Android 14 will block apps made for older versions of the OS, effectively limiting sideloading

Android 14 will be making a big change to help keep your phone safe from malware. Lines of code, posted on the Android Open Source Project show that Google will make its API policies much stricter, effectively blocking the sideloading of many old apps.



Google already requires apps to be up-to-date and using the latest Android features for safety, but this is enforced only for apps that are submitted and uploaded to the Play Store. At the moment, all newly listed apps have to target Android 12 or later to pass that requirement.

But developers can easily get around this rule by putting their apps on a third-party store. With the planned changes, the API restrictions will be moved to a local level, blocking the installation directly from the OS on the current device.

This move will make it much harder for older apps to be installed on newer Android phones, with security being pointed out as the main reason for the change. Many malware apps target older Android versions that use weaker security rules and restrictions.

Initially, the change will only affect apps that are very old and target ancient versions of Android, but the goal is to soon move the threshold to Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) and keep raising the bar after that.