https://nitter.net/MishaalRahman/status/1696202317853343922
An ex-Google employee working on Android security also commented on this.
I will copy a comment I made a week ago in another thread:
It was five years after her first Android phone that I noticed that when asked to install an app, my aunt proceeded to download an APK from a random website and installed that rather than using the Play Store. In fact, I think she didn’t even know the Play Store was a thing, and she was on her third android phone already.
She isn’t tech-savvy, she did that because that is how she did on Windows. After that, I just accepted that things need to change in a way that might annoy me.
That is to say that while the solution found by Google has a bunch of drawbacks, and I’d prefer if old games and unmaintained apps were left alone, I don’t think it was a totally wrong decision (this time).
I asked for extensions but it’s pretty annoying to have to dust off my older published apps (which work just fine) and port to API 34. One down, three to go
I had to borrow an iOS device for some IoT setup because of this issue.
@Rouxibeau isn’t it possible to download the apk? Like on APK mirror or other reputable source on the web? I remember there was also a website that grabbed the apk straight from the Play Store if the app was free.
Or you can use Aurora Store if possible. That’s how I got Instagram Lite.
Didn’t see it on apkmirror.
@Rouxibeau Oh, alright then.
