Research in Motion to encrypt apps rather than prevent sideloading of apps on BlackBerry PlayBook
Having initially indicated the opposite, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion’s vice president of developer relations & ecosystems development, Alec Saunders, has said the company will not get rid of sideloading apps on its platforms.
In fact, the company plans to begin to encrypt apps to ensure that they can only be used by those who purchase them.
Having tweeted last week that "Piracy is a huge problem for Android devs, and we don't want to duplicate the chaotic cesspool of Android market," and said that the sideloading of apps through BlackBerry PlayBook would be prevented, he has now moved to clarify his comments in a blog.
In an attempt to set the record straight, Saunders wrote; “We’re not getting rid of side-loading on the BlackBerry PlayBook OS or in BlackBerry 10.
“Side-loading on our platform is changing in nature. Side-loading is a developer feature. It exists so that developers can load their apps onto their own devices to test. It’s there so developers can send a beta release to their testing community for review. It is definitely not there for some people to side load a pirated app.”
He continued by explaining what the company was planning; “Starting with our next release of the BlackBerry PlayBook OS, we’re introducing a feature that will encrypt apps so they can only be run by the user who purchased the app.”
Saunders also said that the company was working with developers to ensure that they would still be able to test their apps on real hardware.
“That’s one of the reasons we’re kicking off BlackBerry 10 Jam by giving each developer attendee a prototype device to start building on. I’ll be on-hand at the show to answer your questions – look forward to seeing you there,” he added.