Android Authority reports that Google is working on a new Play Store feature to take over ownership of sideloaded apps. This would allow Google Play to update apps not installed via the official Store.
A feature introduced in Android 14 allows application stores to update ownership of apps. When you download an app from a Store, this store has ownership. This means that it is responsible for pushing updates and other changes. It may also have the power to delete apps.
The option to change ownership was designed initially to prevent the installation of apps from a store that differed from the original.
Now, it appears that Google is working on a feature that allows Play Store to take over ownership. It seems that this is a manual process, for now at least.
The main benefit of this is that users may then update apps through the Play Store, provided that the app is also hosted on Google’s store for Android.
A leaked screenshot shows the listing of an app that was not installed from Google Play. The app shows an “update from Play” button. When users activate the button, Play Store is taking over ownership to update the app. Future updates will then be provided via Play Store and not the original Store.
Third-party app stores may also be able to use the feature in the future.
Closing Words
While the changing of ownership may be useful in some cases, for example when the original owner is no longer available or an app is no longer available in the original store, it may also cause issues for certain apps, especially if they differ from the Play Store version.
This should not work for apps that are not offered on the Play Store. Certain kinds of apps, including apps that let users download videos from YouTube, are disallowed on the Play Store. They can, however, be installed from third-party stores.
The best option to avoid this for now is to ignore the “update from Play” button when browsing the Play Store. It remains to be seen if Google will implement other changes related to the taking of ownership.
Do you sideload apps on Android? If so, what is your preferred download source for apps? Feel free to leave a comment below.
Yes we sideload apps. Usually from APKPure and usually because google has removed an app we purchased from the store from both the store and our device without even asking us.
There’s already a button to have ‘Protect’ scan sideloaded apps. I’ve never clicked yes but it would probably flag them as ‘malicious’ and remove them.
Looks like we’ll have to buy pre-rooted phones with custom roms next time.