon for those of us that still carry the mental scars of so many Bonzi Buddy removals.

[fsflover]

Do you consider F-Droid a "vetted app store"?

[bigfishrunning]

Yes I do but I don't want to help my parents install it

[fsflover]

You should, as it is much safer than the one from Google.

[handedness]

Can you explain how?

[bigfishrunning]

Yeah, but it doesn't include the apps that lay-people want to use, such as Facebook, Venmo, and Google Maps. I like open source software as much as the next guy, but most of it seems very off-brand to your average joe. Setting people up with Firefox is one thing, trying to get them to use AntennaPod instead of Spotify is a much taller order.