Google is cracking down on what users will be able to side load on their Android phones, going forward. New plans laid out by Android developers have announced that by 2027, Google will require app developers to register with Google and verify their developer identity, for side loading APKs, even outside of the Google Play Store. Currently, users can freely install any app they find online, even to their own detriment. As a measure to improve security for the bulk of its customer base, Google is getting rid of that, which could notably impact how a lot of gamers use their phones as emulation devices.

Starting next year, Android will require all apps to be registered by verified developers in order to be installed by users on certified Android devices. This creates crucial accountability, making it much harder for malicious actors to quickly distribute another harmful app after we take the first one down. Think of it like an ID check at the airport, which confirms a traveler's identity but is separate from the security screening of their bags; we will be confirming who the developer is, not reviewing the content of their app or where it came from. This change will start in a few select countries specifically impacted by these forms of fraudulent app scams, often from repeat perpetrators.

Registering with a developer on Google would require app-makers to give their personal information to Google in order to release an app, including in some cases, official government identification. The initial changes will roll out to Indonesia, Singapore, Brazil, and Thailand, in September 2026, with other countries switching over in "2027 and beyond".

Source

 

[Deleted member 319555]

If they do this, then they will lose alot of users. What is the point of Android then.

 

[cearp]

If they do this, then they will lose alot of users. What is the point of Android then.

I expect most users don't install apks themeselves, most users won't care.
But I agree it's a bad move

 

[The Catboy]

Bravo! Bravo! Killing one of the major reasons why people use Android! Bravo!

 

[Nivium]

Yeah, simply searching for a app in Google Play results in so much crap, making it seems like Google excluded it from being indexed

Unfortunately that actually is usually the case and it's so unfortunate there aren't any pro-consumer ways around this on Google's end. :/ Many video games you wouldn't even have known has come out on Android official through the Google Play Store (Bloodstained Ritual of the Night, Alien Isolation, Alien Isolation's Sequel: Alien Blackout, Titan Quest - to name a few) by searching it alone. The reason for this is because if Google has (Likely inaccurately) deemed that your device isn't "compatible" with an app on its store, it won't appear for you anywhere on the Google Play Store app. (Instead of appearing - but be greyed out stating that you can't install it.) To make matters worse, downloading said "Incompatible" app through alternative means such as Aurora Store often lets you install and play many of those applications without problem proving further that the indexing is simply superficial.

 

[IRUZZ]

Right when I was thinking of moving to Android huh, I guess I'll just stick with sidestore.

 

[lwiz]

Happily running LineageOS on Pixel 8 Pro Actually ability to root and degoogle phone has beeen my modus operandi for 5+ years now when choosing/buying a new phone.

 

[raxadian]

Google, making trillions from Open Source then doing their best to kill it.

As a user of F-Droid this sucks.

 

[Vixi]

But you already can't use Google Pay and many banking apps if you have an unlocked bootloader.

I can use my bank's app, but I use their website anyway, because their app is less secure than their website.

 

[SylverReZ]

Enshittification has gotten worst over the past few months. We've had the bootloaders locked out of the Pixel, Samsung, and Xiaomi phones, and now we cannot install FDroid or other apps outside of the Play Store. This is getting dumber by the day.

 

[XRed_CubeX]

Let's hope that sooner or later a superior OS will emerge. I'm no longer counting on Google backtracking. But a future where customizing your Android device requires relying on exploits is a terrible one.

 

[Vixi]

Enshittification has gotten worst over the past few months. We've had the bootloaders locked out of the Pixel, Samsung, and Xiaomi phones, and now we cannot install FDroid or other apps outside of the Play Store. This is getting dumber by the day.

You'll be able to install F-Droid if the owners are ID verified. F-Droid could possibly verify any app they host probably.

 

[asdr5]

Block profanity video url . Need assistance Youtube Revanced . Go like wack o ,crazy this youtube vanced app . Am lost from this youtube vanced app. There way get back right way . Seem loose all come out like nothing the video. I get approval of coppa ftc in youtube vanced app

 

[K3Nv4]

Ah so Google really meant it when they said your phone will only be useful for a single pixel.

 

[Noctosphere]

Is there any way to install custom OS on Galaxy and such? If there is, then I'm pretty we'll see some open-source OS poping up soon enough on the web.

 

[captainpringles]

Well, there goes one of the best reasons to use Android.

 

[ImmortalDemigod]

sudo rm -rf Google* [adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.vending && adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.gms]

 

[titan_tim]

View attachment 524391​

Google is cracking down on what users will be able to side load on their Android phones, going forward. New plans laid out by Android developers have announced that by 2027, Google will require app developers to register with Google and verify their developer identity, for side loading APKs, even outside of the Google Play Store. Currently, users can freely install any app they find online, even to their own detriment. As a measure to improve security for the bulk of its customer base, Google is getting rid of that, which could notably impact how a lot of gamers use their phones as emulation devices.



Registering with a developer on Google would require app-makers to give their personal information to Google in order to release an app, including in some cases, official government identification. The initial changes will roll out to Indonesia, Singapore, Brazil, and Thailand, in September 2026, with other countries switching over in "2027 and beyond".

Source

Oh crap! You can't take away my Revanced Youtube!!!!

 

[johndoegba]

Me happily using a sat phone and a ruggedized notebook with globally accessible sat internet and linux having zero issues. I stepped away from all this supposed high tech garbage that’s only there to control and turn you into a slave to the screen. I live a self sustainable lifestyle and I am loving the read about people’s incessant moaning about a phone not being able to load a custom program into it. I turn my notebook on every morning with my coffee for an hour and after that spend time woodcutting and carpenting, only going to this “civil” society where everyone is hooked to their phones like the mindless zombie drones you see infected in nature, to get emergency groceries for the next half year, the rest is all homegrown, with a generator I run on bio ethanol.

 

[handy333]

Man. If we let them get away with this, they'll probably start finding [ways] to lock us out of our house...
Oh wait a minute...

I'm speaking for myself but I wouldn't mind going back to flip phones.

 

[Topaz95]

Google just became my most hated company ever.