Google Is Making Third-Party App Stores Available On Android: End Of Sideloading?

Last Updated:March 06, 2026, 12:45 IST

Google’s Play Store rules will help developers offer their app stores, make their payment system and more.

Google has been trying to stop people from sideloading apps as a privacy and security measure but the company has now decided to make it a more legitimate option. It is starting a new Registered App Store program that it claims will enable sideloading of apps without the security aspect worrying the company.

This is Google’s way of making a share out of the third-party app stores that millions can access for free but the company is giving them a better route to reach Android users, and for that they would have to sign up for the program.

Sideloading The Right Way

Google warned about sideloading apps, added new layers which discouraged installing apps from other app stores but people continued. So, its new measure seems like the ideal switch, even if most developers are likely to skip the program and operate separately. Google will start the program outside the US and later make it available for developers in the country.

We expect to hear more on these changes at the Google I/O 2026 where the company will offer details on these programs, how it plans to tackle the submission process and what the Android users can expect from these integrations.

Android users are getting a critical update in March 2026 that is claimed to fix hundreds of vulnerabilities which has put millions of devices at risk over the last few months. The new update for Android users is one of the biggest not only in terms of the features but also the level of security patches it brings for these devices and keeping them safe.

Google is planning for a phased rollout of these patches which means there will be two batches which cater to around 129 security issues that have been previously reported and flagged by Google and its security team.

The main issue is linked to a Qualcomm component with a high severity label attached which can result in device compromise and even instability caused by remote attacks. The risk of zero-day issues mean hackers can exploit them in the wild and nobody gets a whiff of the risks and any possible attack that may have already affected some or many users.