Here’s how Android app sideloading & third-party billing will change following settlement

Ben Schoon | Dec 19 2023 - 9:25 am PT

Google has reached a settlement in a US antitrust lawsuit which will have effects on the future of sideloading on Android, and we’re getting an idea of what that means for app sideloading and more in court documents.

To quickly summarize the context here, the terms of a settlement between Google and US States have been revealed. Google will pay out $700 million with the vast majority being returned to consumers, and Google has also agreed to changes in how sideloading is handled on Android, as well as how billing in apps will work.

While Google’s announcement offered no details on how the process will change, court documents reveal what’s in store.

For one thing, Google will, for at least the next five years, have to allow Android app developers have the option to offer in-app purchases with the user given the choice of how they are billed.

For a period of at least five (5) years from the Effective Date, subject to program guidelines (or other comparable UCB requirements), Google will give developers that choose to sell in-app digital goods and services the option to add an alternative in-app billing system alongside Google Play’s billing system for their Users. At checkout, Users will be able to choose which in-app billing system to use.

This includes offering their own in-app billing option alongside Google Play billing (whether that’s built into the app or using an existing web-based solution), and developers are also able to encourage users to use other billing services through the use of different pricing or promotions. Google will also be required to allow all app developers in the US the choice of if they want to participate in Google’s User Choice Billing (introduced in 2022). This is detailed in sections 6.3 and 6.11 of the settlement documents.

Further, for at least six years, Google will be required to allow Android app developers to list the price of a digital good that is purchasable outside of the app. Google doesn’t have to allow developers to share a link to where that purchase can be made, but developers are able to use language such as “available on our website for $9.99.” This applies to apps that do or do not allow purchases to be made within the app.

As for sideloading, Google will be required to change the process of sideloading as it exists today.

Right now, sideloading an app on Android requires users to open an APK and, if the source app is not already approved, follow a link to settings where that option can be enabled before they can return to the installation process. Following the changes outlined in this settlement, Android will be required to simplify this process by condensing it down to one screen. Android will still be able to outline the risks of sideloading on this screen, but it will be a one-step process. The new screen will say:

Your phone currently isn’t configured to install apps from this source. Granting this source permission to install apps could place your phone and data at risk.

Google will, for at least six years, be required to keep a simplified process. However, Android can still make changes or updates. The settlement requires that any changes from Google “must not materially increase the complexity or burden of the flow except to the extent necessary to warn Users of legitimate risks of sideloading.” Further, Google specifically cannot introduce additional complexity “solely because an app was sideloaded, as opposed to being downloaded from Google Play.”

The settlement documents explain in section 6.10:

The Revised Default Sideloading Flow shall combine into a single screen the following two screens in Android’s default sideloading flow: (1) the pop-up with the default text “For your security, your phone currently isn’t allowed to install unknown apps from this source. You can change this in Settings” and (2) the subsequent “Install unknown apps” screen that allows the user to enable sideloading from the specified source, such that a User is not required to visit the device’s settings to enable sideloading.

The States agree that Google may use the following language (including foreign translations) or its substantial equivalent: “Your phone currently isn’t configured to install apps from this source. Granting this source permission to install apps could place your phone and data at risk.”

There’s further guidance on third-party app stores, as Google will be required to allow Android OEMs to pre-load third-party app stores on their devices without requiring consent from Google, as detailed in section 6.8.

Also noted in section 6.6 is that Google will not be allowed to enter into any new agreements or enforce any existing agreements with OEMs for at least five years which require the Play Store to be exclusively pre-loaded on the device or exclusively placed on the home screen.

Meanwhile, as Google mentioned in its post on the settlement, changes in Android 14 will allow third-party app stores to update apps on your device without approval from the user, and all app stores on the device will be able to have the ability to control updates of apps that they have installed. On Android 12 and up, Google will also be required to support updates to apps from third-party app stores without user approval for each update. This functionality will be maintained for at least four years, as mentioned in section 6.9.

The settlement and these terms, as of today, are not yet final. It’s noted by The Verge that the States involved in the settlement are looking to get it approved by the judge (the same judge from the Epic vs Google case that recently reached a verdict) by February 8.