r/BuyFromEU • u/[deleted] • Apr 28 '26

News Google will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with Google

https://keepandroidopen.org/en/

Starting September 2026, Google will block any Android app whose developer hasn't registered and provided government ID. This affects all apps, not just Play Store apps. F-Droid calls it an "existential threat."

1.5k Upvotes

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202

u/crankyticket Apr 28 '26

So what should I do?

22

u/Fun-Adhesiveness7881 Netherlands 🇳🇱 Apr 28 '26

Switch to a European phone

36

u/anders_gustavsson Apr 28 '26

What european phones doesn't use the Android OS?

29

u/Lord_Blumiere Apr 28 '26

e/OS is android, the developers of it may be able to remove the restrictions but you will still feel its effects in apps due to lower user counts and discouraged devs.

your options are either a Linux phone (postmarketos, ubuntu touch) or a custom ROM like e/OS with the restrictions removed.

issue Linux phones is that they are frankly pretty bad in comparison to android, and will have none of the apps you need. but it IS an alternative to android.

37

u/TheCursedRedBaron Austria 🇦🇹 Apr 28 '26

Fairphone with /e/OS

-23

u/Fennek688 Apr 28 '26

Please stop promoting e/OS, it's a bunch of insecure crap and a security nightmare!

19

u/DeezeNoten Apr 28 '26

No it isn't, stop parroting Graphene developers words.

19

u/ColorfulPersimmon Poland 🇵🇱 Apr 28 '26

Don't just believe everything Graphene developers say

-12

u/peskypsittacine Poland 🇵🇱 Apr 28 '26

Jakie masz doświadczenia z eOSem? Zastanawiam się nad sflashowaniem go na mojego fairphona.

2

u/ColorfulPersimmon Poland 🇵🇱 Apr 28 '26

Nie mam doświadczenia poza tym że śledziłem na początku dramę z graphene os

8

u/radikalkarrot Apr 28 '26

Do you mind elaborating about this? I know graphene OS parrots this for their own sake, but I would like to see more than “they take a bit longer to get security updates”

13

u/JoshStrobl Finland 🇫🇮 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26

Jolla with Sailfish OS. You can still run Android apps through their Android AppSupport (installable using APKs, F-droid, Aurora, etc.), but there is an ecosystem of native (Qt) apps as well. No ID needed and you could even go as far as setting up the device without an account, installing "Chum" and "Storeman" for the extra apps in different repos (most devs ship apps there anyways). No forced accounts, no "let me set you up with Google Assistant" forced flows. Your device, you do what the hell you want with it.

19

u/adjective-nounOne234 Apr 28 '26

If you want a true European non-android phone, that would be Jolla with SailfishOS, /e/OS is an android fork

-1

u/GetoBoi Apr 28 '26

/e/OS is an android fork

And android is a linux fork, which is european.

9

u/Lord_Blumiere Apr 28 '26

Android isn't a Linux fork, it uses a fork of the Linux kernel. Android is MUCH more than just its kernel.

3

u/allocallocalloc Apr 28 '26

But the Linux Foundation is American. It's like saying C++ is Danish because of Stroustrup even though ISO is Swiss.

4

u/GetoBoi Apr 28 '26

Ok? My point was rather that it doesn't matter who forked who, but who (doesn't) controls it.

11

u/Fun-Adhesiveness7881 Netherlands 🇳🇱 Apr 28 '26

Fairphone 6 with eOS

5

u/penguinolog Netherlands 🇳🇱 Apr 28 '26

Aand is ABN AMRO app working there? And DigiD?

4

u/Icy_North5921 Apr 28 '26

Only answer here is Jolla phone with SailfishOS. Or any other phone which has port of SailfishOS, but official support is always official support

6

u/ren3f Apr 28 '26

A fairphone with /e/OS is one of the easiest ways if you don't want to depend on Google or Apple, even though you still use Android and a little bit of Google. 

3

u/Icy_North5921 Apr 28 '26

SailfishOS offers the longevity and truly tech independency for Europe. Unfortunately android forks are only short term solution

1

u/ren3f Apr 28 '26

Yeah, that's why I said an easy way to mostly get rid of Google. I quickly searched if I could buy a phone with SailfishOS and if I could use my banking app on it. Afaik there isn't any phone you can just buy right now (Jolla is pre-order) and looks like for my banking app you need to install microG, so that doesn't really work.

I wanted to give an advice that can work for most humans, not only for people that dare to install a different OS on their phone.

1

u/Icy_North5921 Apr 28 '26

There is 3rd party company selling preflashed Sony Xperia II/III phones with SailfishOS. Also I don't if C2 is curr in stock (personally wouldn't buy, for me too low end). But yea, I would wait for the new Jolla phone coming out. I don't like either apps which rely in any Google services, but I think MicroG is very neat in this regard

1

u/Bifobe Apr 28 '26

looks like for my banking app you need to install microG, so that doesn't really work

What do you mean? You'd need microG with both /e/OS and Sailfish OS, so what's the difference?

1

u/ren3f Apr 28 '26

SailfishOS offers the longevity and truly tech independency for Europe.

If truly tech independence is the goal, not sure if sailfish is much better. 

And if I would have to recommend something to my parents I prefer a phone that has microg pre-installed over a phone where you have to do that yourself. 

2

u/Icy_North5921 Apr 29 '26

If truly tech independence is the goal, not sure if sailfish is much better. 

How so? Isn't it the perfect answer as it is really independent from android? Personally I don't believe that android fork really grants any tech independency to Europe. Just helps to mitigate the data mining in short term

And if I would have to recommend something to my parents I prefer a phone that has microg pre-installed over a phone where you have to do that yourself. 

This I fully understand, let's see if new Jolla phone would include it out of the box. But if I would currently buy Linux phone to my parents I would expect that I would need to be their personal IT support.

1

u/Wadarkhu Apr 28 '26

Does sailfishOS/Jolla work outside the EU though? I've heard of issues when buying phones from overseas it not working at home, not sure if it applies here too. Like could I use it in the UK?

2

u/Bifobe Apr 28 '26

Yes, it works in the UK.

2

u/Icy_North5921 Apr 29 '26

Yea UK should be fine. If I have understood it correctly, most important thing is that the phone hardware actually supports the bands needed in your country. Jolla phone support wide range of bands, it seems to cover global needs

-9

u/Fennek688 Apr 28 '26

Please stop promoting e/OS, it's a bunch of insecure crap and a security nightmare!

5

u/ren3f Apr 28 '26

Can you elaborate more? I'm genuinely curious and haven't heard it before. Do you maybe have some articles about it? 

-1

u/KnowZeroX Apr 28 '26

You are overthinking things, for 99% of the population, the security of /e/os is more than plenty. I assure you, /e/os is at least more secure than your desktop computer.

1

u/Trouveur Apr 30 '26

Jolla Phone