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The first step people need to take is killing the term "sideloading". Its installing. You're installing apps you want. On your device.
Don't call it sideloading apps. Call it installing apps
We need a big resurgence of the custom rom scene.
We used to be seeing all the innovation in that space, with google and handset manufacturers lagging behind. Between the innovation advantage and the privacy focus of things like grapheneOS, we really could build out a grassroots fork into a third, open and private/secure phone OS. It doesn't need to be big just thriving enough to adequately serve those of us who care.
Devices became ever more locked down for developers. Between bootloaders that can't be unlocked and drivers that have to be reverse engineered it's just too hard to develop custom roms now.
There were always some devices like that but now it's most of them
I'm hanging on to my current half dead phone until the new GrapheneOS partnership materialises
Well, soon-ish, anyway. Estimates I've seen are 2026 - 2027
https://keepandroidopen.org/ if anyone wanted the actual movement's site without the news fluff.
Email your representatives, sign the petitions, don't go down without a fight.
Petitions and stuff don't really matter if you're not prepared to downgrade / stop replacing / stop using cell phones
Planning on looking into E-link phones soo. They're advertised as de-googled phones.
We need to get rid of all these billionaire companies doing stuff we don't like.
These greedy companies never cared about any petitions. My only hope is some powerful legislature putting a stop to this, like the EU.
I just hope Nubia makes a replica of my redmagic phone but with a 64MP camera and non-Google-certified Android where I can install whatever I want.
Or that they continue updating my phone forever with no install restrictions, or unlock all the components to allow open source devs to take over after they stop providing security updates
How about labelling restrictive installation processes as something like Hibbertloading, after the actor who played The Gimp in Pulp Fiction, or maybe even just Gimploading.
Along with the above, sideloading needs to reclaim its rightful term, installing.
These are public companies. Why not instead of signing petitions have each and every one buy and dedicate his biting rights to a shared organization to be a thorn in the executives belly they can't ignore legally?