Privacy News Fortnite for Android won't be on Google Play Store

[Ink]

Content source

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2018-fortnite-on-android-doesnt-use-google-play-confirmed

Confirming a leak that surfaced earlier this week, Epic Games says that its upcoming Android release for Fortnite will not use Google Play as a distribution platform. Instead, phone users download an installer from Epic's website and install the game directly, bypassing Google's store completely.

The situation is somewhat similar to how Fortnite operates on PC, where Epic took the decision to bypass Steam and deliver the game via its own launcher and account system.

In the week that we've had Fortnite installed on the S9+, the game has been updated and patched - this was all done seamlessly when booting the title and no further security settings adjustments were required.

There have been a number of Android APK scams related to Fortnite going around. Does Epic's release strategy put customers at risk, since they might not be able to tell the difference between real and fake?

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"Open platforms are an expression of freedom: the freedom of users to install the software they choose, and the freedom of developers to release software as they wish. With that freedom comes responsibility. You should look carefully at the source of software you're installing, and only install software from sources you trust.​

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Gamers have proven able to adopt safe software practices, and gaming has thrived on the open PC platform through many sources including Steam, Battle.net, Riot Games, Good old Games, and EpicGames.com. We're confident Android will be similarly successful.​

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Most importantly, mobile operating systems increasingly provide robust, permissions-based security, enabling users to choose what each app is allowed to do: save files; access the microphone; access your contacts. In our view, this is the way all computer and smartphone platforms should provide security, rather than entrusting one monopoly app store as the arbiter of what software users are allowed to obtain."​

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Is this true: "Gamers have proven able to adopt safe software practices"? Yes or No

And the average Android idiot*?
Download this Custom Fortnite APK with "Free 50,000 V-Bucks"
What you actually get = Stolen login, malware and a crypto-miner

*Age varies.

 

[ForgottenSeer 72227]

Personally I think they should have just kept it in the store. While The Play Store is not perfect, it does offer a fairly good guarantee that the file is relatively safe. Obviously you still have to pay attention when downloading from the store, but its still safer than downloading random APKs. I do agree with the article about how will Epic ensure that people are downloading the correct version vs malware, cause lets be honest the bad guys are going to jump on this and exploit this more so than they do now.