{"video_id":"xVm6_IIrHc4","title":"What Is Sideloading and Is It Going Away?","channel":"Techquickie","show":"Techquickie","published_at":"2026-04-23T21:01:20+00:00","duration_s":497,"segments":[{"start_s":0.0,"end_s":6.4,"text":"On your PC, installing software means downloading it from wherever you want.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.36,"end_s":11.4,"text":"That could mean a developer's website, GitHub, an actual app store, or a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":8.96,"end_s":15.52,"text":"sketchy forum at 2:00 a.m. For better or worse. But with our phones, we're used","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":13.76,"end_s":18.8,"text":"to a different workflow. If you want to put an app on your phone outside of the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":17.04,"end_s":21.92,"text":"official app store, you need to do something called side-loading.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":20.36,"end_s":26.08,"text":"Traditionally on Android, that hasn't been too difficult, but Google recently","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":23.76,"end_s":30.04,"text":"made it a lot harder. Meanwhile, it's always been nearly impossible to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":27.8,"end_s":33.48,"text":"side-load on iPhone, but that seems to be changing, too.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":31.56,"end_s":38.2,"text":"And for the better? I feel like I've taken crazy pills. What is side-loading?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":35.92,"end_s":42.28,"text":"Why are Google and Apple so terrified of it? And is the fear even legitimate? Or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":40.68,"end_s":47.08,"text":"are these tech giants just trying to keep us in their ecosystems? All right.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":45.28,"end_s":51.04,"text":"Let's slow down. At its simplest, side-loading just means installing apps","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":48.92,"end_s":56.48,"text":"manually outside of an official app store. On Android, that's APK files. On","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":53.88,"end_s":60.28,"text":"iPhones, IPA files. Both are just how their respective systems package apps.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":58.56,"end_s":64.839,"text":"This isn't really some fringe work-around. On computers, side-loading","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":62.52,"end_s":69.4,"text":"is just called installing stuff. App stores came later and just kind of took","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":67.2,"end_s":73.52,"text":"over, like an HOA that moved into a neighborhood where everyone was already","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":70.84,"end_s":78.32,"text":"just doing fine. So, what kinds of reasons do people have for side-loading","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":75.36,"end_s":82.56,"text":"apps? Lots, actually. Access to beta software, region-locked apps, or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":80.36,"end_s":86.76,"text":"utilities that app stores won't approve of, like emulators, adult content, or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.32,"end_s":90.84,"text":"tools that don't play by the gatekeeper's rules. Or maybe the app","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":88.96,"end_s":94.64,"text":"publisher doesn't want to surrender a huge chunk of its revenues to the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":92.52,"end_s":98.64,"text":"platform. Or you're using alternative operating system that requires","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":96.52,"end_s":102.8,"text":"side-loading in order to increase user privacy. Or maybe the company that makes","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":100.92,"end_s":107.76,"text":"your phone was sanctioned from Google services altogether. Convenience,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":105.36,"end_s":111.96,"text":"privacy, survival. Three different reasons, but they all point to the same","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":109.48,"end_s":117.04,"text":"conclusion. The official app store isn't always the answer. Android has always","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":114.76,"end_s":121.32,"text":"technically allowed side-loading. Hell, I've done it. But allowed doesn't mean","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":118.84,"end_s":126.0,"text":"encouraged. The toggle is buried behind warnings, and Google Play Protect flags","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":123.72,"end_s":130.84,"text":"side-loaded apps aggressively. Still, once you flipped that switch, you were","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":128.0,"end_s":134.12,"text":"in. It was like an open door, but one that made you feel nervous walking","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":132.4,"end_s":138.88,"text":"through it. Like those big revolving doors at the airport. Apple took the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":136.36,"end_s":142.96,"text":"opposite approach. iOS flat-out banned side-loading, and Steve Jobs made it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":140.76,"end_s":146.8,"text":"personal, famously telling a critic that the iPhone offered freedom from porn,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":145.2,"end_s":151.88,"text":"and that anyone who disagreed could go buy an Android. The message was clear.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":149.72,"end_s":155.8,"text":"If an app isn't in the app store, it probably doesn't need to exist, which is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":153.84,"end_s":159.4,"text":"wild logic because Macs have been installing random software from the web","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":157.6,"end_s":163.28,"text":"for decades. Up until the recent changes, getting an app onto an iPhone","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":161.24,"end_s":167.04,"text":"from outside the app store meant jumping through hoops that would make a circus","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":165.0,"end_s":170.96,"text":"dog quit. To explain the process, here is alternative app store developer Riley","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":169.16,"end_s":175.2,"text":"Testut. So, before we had an official app store, we had AltStore Classic, and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":172.92,"end_s":179.48,"text":"the process was you would download a program on your computer, Mac or PC, and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":178.12,"end_s":183.12,"text":"then you would open up the program, and then you would >> [music] >> type in your little Apple ID and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":181.92,"end_s":187.4,"text":"password, and just normal account information, you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":185.0,"end_s":191.52,"text":"would send that to us, and then we would sign in on your behalf with Apple,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":189.28,"end_s":195.68,"text":"pretend you're a developer, and then we would like basically install apps as if","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":194.2,"end_s":200.24,"text":"it was your own app that you had developed yourself, because Apple allows","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":198.52,"end_s":203.72,"text":"like developers to test out their own apps on their phone. And so, we had this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":202.44,"end_s":210.36,"text":"whole system that required you to plug in your phone to a computer to install it, and apps expired every 7 days, so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":208.32,"end_s":214.48,"text":"you had to refresh your apps like once a week. And and you could only install","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":212.6,"end_s":219.0,"text":"three. It was like all the restrictions you could think of,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":215.84,"end_s":221.28,"text":"and yet people did it. That friction was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":219.0,"end_s":225.32,"text":"not accidental. Companies have their own business reasons for gatekeeping what","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":223.32,"end_s":229.48,"text":"gets put on their platform. Take Amazon's Fire tablets. They're sold at a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":227.32,"end_s":233.04,"text":"discount because Amazon expects to make that money back through their own app","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":231.28,"end_s":237.32,"text":"store ecosystem. They don't ship with the Google Play Store. So, if you want","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":234.72,"end_s":241.56,"text":"standard apps like YouTube or Gmail, you're forced to side-load, and millions","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":239.64,"end_s":246.56,"text":"of people do it, even if it's really onerous to do, because we want to use","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":244.16,"end_s":248.56,"text":"our devices the way we want to use them, damn it.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":248.247,"end_s":254.08,"text":">> [laughter] >> But are we taking on more risk when we side-load compared to using the official","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":252.56,"end_s":259.959,"text":"app store? Like it's like I can't say there can't be an app that could be malicious and could appear, but that's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":258.28,"end_s":263.48,"text":"also true of the app store. Like that does happen. There are apps that like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":262.079,"end_s":267.8,"text":"are tricked app review and they turn out to be something else in the app store. And so, I think it's kind of just like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":266.04,"end_s":270.8,"text":"an inherent risk of if you're installing software","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":269.12,"end_s":273.72,"text":"on a device. But I think the key distinction that people do leave out a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":272.72,"end_s":279.24,"text":"lot is the iPhone is not like the Mac, because the iPhone has sandboxing and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":277.44,"end_s":283.52,"text":"entitlements and a whole bunch of security measures that just are not","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":281.44,"end_s":287.96,"text":"existing on the desktop. And those things really do so much to prevent a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":286.36,"end_s":290.68,"text":"lot of things that could go wrong. Like your photos just can't be accessed in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":289.36,"end_s":296.04,"text":"the background by a random app. Like you have to give permission to that. And I think it's good to say that that's why","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":294.24,"end_s":300.44,"text":"I'm such a proponent of side-loading. That's the critical distinction. What","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":297.84,"end_s":304.88,"text":"matters isn't where an app comes from. It's how much damage it can actually do","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":302.4,"end_s":309.24,"text":"once it's installed. And notably, the most headline-grabbing Android banking","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":307.0,"end_s":314.24,"text":"Trojans in recent years, like Anatsa, which hit over 150,000 devices across","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":311.84,"end_s":318.56,"text":"Europe, spread primarily through Google Play itself, not through side-loading.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":316.76,"end_s":322.52,"text":"So, the app store isn't bulletproof, and side-loading isn't the wild west the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":320.4,"end_s":326.32,"text":"tech giants try to make it out to be. But here's where things get interesting,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":324.44,"end_s":330.68,"text":"because both platforms are changing the rules right now, and they're going in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":328.12,"end_s":333.36,"text":"completely opposite directions. We'll get you up to speed right after this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":331.96,"end_s":338.08,"text":"message from our sponsor. >> Micro Center, April is desktop deals","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":336.32,"end_s":342.72,"text":"month at Micro Center. Check out some of their amazing deals, like the Acer Nitro","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":340.28,"end_s":346.72,"text":"60 gaming PC. Micro Center has another store opening later this year in Austin,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":344.88,"end_s":351.24,"text":"Texas. They're also finally doing their grand reopening of their location in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":348.68,"end_s":354.48,"text":"North Jersey, if Texas is a little too out of the way for you. And if you sign","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":353.08,"end_s":359.12,"text":"up with our link below, you can get a free 128 gig flash drive when the stores","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":357.28,"end_s":362.6,"text":"open. Hey, while you're there, make sure to stay up to date with all things Micro","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":360.84,"end_s":366.96,"text":"Center and tech over at Micro Center News, as well.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":364.68,"end_s":371.68,"text":"Both Android and iOS are changing their approach to side-loading. Let's start","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":368.6,"end_s":373.4,"text":"with Android. Android 16 already blocks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":371.68,"end_s":376.88,"text":"you from enabling side-loading while you're on a phone call, specifically to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":375.2,"end_s":380.96,"text":"stop voice phishing scams where attackers walk your grandmother through","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":378.92,"end_s":386.28,"text":"installing malware step by step. But the real shift is the upcoming advanced flow","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":383.96,"end_s":391.36,"text":"rolling out globally through 2026. If a developer isn't verified by Google, you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":388.8,"end_s":396.08,"text":"can't just hit install on their app. You now have to enter a 24-hour protective","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":393.96,"end_s":400.2,"text":"waiting period. You have to restart your phone, which kills any active screen","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":397.96,"end_s":405.08,"text":"sharing or scam calls, and then wait a full day before the install button even","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":402.68,"end_s":409.32,"text":"becomes clickable. Google says this breaks the spell that scammers cast on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":407.12,"end_s":415.44,"text":"victims. But for developers, it's a massive barrier. No impulse buyers. To","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":412.36,"end_s":417.36,"text":"be clear, power users can still bypass","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":415.44,"end_s":421.84,"text":"this by, well, waiting. But the message is clear.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":419.48,"end_s":426.76,"text":"Android's open door is officially getting a bouncer. Meanwhile, on iPhone,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":424.52,"end_s":431.56,"text":"regulators, first in the EU and as of iOS 26.2 in Japan,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":429.56,"end_s":435.56,"text":"have forced Apple to allow apps from outside the app store. Luckily for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":433.52,"end_s":438.6,"text":"Apple, they already knew how to accommodate side-loading whilst","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":437.08,"end_s":443.8,"text":"maintaining a certain standard of security, because they already solved","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":440.72,"end_s":446.48,"text":"this problem on the Mac back in 2019.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":443.8,"end_s":450.68,"text":"It's called notarization. On macOS, you can download any app from the web, and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":448.52,"end_s":455.16,"text":"Apple still performs a basic security check to make sure the code isn't signed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":452.56,"end_s":461.68,"text":"by a known bad actor and doesn't contain obvious malware. It doesn't require the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":457.6,"end_s":464.52,"text":"app store. It doesn't take a 30% cut. It","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":461.68,"end_s":468.8,"text":"just works. And now Apple has brought this system to the iPhone. They're still","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":467.0,"end_s":472.88,"text":"scanning apps for malware and sketchy behavior. They're just letting you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":470.48,"end_s":475.12,"text":"install them from outside the app store. Beyond those select regions, though,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":474.88,"end_s":481.24,"text":">> [music] >> it's business as usual. Apple protecting your proprietary while collecting the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":479.92,"end_s":486.48,"text":"toll. If you want to see just how far the side-loading rabbit hole goes, our video","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":484.48,"end_s":490.64,"text":"on running Windows on your iPhone shows exactly what becomes possible when you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":488.32,"end_s":494.52,"text":"push past Apple's limits, and how much control you actually have over the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":492.32,"end_s":498.28,"text":"device in your pocket. So, check it out.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"On your PC, installing software means downloading it from wherever you want. That could mean a developer's website, GitHub, an actual app store, or a sketchy forum at 2:00 a.m. For better or worse. But with our phones, we're used to a different workflow. If you want to put an app on your phone outside of the official app store, you need to do something called side-loading. Traditionally on Android, that hasn't been too difficult, but Google recently made it a lot harder. Meanwhile, it's always been nearly impossible to side-load on iPhone, but that seems to be changing, too. And for the better? I feel like I've taken crazy pills. What is side-loading? Why are Google and Apple so terrified of it? And is the fear even legitimate? Or are these tech giants just trying to keep us in their ecosystems? All right. Let's slow down. At its simplest, side-loading just means installing apps manually outside of an official app store. On Android, that's APK files. On iPhones, IPA files. Both are just how their respective systems package apps. This isn't really some fringe work-around. On computers, side-loading is just called installing stuff. App stores came later and just kind of took over, like an HOA that moved into a neighborhood where everyone was already just doing fine. So, what kinds of reasons do people have for side-loading apps? Lots, actually. Access to beta software, region-locked apps, or utilities that app stores won't approve of, like emulators, adult content, or tools that don't play by the gatekeeper's rules. Or maybe the app publisher doesn't want to surrender a huge chunk of its revenues to the platform. Or you're using alternative operating system that requires side-loading in order to increase user privacy. Or maybe the company that makes your phone was sanctioned from Google services altogether. Convenience, privacy, survival. Three different reasons, but they all point to the same conclusion. The official app store isn't always the answer. Android has always technically allowed side-loading. Hell, I've done it. But allowed doesn't mean encouraged. The toggle is buried behind warnings, and Google Play Protect flags side-loaded apps aggressively. Still, once you flipped that switch, you were in. It was like an open door, but one that made you feel nervous walking through it. Like those big revolving doors at the airport. Apple took the opposite approach. iOS flat-out banned side-loading, and Steve Jobs made it personal, famously telling a critic that the iPhone offered freedom from porn, and that anyone who disagreed could go buy an Android. The message was clear. If an app isn't in the app store, it probably doesn't need to exist, which is wild logic because Macs have been installing random software from the web for decades. Up until the recent changes, getting an app onto an iPhone from outside the app store meant jumping through hoops that would make a circus dog quit. To explain the process, here is alternative app store developer Riley Testut. So, before we had an official app store, we had AltStore Classic, and the process was you would download a program on your computer, Mac or PC, and then you would open up the program, and then you would >> [music] >> type in your little Apple ID and password, and just normal account information, you would send that to us, and then we would sign in on your behalf with Apple, pretend you're a developer, and then we would like basically install apps as if it was your own app that you had developed yourself, because Apple allows like developers to test out their own apps on their phone. And so, we had this whole system that required you to plug in your phone to a computer to install it, and apps expired every 7 days, so you had to refresh your apps like once a week. And and you could only install three. It was like all the restrictions you could think of, and yet people did it. That friction was not accidental. Companies have their own business reasons for gatekeeping what gets put on their platform. Take Amazon's Fire tablets. They're sold at a discount because Amazon expects to make that money back through their own app store ecosystem. They don't ship with the Google Play Store. So, if you want standard apps like YouTube or Gmail, you're forced to side-load, and millions of people do it, even if it's really onerous to do, because we want to use our devices the way we want to use them, damn it. >> [laughter] >> But are we taking on more risk when we side-load compared to using the official app store? Like it's like I can't say there can't be an app that could be malicious and could appear, but that's also true of the app store. Like that does happen. There are apps that like are tricked app review and they turn out to be something else in the app store. And so, I think it's kind of just like an inherent risk of if you're installing software on a device. But I think the key distinction that people do leave out a lot is the iPhone is not like the Mac, because the iPhone has sandboxing and entitlements and a whole bunch of security measures that just are not existing on the desktop. And those things really do so much to prevent a lot of things that could go wrong. Like your photos just can't be accessed in the background by a random app. Like you have to give permission to that. And I think it's good to say that that's why I'm such a proponent of side-loading. That's the critical distinction. What matters isn't where an app comes from. It's how much damage it can actually do once it's installed. And notably, the most headline-grabbing Android banking Trojans in recent years, like Anatsa, which hit over 150,000 devices across Europe, spread primarily through Google Play itself, not through side-loading. So, the app store isn't bulletproof, and side-loading isn't the wild west the tech giants try to make it out to be. But here's where things get interesting, because both platforms are changing the rules right now, and they're going in completely opposite directions. We'll get you up to speed right after this message from our sponsor. >> Micro Center, April is desktop deals month at Micro Center. Check out some of their amazing deals, like the Acer Nitro 60 gaming PC. Micro Center has another store opening later this year in Austin, Texas. They're also finally doing their grand reopening of their location in North Jersey, if Texas is a little too out of the way for you. And if you sign up with our link below, you can get a free 128 gig flash drive when the stores open. Hey, while you're there, make sure to stay up to date with all things Micro Center and tech over at Micro Center News, as well. Both Android and iOS are changing their approach to side-loading. Let's start with Android. Android 16 already blocks you from enabling side-loading while you're on a phone call, specifically to stop voice phishing scams where attackers walk your grandmother through installing malware step by step. But the real shift is the upcoming advanced flow rolling out globally through 2026. If a developer isn't verified by Google, you can't just hit install on their app. You now have to enter a 24-hour protective waiting period. You have to restart your phone, which kills any active screen sharing or scam calls, and then wait a full day before the install button even becomes clickable. Google says this breaks the spell that scammers cast on victims. But for developers, it's a massive barrier. No impulse buyers. To be clear, power users can still bypass this by, well, waiting. But the message is clear. Android's open door is officially getting a bouncer. Meanwhile, on iPhone, regulators, first in the EU and as of iOS 26.2 in Japan, have forced Apple to allow apps from outside the app store. Luckily for Apple, they already knew how to accommodate side-loading whilst maintaining a certain standard of security, because they already solved this problem on the Mac back in 2019. It's called notarization. On macOS, you can download any app from the web, and Apple still performs a basic security check to make sure the code isn't signed by a known bad actor and doesn't contain obvious malware. It doesn't require the app store. It doesn't take a 30% cut. It just works. And now Apple has brought this system to the iPhone. They're still scanning apps for malware and sketchy behavior. They're just letting you install them from outside the app store. Beyond those select regions, though, >> [music] >> it's business as usual. Apple protecting your proprietary while collecting the toll. If you want to see just how far the side-loading rabbit hole goes, our video on running Windows on your iPhone shows exactly what becomes possible when you push past Apple's limits, and how much control you actually have over the device in your pocket. So, check it out."}