Android has long positioned itself as the open alternative to Apple's closed ecosystem. Many people chose Android for this openness and freedom to customize and alter your software. This is again under serious threat.
Google's new policy will block all apps from working, unless the developers register centrally, submit government-issued ID, pay fees, and hand over signing keys. Might sound reasonable at first, but this has many consequences. What is shocking: This applies to all apps being installed, not only from the Play Store. So even F-Droid is affected by this.
The practical consequences are bad. Any developer who doesn't comply, whether due to cost, privacy concerns, or simply being simple side project, will have their apps blocked from installation on all Android devices, including via sideloading. This means:
- Apps that did not do the full Google process, even distributed through F-Droid or other independent stores, get cut off and blocked
- Self-hosted and privately shared apps become uninstallable
- Existing apps can be blocked retroactively if the developer doesn't authenticate or pay
- Small developers, community projects, and volunteers in regions without easy access to fees or government ID are effectively frozen out
This directly affects our community. It is not certain that all app developers will pay the fee and use their national ID for this hobby project. Especially some of the privacy-focused projects might be affected.
There is technically still one way to side-load apps, but this is very tedious and includes a mandatory 24h cool down time, so you are really sure about the risks you are taking. Wtf.
This runs counter to the core values of open source and free software distribution. If you think about it, it is a real power play by Google that amounts to a form of cencorship: A company in the USA is dictating what software can run or cannot run on a device you own.
For more infos and what to do about it, check https://keepandroidopen.org/
