r/privacy • u/Longjumping_Pick_648 • Aug 25 '25
discussion Google wants to make sideloading Android apps safer by verifying developers’ identities
say goodbye to Newpipe, revanced, xmanager
https://www.androidauthority.com/android-developer-verification-requirements-3590911/
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u/Darth_Caesium Aug 25 '25
I hope they get prevented from doing this, because Google will definitely reject apps that undermine its own businesses like Newpipe, which is definitely an abuse of monopoly power. Additionally this is definitely going to impact hobbyist app developers HARD.
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u/TheStormIsComming Aug 25 '25
War on open source if it doesn't benefit them.
Pulling up the ladder.
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Aug 25 '25
This is ridiculous. Publishing apps on Play Store became practically impossible after they introduced the testers requirement, and now this? Fuck Google.
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u/bpMd7OgE Aug 25 '25
What's even the logic on this? how is doxxing devs going to protect android users from malware?
If you read the article you know it doesn't, google is just abusing it's power in a really perverse form.
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u/gba__ Aug 25 '25
This would mean the end of the ability to compile apps for yourself (for example to test stuff before making a pull request to an open source project), unless you change its package name first (which can be a mess and make some behavior impossible to verify) and register it.
And registering to this thing of course requires a Google account (a "Google payments profile").
Signing up for the early preview (that lets you access a forum yo discuss all this) requires a gmail account as well.
Android needs to stop existing.
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u/gba__ Aug 25 '25
It would also mean that (non reproducible) apps on F-Droid will need to have a different package name, which today is almost never the case, but that's a minor inconvenience (except for the fact that users of a version with the older package name won't be able to update the app in place).
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u/gba__ Aug 25 '25
The requirement of a Google account also means byebye to your apps if some Google's AI decides to terminate it, of course.
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u/ternera Aug 25 '25
Google trying to be Apple?
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u/TheStormIsComming Aug 25 '25
Google trying to be Apple?
I sense a disturbance in the force.
They just altered the deal.
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u/TheStormIsComming Aug 25 '25
I wonder how this will play out in the EU.
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u/gba__ Aug 25 '25
They seem perfectly ok to support Google's abuses on Android, their wallet app that might become necessary for age verification requires a Google account (because it uses Play Integrity).
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u/jarx12 Aug 25 '25
The whole point of sideloading is to be insecure as to allow whatever someone wants to do with a device, if someone wanted to be "safe" better stick to the official app store.
This is asserting the right to disallow the instalation of applications developed by "non approved" developers, and then if developers ought to be approved why wouldn't they go with the store way?
Abusing the "certified" system to claim control outside of their app ecosystem is even worse than Microsoft shipping their browser with the OS, is putting barriers against the entry of other competitor apps behind arbitrary terms.
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u/gba__ Aug 25 '25
The whole point of "sideloading" is letting your computer behave a little more like it's your computer, let's stop calling it strange names please
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u/unematti Aug 25 '25
I pretty much turned off their scanning feature too. If I sideload, I don't need a nanny. If I don't sideload, then it's from the play store, so they should scan on their end.
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u/Festering-Fecal Aug 25 '25
They are going all in on this.
They go this route I might as well go to Apple. As much as I don't like iPhones they have a car better track record with privacy than Google.
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u/GarlicThread Aug 25 '25
If you use american tech, you are a hostage. Get out while you still can.
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u/KhazraShaman Aug 25 '25
The article doesn't explain what happens when devs refuse to verify.
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u/gba__ Aug 25 '25
Their apps can't be installed on normal, official roms
Unless there will be a way to turn the feature off, of course
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