If you haven’t seen this yet, Google is planning to require mandatory developer identity verification for all Android apps, including apps distributed outside the Play Store, taking effect September 2026. This affects every independent and open source Android developer directly.
This is not just about the Play Store. After September 2026, on any certified Android device, applications from unverified developers will be blocked by default. The only proposed bypass, the “advanced flow”, exists only as a blog post and has not appeared in any beta, dev preview, or canary release. No one outside Google has seen it.
The community has been fighting back at keepandroidopen.org:
- Read the full breakdown of what this means
- Sign the open letter (organisations only)
- Contact your national regulators — contacts listed by country on the site
- Add the countdown banner to your project
September 2026 is closer than it looks. The time to push back is now.
Never owned an iPhone
Currently on android purely for alternative os’s
Next phones for my family will either be Linux, if they hold the line, or iPhone if no one does
Why would anyone pick a garbage Android device if they’re as locked down as iOS and costs as much?
Make it shitty, Google. I hope companies that behave as yours are get the same enshitification ending
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Upf_B9RLQ
in Argentina Androids are made locally and cost 10 times less than an iphone, 130 vs 1300 usd
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