https://f-droid.org/en/2026/02/24/open-letter-opposing-developer-verification.html>As we wrote about back in September in F-Droid and Google’s Developer Registration Decree, Google plans to enforce mandatory developer registration as a requirement for building and distributing Android applications worldwide. Android, currently an open platform where anyone can develop and distribute applications freely, is to become a locked-down platform, requiring that developers everywhere register centrally with Google in order to be able to distribute their software. This applies regardless of whether your software is distributed commercially on a competitive app store like the Samsung Galaxy Store, or through a non-commercial community app repository like F-Droid, or even by offering your app as a direct download from a web page. In all these cases, installing or launching any application on an Android Certified device (which constitutes over 95% of all Android-compatible devices outside of China) will phone home to Google to verify that the developer and the application has been approved.>After an initial public outcry, Google rushed to assure developers that “sideloading is not going away”. This, as we pointed out in What We Talk About When We Talk About Sideloading, is simply untrue. Sideloading, their pejorative term for the direct and unintermediated installation of software of your choosing on the device that you own, is indeed going away if they follow through on their threat. Furthermore, future app store competitors, be they commercial or non-profit, will forever be disadvantaged by their developers being required to sign up with Google, bound to their (voluminous, non-negotiable, and ever-changing) terms and conditions, pay a fee, upload government-issued identification, and register each and every one of their applications with Google.
Google needs a few more monopoly lawsuits it seems.
>>108230294What a bunch of self-entitled losers. Face it. Google is a Business and they Build Android from the Ground Up using Their Resources and Their Capital. Google Decides how to use Their Property and They have Decided that Verification is the Right Move. It's the Right Move for Users and the Right Move for Google. If F-Droid wants to fight against this then They should Develop Their own Phones and App Store, not Steal from Google's Hard Work.
actual 1984
>>108230324Good morning!
>>108230324Jewish hands typed this. Fuck the WEF.>>108230294I hope the goyim that supported this aren't the same cattle that made fun of us jacks and sdcard wanters when those features were being taken away.
>>108230324What you should realize is that every google executive deserves to be tortured to death.
>>108230294Just use an iPhone like a normal human being. Imagine having green bubbles, yuck
They already backpedaled on this so these are all empty words
>>108230294malware gangs in shambles
>>108230294Google doing this will make be abandon android and shop for a Linux powered portable computer, this android I am using now is old and has a cracked screen but still usable for now but I am looking to replace and I am waiting to see what google does about this
>>108231809cyкa
Based Google speedrunning Android EoL. Normal people who want a walled garden that just works buy an iPhone. Or a Samsung, who isn't reliant on Android as much as people think. Android's main selling point was being this quasi open system that lets you use your phone as a small portable computer. Now that it's no longer going to be the case, we might see the rise of a properly open mobile OS.
>>108233414Android's main selling point is that Android phones are generally much cheaper than iPhones. I imagine most people don't give a shit about le walled garden.
>>108230324Good morning saar
>>108230324>they Build Android from the Ground Up They didn't btw
>>108230324>not Steal from so google should pay royalties to the GNU and Linux projects
>>108233427well thats the only selling point NOW after making it unappealing for the tinkerers, nerds, freetards and privacy Schizos
>>108231600They literally didn't, that's why F-Droid is warning people about this.
M>>108230294Just don't use google play. Unless I am mistaken this update is through google play services.If you are a resomable person you already run a version of android without google play which means this is a non issue.>buy I need X closed source appNo you don't>but muh bankUse their website on a computer
PostmarketOS
>>108231600>backpedaledso instead of raping you dry they gonna apply some lube? tybg
>>108233427>Android's main selling point is that Android phones are generally much cheaper than iPhones.s26 series gonna cost more than iphone 17 series
>>108234640Samsung has many cheaper options and the cheapest Androids are $1000 cheaper than the cheapest iPhones.
>>108234148and to Oracle for the Java API
>>108233326>this will make be abandon androidwhy, is adb too hard for you? (local adb exists btw)
>>108230294>verificationI don't see a problem here. We already have dev signatures in apk files. This is just creating a database of trusted signatures which will skip the Google Play Protect dialogues saying "This application is untrusted and won't be installed unless you disable Play Protect and risk infecting your device". F-Droid people are just retarded.
>>108230324https://keepandroidopen.org/
>>108234645>cheapest Androids are $1000 cheaper than the cheapest iPhones.More like $700 USD when comparing for example a moto g play 2024 and an iPhone 17. The motorola's a year older (almost 2) so not entirely comparable, but still somewhat comparable because you could get both of these phones brand new in the box in 2025. The motorola also has way shorter support life
>>108230294Well, that sucks.
>>108234645comparable Android models are become more expensive than any matching iPhone models doesn't matter that there are $99 mediatekslop models.thought that was obvious to everybody, apparently not.
>>108234682And as we all know there are 0 malware apps in the Google Play store.
Time to stop using mainline google android then. Graphene becomes more and more viable as they spend time and effort backporting the security fixes. Google will close android source after this though so you can't just run a forked version.
>>108234760Google does actually try really hard to keep malware out of the store but it is monumental challenge. This sideloading thing lets them have a theoretical limit but there are enough indians that this won't actually help
>>108234760They do a good job at addressing it, yes. And Android is built much better than your average desktop OS in terms of security and the overall app/user permission structure, which already blocks a ton of malware by itself.
No more youtube revanced, I guess.
This is your daily reminder that, at first, to install apks you had to enable developer options and allow installing apks.Then they decided that this wasn't enough, and after doing this you also had to go to the settings to allow your browser to be able to ask if you wanted to install the apk you had just downloaded.Then they decided that this wasn't enough either, and they added the Play Protection thing where after doing the previous two things, if you try to install an apk that isn't on their store you'll get a warning telling you that the apk is insecure, with a huge "okay, I'm a cuck, don't install it" and a tiny "more options" link where you can click on "pwease google-sama let me install this apk on my fucking phone that I bought with my own money."And then they decided that this wasn't enough, either. Every new update is just about adding more restrictions to what originally was supposed to be an "open" os. Not even once have I heard anyone from the Linux foundation questioning why Google is using Linux to make a jeeted copy of iOS where you can only install what they allow you to install.
>>108234682Just a reminder that people usually get paid for the same thing you do for free. I get that you things are clinically retarded, but I think it's nice to remind you this fact every now and then: you love your billionaire overlords because they get lots of money stealing from us retarded peasants, but your opinion is worth exactly $0.00, therefore it's completely worthless according to your own scale of values.
>>108234811>>108234854daniel pls
>>108234863ding ding ding
>>108233326LMAO. The retards, nerds, and geeks who post here and actually do "tech" are a tiny minority to the massive sea of non-sentient sheepbrained NPC consoomers out there. You're daily NPC, of which there are BILLIONS and BILLIONS of, have no fucking idea what side loading is. NOR DO THEY CARE.Google couple completely block it right now only a tiny minority (you and the other retards, autists, nerds, and geeks) would even notice.
>>108235070/Thread
>>108230294This is a nothing burger. Unverified apps will just have to go through more safety prompts before it actually lets you install them. This is actually a good thing as it will better prevent retarded boomers from installing malware on accident.
>Motorola phones will ship with GrapheneOS soon and we can finally be done with Google
>>108230294Android Developer Verification is a good thing.You still can install random bullshit apk from trusted devs anyway after that. Unverif devs produced some dogshit malware slop anyway
>the year is 2031>in order to install an apk you must enable developer options, generate a certificate, validate the certificate against a remote server, use your private key to start the installation procedure, have an ai analyze the apk, print and sing a formal request declaring that you want to install the apk voluntarily, have your retine scanned to prove that you don't have any easily detectable mental diseases, book an appointment with your lawyer so he can validate your request, visit a doctor to get your adn analyzed to prove that it's really you, and finally accept the warning you'll get when you tap on the apk>google announces that this is clearly insecure and start demanding a high resolution scan of your anal wrinkles>that one samefagging retard on /g/: "um, actually, it's good that they're doing this, because installing apks was too insecure, it'll be much better now"
>>108234869>Not even once have I heard anyone from the Linux foundation questioning why Google is using Linux to make a jeeted copy of iOSThe Linux foundation stopped caring about the mission of a open-source and freedom-granting OS and only care about making Linux more attractive to corporations. That's why they haven't said shit in years about the majority of Linux variants including binary blob drivers that completely violate the spirit and stated mission of Linux.
>>108234165Wait, I've read somewhere that they did backpedal. Are they back at it once again? Too much pressure from the WEF (goyim can't have freedom)?
>>108236239The Orange Cheeto in Charge has opened the flood gates for companies to do whatever the fuck they want. And what they want is total control over you and paid subscriptions for everything you do. They want everything cloud based so they can both charge you a monthly fee and so they can monitor and control what you're doing. >Lol no that's not happening to many people will push back.Yeah, it IS happening and it's happening right now. The "people" don't give a shit as long as they have access to confirm, food, and entertainment. Any pushback will be short lived and the grumbling will yield nothing... Just like with Xbox Game Pass going to $30, Adobe going full subscription based, and every other example>NOOOO THIS ISNT FAIR YOU CANT DO THIS >OK HERES MY MONEY I GUESS ILL JUST GO ALONG WITH IT
>>108236239The didn't even have to pretend to backpedal, they merely did an "um actually..." Most sites said that they were going to block "sideloading" and Google replied that "sideloading" (as in, installing apps from a computer connected to the pc) will still be possible, only with some added security they haven't revealed yet.What they're still blocking is installing apks directly, or having an alternate store like F-droid. They never even pretended to backpedal on those restrictions.
>nooo don't make it harder for scam apps, phishing tools, and ad exploits to be published
>>108236357>Lol no that's not happening to many people will push back.>Yeah, it IS happening and it's happening right now. The "people" don't give a shit as long as they have access to confirm, food, and entertainment. Any pushback will be short lived and the grumbling will yield nothing... Just like with Xbox Game Pass going to $30, Adobe going full subscription based, and every other exampleI remember trying to tell people that Steam was actually a bad thing for them back when it launched. I pointed out they would lose access to their games if their internet went out, and that they were giving up their right to resale, effectively turning their game collection into a black hole. All I got was an endless stream of retards screaming about how "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!" and how Steam made everything so much better because they didn't have to insert a CD into the drive.
>>108230294le big tech making it easier for me to not use their services. senk yu big tech.
>>108236496Exactly.And now it's happening on a much bigger scale at an accelerated rate.
>>108235858source
>>108235858I want to be into graphine... But I can't. I don't trust platforms that are more or less updated, controlled, and maintained by one faggot. The same reason I refuse to use Nobara. All it takes is for that faggot to wake up one and nuke everything or just quit and you're fucked
>>108236761They are working with an unnamed "notable" phone vendor since June 2025. I just find articles written about it though idk where they release announcements
>>108237207they've recently commented they will officially reveal who it is and announce their partnership in march. and first compatible phones are expected to ship next year.
>>108230294Fuck GoogleFuck Shillfags >>108230324Fuck Corpos
>>108230294A letter won't change shit. Only a competitor that provides the feature you're looking for, or a government regulation, would change Google's mind.
