Blocking Sideloading in Android Apps

Android apps are introducing the ability to block sideloading, which impacts users who prefer installing apps from outside the Google Play Store. This restriction has begun to affect apps such as Tesco and Chat GPT, where users attempting to sideload these applications are met with prompts urging them to download from the Play Store instead. These new measures employ Google's Play Integrity API, which assesses whether a device meets certain security criteria based on its operating system configuration. While developers can choose whether to implement this feature, many mainstream apps are likely to adopt it, potentially restricting user freedom and raising concerns for those who use custom operating systems.