Android 8.0 overhauls installing apps from unknown sources

This is a pretty big change, detailed only a few days ago.

Eagle-eyed users of Android O will have noticed the absence of the ‘Allow unknown sources’ setting, which has existed since the earliest days of Android to facilitate the installation of apps from outside of Google Play and other preloaded stores. In this post we’ll talk about the new Install unknown apps permission and the security benefits it brings for both Android users and developers.

Google goes into more detail a few paragraphs down:

In Android O, the Install unknown apps permission makes it safer to install apps from unknown sources. This permission is tied to the app that prompts the install – just like other runtime permissions – and ensures that the user grants permission to use the install source before it can prompt the user to install an app. When used on a device running Android O and higher, hostile downloaders cannot trick the user into installing an app without having first been given the go-ahead.

This new permission provides users with transparency, control, and a streamlined process to enable installs from trusted sources. The Settings app shows the list of apps that the user has approved for installing unknown apps. Users can revoke the permission for a particular app at any time.

Good move.

14 Comments

  1. 2017-08-23 11:47 pm
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