alt Hacker NewsI would genuinely like to know more about these supposed users who are side loading things and getting hoodwinked. It seems high enough friction that you have to have something of an idea of what you're doing to begin with. Everyone I've known who is side loaded anything has been reasonably technical.
My dad on the other hand, who worked for Control Data in the 1980s regularly installs some of the scummiest apps imaginable, and they're all from the Play Store proper.
Launchers that don't actually launch things and serve ads. Apps that launch full screen ads while you're doing things saying your device is infected. Absolute trash.
Like maybe just maybe put some energy into going after the stuff in the Play Store first. As the Play Store exists now, it is unsafe.
Have you seen those YouTube videos of people punking scammers? Scammers will convince people to drive to Target, buy gift cards, and read the credentials out over the phone. Those same people can surely talk you through tapping out a dialog flow.
That's presumably why there's a lockout period - it keeps a scammer from reasonably holding the line until they can pressure you to finish it.