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A comment on Google, Apple cave to Pakistan pressure to take down apps by Ahmadiyya Muslims. Parent comment

Re:Google, Apple cave to Pakistan pressure to take down apps... by FriedrichN on Friday February 05, 2021 @09:00AM (#26036380)
That would be nice if phones were open and free, but they aren't. For many, especially in developing nations, the phone is the way to access the internet. If Google/Apple wouldn't have such a stranglehold on the world of mobile phones, people would be free to choose which app repo they use or which apps they sideload. But sadly, they are not.
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Re:Google, Apple cave to Pakistan pressure to take down apps... by dmortin on Friday February 05, 2021 @09:37AM (#26036708)
Andriod is open in the sense that you can sideload apps independently of the play store, you just have to enable it.

So in such countries the movements with banned apps should post step by step guides for their followers of how they can enable sideloading and install the banned app.

On iPhone you have to root your phone for sideloading, so that is a closed system for the average user, but on Android there is an option for that, so no rooting is required:

https://www.howtogeek.com/313433/how-to-sideload-apps-on-and...

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Re:Google, Apple cave to Pakistan pressure to take down apps... by sofixa on Friday February 05, 2021 @10:03AM (#26037021)
How would they be free? A country like Pakistan could just as easily block any service that provides content they deem illegal ( as is the case here) via the ISPs( SNI sniffing, DNS blocking, IP blocking) that can't disagree.

If anything, Google and Apple have more leverage than F-Droid or similar because Pakistan can't block them without significant backlash, and needs their cooperation, which is at least debated ( point in case, the article says a few of the apps weren't blocked by Google).

And furthermore, anyone can install any apk or app store serving apks on Android devices.

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Re:Google, Apple cave to Pakistan pressure to take down apps... by lordloki on Friday February 05, 2021 @10:16AM (#26037183)
Right now Pakistan is able to block any service they deem as illegal by getting Google and Apple to block it. They have two gates they need to close.

If users could load any apps they want outside of the google and apple stores there would be many gates that countries like Pakistan would need to close. Not only more gates but new gates opening every day. Basically, it would be the old internet model, which is very difficult to control.

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Re:Google, Apple cave to Pakistan pressure to take down apps... by AnIdiotOnTheNet on Friday February 05, 2021 @12:17PM (#26038625)
On Android it is relatively trivial to install applications from outside the Google Play Store.
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Re:Google, Apple cave to Pakistan pressure to take down apps... by Andrew_nenakhov on Friday February 05, 2021 @02:47PM (#26040397)
True, but with a catch.

If your app requires some sort of background functionality (it is a messenger, or anything) you would have to run through some ugly hoops to keep it running, or you have to rely on push notifications. And push notifications are not available for sideloaded apps.

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