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One of the perks of Android is the insane ease of being able to sideload apps outside of the Play Store. This means that users aren’t limited to apps in the Play Store and can download and sideload apps directly from websites or third-party app stores.
This is a double edged sword because while it does open Android up to more customization, it can also open the door to security and compatibility issues. This is why in Android 14, Google is now introducing a new warning system whenever users attempt to sideload an update to some Google-made apps.
If a user attempts to sideload a Google app update, they will see a warning popup asking them if they want to update the app, and that if users choose to update the app this way, they might leave their device open to receiving updates “from any source” in the future. Users can choose to proceed anyway or cancel the update.
At the moment it appears that this only applies to Google’s core apps like Play Services. This is kind of a good thing because there are some concerns that Google could be attempting a walled garden approach through “update ownership”, meaning that the company will limit updates that come through the Play Store.
This warning and the ability for users to proceed anyway suggests otherwise, but it is possible that it could change in the future and apply to non-Google apps as well. That being said, there really isn’t a reason for the average user to update their core Google apps by sideloading so we imagine that this shouldn’t present much of an issue for most, but for those who do, this popup is something you can expect following the Android 14 update.
Source: Android Police
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