Android Authority says that a future update to the Google Play Store may temporarily pause Play Protect, making it safer and easier for users of Android phones and tablets to sideload software.

Apps that are sideloaded to Android are downloaded to a device instead than from Google Play. After that, Play Protect is a security feature that evaluates every app before it is downloaded.

It has also made it more difficult to sideload programs if you get the apk (Android Package) from a website. The change is designed to guard against threats and harmful apps.

Play Protect can already be manually turned off, but if you want to keep the device safe from harmful apps, you also need to manually turn it on. Play Protect is only momentarily turned off for a maximum of one day thanks to the new pause feature, which aims to automatically resolve this by tracking usage.

The feature’s potential release date is currently uncertain, but Android 16 is a possibility.