Android 15 expands restrictions on sensitive permissions for sideloaded apps, excluding those from the Play Store or compliant third-party stores. Google aims to align with the EUs DMA by ensuring third-party app stores are as functional and secure as the Play Store.

This is critical because Google isn’t deleting apps from phones, and so if you have such low-quality, higher-risk apps on your device then the onus is on you to make an honest assessment and to delete— not just leave in place —those apps that fail the test.

Google appears to be rolling out a fresh API that lets Android developers insist that their apps can only be downloaded from the Google Play Store, and if you sideload an app, it