Google is frequently updating Android's sideloading experience for security reasons, and the momentum shows no sign of slowing down. Android 14 was filled with warnings about the potential dangers of sideloading apps, but Android 15 accepts them may offer a new way to keep these apps updated - in a whole new way.

Android Authority found evidence of this in a deep dive into the latest version of the Google Play app. The new code suggests that it may be possible to update side-loaded apps from the Play Store, rather than installing new APK files from third-party marketplaces or manually.

Another bonus is that Google Play may be able to scan these updates for malware. This could provide enhanced protection without making it actively difficult to side-load apps, regardless of where these apps originally came from.

This feature appears to be called "Update from Play" and would clearly indicate which apps originated from Google Play. This last part also means that there is an option to download updates from the original source, if that is possible, or if there are updates available in Google Play itself.

The ability to distinguish between Play and non-Play apps is quite important. In my experience, I have found that Google Play used to detect and attempt to update side-loaded apps downloaded from Google's store. However, given that I intentionally sideloaded an older version to access a feature that has now been removed, you can imagine how frustrating it can be to be constantly asked to update.

All I can do now is turn off automatic updates. However, if a future version of Google Play would flag this app as a side-loaded app and stop asking me if I want to update it, I would be much happier.

Since this is just code in the app, there is no telling when this will be rolled out to the public. In fact, I don't know if this is just placeholder text or if this feature is actually going to work; we'll just have to wait and see what Google has planned for the future.