Ben
Google wants to make it a lot easier for users to hop from a mobile browser to a native app experience, and to help it along that road, it’s introduced a new feature for developers that could finally open up Android to the adult industry.
What it means is that when you’re looking at a site on your Android browser, developers are able to direct them towards the native app experience without needing to install the app.
Of course, yes, that’s good for people who like to use apps to look at porn on Android but it’s also useful for people who use teledildonics or other sex toys that require an app for control.
Handing over your phone to a friend to look through your holiday snaps is a whole lot more worrying when there’s the OhMiBod app sat waiting on the home screen. It’s useful for anyone with any app they’re embarrassed about using, for you, that might just be that DJ Khaled soundboard you haven’t gotten around to uninstalling.
In the future you won’t need to install the app at all, and instead, provided the company codes for it, just visiting the website would be enough. You don’t even need to do that, clicking a link sent via email, IM or social channels can also jump you into the Instant App experience.
Sextech is still maturing, and traditional tech and VC industries are yet to get behind it full-force, and one of the major stumbling blocks is people’s perception of privacy. Anything that can take steps towards keeping your own pastimes private is a step in the right direction, not just for adult content.
This new feature isn’t going to hit the adult industry first either – but eventually, Instant Apps will be a widely supported option that’s taken for granted.
It’s unclear right now whether apps that are installed from ‘Unknown Sources’ (ie. all the porn ones you install directly via APK download) will be able to use this as a way to circumvent their expulsion from the Google Play Store.
It’s unlikely, but regardless, the Instant App function will come in handy for a lot of everyday situations – and a lot of the more fun ones too, with any luck.
