Google Play update could make it safer to sideload Android apps

Pause Play Protect temporarily

A future update to the Google Play Store could make it both easier and safer for Android phone and tablet users to sideload apps by temporarily pausing Play Protect, Android Authority reports.

Sideloading apps to Android means downloading apps not from Google Play to a device. Play Protect is then a security feature that reviews all apps before they are downloaded.

The feature is meant to protect against malicious apps and threats but has also made it more difficult to sideload apps if you, for example, download the apk (Android Package) from a website.

Play Protect can already be switched off manually, but it must also be switched on manually afterwards if the device is not to be vulnerable to malicious apps. The new pause feature looks to solve this automatically by keeping track so that Play Protect is only switched off temporarily for a maximum of one day.

It is currently unknown when the feature might be released but Android 16 is a possibility.