Google will soon stop you sideloading unverified apps – here’s what that means for you

• Google has announced plans that will require app developers to verify their identity, even when not listing their apps on the Play Store
• This will hopefully reduce the number of malicious apps that can be sideloaded
• However, some Android fans are unhappy with this change

Sideloading refers to the process of downloading apps from sources outside of a phone's official app store, and Google will soon make big changes to the requirements for sideloaded apps on Android phones.

As announced on the Android Developers Blog, Google plans to block unverified apps from being installed on Android devices through sideloading. This means that, if you’re an app developer, then even if you don’t distribute your app through the Google Play Store, you’ll still need to verify your identity with Google.

The company states that it won’t check the content or functionality of apps that aren’t ...