In this Office Hours Live, I dug into a question that’s becoming less “hypothetical” by the week: what happens if Google effectively blocks Android sideloading (aka installing apps outside the Play Store), and how do you prepare without spiraling into panic. My main takeaway is there’s a healthy line between planning and wasting time/money on drastic changes before we know the final implementation. The best move right now is to stay informed, map out your workflow, and keep migrating away from Big Tech lock-in so you’re flexible when the reality becomes clear. I explained the core issue: Google’s proposed developer verification/registration requirements could make Google the gatekeeper for which developers can distribute installable Android apps—regardless of whether the app is on the Play Store. That’s especially dangerous for the open-source ecosystem and alternative app stores like F-Droid, which has warned this could be a “death sentence.” Google previously hinted at a “workaround” (tucked away in settings/developer options), but I discussed new indications that this workaround may not ship when restrictions begin rolling out. We also hit other community questions: buy-it-for-life software (Little Snitch, plus open-source alternatives like LuLu), why I only accept Monero for privacy reasons, and my pragmatic view on post-quantum crypto—worth tracking, but not something to lose sleep over today.