Hacker NewsAndroid: Balancing Openness and Choice with Safety
https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2026/03/android-developer-verification.html
#HackerNews #Android #Openness #Safety #Choice #DeveloperVerification
Ars Technica NewsGoogle details new 24-hour process to sideload unverified Android apps https://arstechni.ca/seTm #developerverification #appdevelopers #Security #android #Google #google #Tech
Brad LinderSideloading Android apps is here to stay… but Google will make you wait a day before doing it the first time
Last summer Google announced plans to tighten security on Android phones and tablets by requiring app developers to register with Google and blocking installation of apps from unverified sources. That didn’t go over well with everyone.
So in Google said it would come up with an “advanced flow” that would allow power users to install apps from unverified sources. Now the company has laid out […]
#android #developerVerification #google #sideloading #verifiedDevelopers Read more: https://liliputing.com/sideloading-android-apps-is-here-to-stay-but-google-will-make-you-wait-a-day-before-doing-it-the-first-time/
BluelupoGoogle Says Developer Verification Makes Android Safer. Critics Say It Just Makes Android More Closed - It's Foss
https://itsfoss.com/news/android-developer-verification/
#google #android #Playstore #appstore #developers #developerverification
Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻💻🧬#FDroid says #Google’s #Android #developer verification plan is an ‘existential’ threat to alternative #appstores
F-Droid fights Google's Android #developerverification plan that could kill alternative app stores used by millions. Here's what developers need to know.
Even developers distributing Android #apps on the web for #sideloading will be required to register, pay Google a $25 fee, and provide a government ID.
https://thenewstack.io/f-droid-says-googles-android-developer-verification-plan-is-an-existential-threat-to-alternative-app-stores/
F-Droid fights Google's Android #developerverification plan that could kill alternative app stores used by millions. Here's what developers need to know.
Even developers distributing Android #apps on the web for #sideloading will be required to register, pay Google a $25 fee, and provide a government ID.
https://thenewstack.io/f-droid-says-googles-android-developer-verification-plan-is-an-existential-threat-to-alternative-app-stores/
With developer verification, Google's Apple envy threatens to dismantle Android's open legacy https://arstechni.ca/YBpW #developerverification #Features #security #android #malware #privacy #Google #google #Tech
Tim Makarioshttps://keepandroidopen.org/
I'm pleased to learn that GrapheneOS (and, presumably, similar things, like LineageOS) won't be directly affected by Google's apparent attempt to seize Apple-like control over what apps you're allowed to install on your Android phone, and to extract economic rents (and personal information) from app developers.
If you own a recent enough non‒carrier-branded Pixel, I'd encourage you to install GrapheneOS on it. If you don't, and can afford a second-hand Pixel once every five years or so (the Pixel 8a, for example, has security support promised till at least May 2031), I'd encourage you to get one in order to put GrapheneOS on it. (Yes, ironically, I am recommending Google-branded phones in order to escape Google's attempted app gatekeeping.)
If you can't afford a Pixel, see if you can find another phone you can install another operating system on, like LineageOS. (You might already have one.)
CC: @GrapheneOS @LineageOS @keepandroidopen
#Android #developerVerification #keepAndroidOpen #GrapheneOS #LineageOS
Henry FisherGoogle's Android Sideloading: More Friction Than Freedom
Google's Android Sideloading: More Friction Than Freedom
Muntashir AkonFinally got the invitation to #Google's new Android Developer Console for #DeveloperVerification. It says under the "Limited distribution" type, a developer is only allowed to distribute up to 20 devices. The details aren't that clear to me, not even from their official documentation (https://developer.android.com/developer-verification/guides/android-developer-console) which only says "Capped number of apps and installs." In any case, the distribution type itself is unavailable at the moment. So, the invitation was kind of pointless. (I did say I am a hobbyist in the form.)
Google will let “power users” continue to sideload apps from unverified developers
Most phones, tablets, and other devices that ship with Google’s Android operating system come with the Google Play Store pre-installed. But as long as Android’s been around, there’s also been a feature that lets you install apps downloaded from other sources through a process generally known as “sideloading.”
But this summer the company announced that it was going to require developers of apps […]
#android #developerVerification #google #sideloading #verifiedDevelopers
