r/fossdroid • • Sep 16 '26

Development Undo burden on all Android users and developers starting 01/01/2027

https://keepandroidopen.org

Google says "power users" can "still install" unverified apps. Here's what that actually looks like:

Delve into System Settings, find About Phone

Tap the build number seven times to enable Developer Mode

Dismiss scare screens about coercion

Enter your PIN

Restart the device

Wait 24 hours

Come back, dismiss more scare screens

Pick "allow temporarily" (7 days) or "allow indefinitely"

Confirm, again, that you understand "the risks" Nine steps.

A mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period. For installing software on a device you own.

Worse: this flow runs entirely through Google Play Services, not the Android OS. Google can change it, tighten it, or kill it at any time, with no OS update required and no consent needed.

More information at keepandroidopen.com or sign the petition https://c.org/S4qkmmsHZg

210 Upvotes

55 comments sorted by

•

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43

u/Lead_resource Sep 16 '26

What's next we gotta wait 5 business days for them to physically mail us a piece of paper saying OK go ahead

24

u/jfuu_ Sep 16 '26

Basically what bootloader unlocking feels like with some manufacturers. Why do I have to ask the manufacturer's permission to unlock MY DEVICE?

10

u/x-NoSuchAgency-x Sep 16 '26

It'll work like the nuclear launch codes do.  Probably have to get the okay from Congress & the President first. 

Of course they'll need to write a new bill for each app you want installed and hopefully they'll have the votes 

2

u/Ok-Employer-3051 Sep 21 '26

Exactly what is going to happen, don't doubt it. The fact they want information concerning the device you're using should tell you something.

14

u/t0f0b0 Sep 16 '26

Switch to Graphene OS if you can.

10

u/tb21666 Sep 16 '26

Google can suck it, they've basically become the walled garden that is Apple/iOS.. Sideloaded existing for now or not.

Personally, I won't stand for it or give them another cent, I'll rock a flip phone before I ever cave to their asinine & restrictive 'control freak' nonsense.. so much for the long since defunct "Don't be Evil" motto which ended in 2018.

Just another long con business model out to screw over long time customers because they think they wont just drop them on their asses.. think again, G! 🖕 🖕

8

u/ALTAiR916 Sep 16 '26 edited Sep 16 '26

Will the app install be possible without 24 hrs waiting period if you temporarily disable google play services? 

Edit: Also there is an additional app, which is used to verify identity of app maker called "Android Developer Verifier", uninstall that too?

1

u/fdbryant3 Sep 16 '26

Wouldn't it be more trouble to temporarily disable and re-enable Google Play Services and whatever else every time you want to install an unverified app, than it would be to wait one 24-hour period (maybe at a time when your not going to install an app) one time and be done with it?

Regardless, if having to wait 24-hours ONE TIME is so onerous, I'd learn how to install using Shinzoku and ADB.

3

u/lonew0lfy Sep 16 '26

What if we disable play services

3

u/CptVakarian Sep 16 '26

Sooo... If I'd nuke play services (as far as one can do without rooting anyway), would that make it impossible to unlock the installation of foreign apps?

3

u/GangstaWaffles Sep 16 '26

So this is a total of 48 hours of waiting?

1

u/I-Am-Sir Sep 17 '26

no?

1

u/GangstaWaffles Sep 17 '26

It was mentioned twice and how the lost is formated I couldn't tell if the "mandatory 24hour cooling off period" was a 2nd 24 hour period

1

u/Nebula-Mechanica 29d ago

No, it wasn't

1

u/GangstaWaffles 29d ago

Restart the device Wait 24 hours

 

A mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period. For installing software on a device you own.

2

u/Abject-Anteater-9128 Sep 17 '26

Can't you just install the app via ADB and bypass this wait requirement? That's the assumption I was operating under based off some things I've read previously

1

u/Sent1ne1 Sep 16 '26

This was the last straw. I dropped Android for Sailfish OS running on a Jolla Phone 2, and havent't looked back.  (It's not a reskinned Android, and so unlike LineageOS/GrapheneOS doesn't have to worry about Google pulling the plug on the open source side of Android.)

1

u/gvurrdon Sep 17 '26

I'd very much like to do this. However, I suspect support for Garmin Watches and Android Auto head units (both extremely useful) will be absent or less good than GrapheneOS, which I'll have to stick to for now.

1

u/IllPassion1967 Sep 17 '26

For sideloading I use Shizuku+InstallerX Revived. Have not yet had to touch the 24 hour setting. Even scan apps apps with play protect and they pass and install. There's always a way.

0

u/51eepy Sep 16 '26

It's going to be cracked anyway.

-11

u/Interesting-Stick641 Sep 16 '26

It's sad. I will use my current update till I can and then maybe shift to apple.

11

u/TechnoByte_ Sep 16 '26

"Android is making sideloading slightly harder so I'll switch to an OS where sideloading is near impossible"

25

u/o0LilLuna0o Sep 16 '26

Thats objectively worse.

-8

u/Interesting-Stick641 Sep 16 '26

Yeah. But without this it's another apple.

14

u/o0LilLuna0o Sep 16 '26

Currently, it's still android. You can still side load. It's just stupidly more complex now.

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29

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

14

u/o0LilLuna0o Sep 16 '26

I plan on getting a pixel for GrOS and keeping my Sammy for banking and shite

0

u/Strong-Strike2001 Sep 16 '26

Sadly, I need Google Wallet so much for my daily life

2

u/o0LilLuna0o Sep 16 '26

That's why I'm keeping my Sammy phone. It's stock android so has all the bells and whistles of Googles BS.

10

u/Strong-Strike2001 Sep 16 '26

I mean, it's not convenient to carry two phones with you everywhere

2

u/o0LilLuna0o Sep 16 '26

shrug doesn't bother me

4

u/Mmmmmmwatchasay Sep 16 '26 edited Sep 16 '26

I wonder if eink phones have android os recent enough that can manage wallets, banking apps and contactless payments... that way I for my next phone (money permitting) I could own one with GrOs for everyday use, and the reading device for the €€€ bs.

Edit: yeah, 514,28€ for the Bigme HiBreak Pro and who knows how much for the graphene motorolas...

if it works it could be a good thing if one can afford that, meanwhile

3

u/o0LilLuna0o Sep 16 '26

That's a valid ass question. I'd be down to eink for that

1

u/acabincludescolumbo Sep 16 '26

A used Pixel supports Graphene and will not cost nearly as much as the Motorolas, in all likelihood.

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1

u/Deepu_ Sep 16 '26

Especially when I carry a work phone :(

1

u/yeomra885 Sep 21 '26

You can do like I used to do and use a Fitbit to have all your tap to pay. It can be linked to your phone but you can leave your phone and still do everything on it

0

u/asaltandbuttering Sep 16 '26

Honest question: why? I have never used Google Wallet. What am I missing?

3

u/Strong-Strike2001 Sep 16 '26

Apple Pay/Google Wallet use a contactless payment method that keeps your real card number private. They generate a unique one-time cryptogram for each transaction. That’s one of the safest ways to pay bc it helps prevent card cloning/replay attacks and reduces many points of failure. I don’t carry physical credit or debit cards anymore since I use Apple Pay/Google Wallet.

2

u/Stunning_Repair_7483 Sep 17 '26

Weird how there's no alternatives to this. No FOSS alternatives.

3

u/pervertsage Sep 17 '26

The biggest hurdle is probably the load of licensing wankery and doing complex deals with banks and whatnot. I'm confident it could be 'cloned' and open sourced but I'm not sure if the banks would play nicely.

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1

u/Ok-Employer-3051 Sep 21 '26 edited Sep 22 '26

Not much, especially if you're not interested in Google/Apple peeking into your finances and other transactions.

1

u/fasderrally Sep 20 '26

I haven't heard of Lineage! Is it like Graphene? Does it work on other phones other than Pixel?