I am a hobby programmer and dabble in Android sometimes. I also use F-Droid to get many of my apps. Google is trying to take this away from us as they lock down Android apps. They want to take what was once an open platform and turn it into a locked down iOS clone. They will require anyone making an Android app to register in a central database, provide an ID, and pay a fee to Google, no matter how they plan to distribute it. See https://keepandroidopen.org/.
Keep Android Open

Your phone is about to stop being yours. In September 2026, Google will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with them.