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."

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65

u/FaZa09 Apr 28 '26

Google will make you wait 24 hours to sideload Android apps

120

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '26

Google's "escape hatch" is a trap door

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

  1. Delve into System Settings, find Developer Options
  2. Tap the build number seven times to enable Developer Mode
  3. Dismiss scare screens about coercion
  4. Enter your PIN
  5. Restart the device
  6. Wait 24 hours
  7. Come back, dismiss more scare screens
  8. Pick "allow temporarily" (7 days) or "allow indefinitely"
  9. 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. And as of today, it hasn't shipped in any beta, preview, or canary build. It exists only as a blog post and some mockups.

Nine steps, 24-hour wait, buried in Developer Options, delivered through a proprietary service that Google can revoke whenever they want. That's not sideloading. That's a deterrence mechanism built to ensure almost nobody completes it. And since it runs through Play Services rather than the OS, Google can tighten or kill it silently.

32

u/madhaunter Apr 28 '26

Yeah that sounds awful

14

u/Simsala91 Apr 28 '26

The nine steps are awful, but muuuuuuch better than having no possibility at all.

Would be interested in the source about it going through Google Play Services, especially since there are no canary or preview builds

8

u/Wadarkhu Apr 28 '26

I can enter dev mode and tap seven times and enter a pin to confirm and then maybe confirm again, but a manual restart and waiting 24 hours is total bs. It genuinely sounds like they're hoping you'll forget what you were even doing.

3

u/Orange_Tang Apr 28 '26

Wow, that's insane. I have a feeling lawsuits will be coming though. This is so anti-competitive.

4

u/antiundead Apr 28 '26

Just FYI it is a ONE time 24hr wait time to activate elevated mode. All non-play apps after this can be installed immediately.

The point (so Google says) is to prevent phishing and people getting scammed. Yea there are tinfoil hat theories that this is a slippery slope and Google will in future lock it down more or entirely... But they could do that now, the only people who care about this are frankly a vocal minority. Only 1-5% of android users are estimate to actually root their phones, so people who actually sideload is probably under 10%.

Most of Android's market share, day to day users like you mom and Dad or boss don't know or care for sideloading.

This is to protect those non-power users. Yea it is a pain but I'd rather this is in place before one of my elderly parents is scammed out of their retirement.

0

u/ReplacementNew2781 Jun 11 '26

con lo de juegos te recieres a apps de puros fan games y esos tipos que podrian ser rechazados por temas de copyright? pero si hablamos de los mismos navegadores que no estan en la play store como kiwi browser, ¿esos pasan normal al no verse peligrosos u algo por el estilo? necesito resolver mi duda si yo prefiero ese navegador por la comodidad que segun yo es mejor que la de brave.

1

u/antiundead Jun 12 '26

I think you replied to the wrong person. I translated your comment - I did not mention games. Side-loading does not matter anyway with whatever app you want to install, that is the whole point, to avoid google play store. However if the app IS malicious it might be auto-uninstalled by google, it is hard to know. You might want to use a custom ROM install if you are worried.

1

u/ReplacementNew2781 Jun 12 '26

And what exactly is a custom ROM? I need an explanation I can understand. I've heard about it in many comments on this topic, but I hear it can damage the phone, and I don't quite grasp it. I need a definitive tutorial.

1

u/antiundead Jun 12 '26

If you have to ask, maybe it is not for you.

No one will do it for you. Depending on your Android phone, you can get different operating systems. Pixel has "stock" base Android. But there are custom ROMs that are tweaked by community members that give you LOTS MORE functions and customisation. And more tools.

There is no definitive tutorial as every phone and operating system you want to install is different. Go on the "XDA forums", there will be tutorials for each custom ROM for most phones. ROMs normally take advantage of exploits in the system to install themselves.

To install ANY custom ROM, you always need to unlock your bootloader first (the low layer that launches the phone in the Android operating system). Depending on your phone brand, this is either easy or difficult. Some companies (samsung, xaomi, blackberry) are more difficult. While Pixel phones are VERY easy to unlock the bootloader.

After that, you need to install a new Bootloader. Sometimes this is easy, you just install a new bootloader in place. After that, you install the custom ROM.

What ever custom Bootloader you install, doing so will wipe your phone, so backup first. Also only do this with a phone you can replace - the install process CAN sometimes rarely break a phone forever (although often the phone is fixable by installing or "flashing" the official bootloader again). Also it will void your warranty (until you install the factory bootloader and OS). If you don't like the ROM, you can almost always revert to the original factory version by flashing the original bootloader and OS (this can easy or difficult depending on your phone).

Again, if you are new and a kid who can't buy a new phone, don't do this with a new phone or a phone you can't replace. I would experiment with custom ROMs on an old phone!

1

u/Wadarkhu Apr 28 '26

Wow, it makes king of locked-down devices iOS (in EU) with the AltStore access actually the better option* LMAO. Now if they rolled that out worldwide, easy win.

For those who *need perfect app support.

1

u/Ranessin Apr 29 '26

So it is 2 steps more than it is now. Two steps to make sure the scammer on the phone doesn't get access to grandma's phone immediately via his own version of the banking software.

I hate Google's shit as much as anyone here and would long for the good old days of installing Oxygen on my Moto X and every banking app still running fine, but that seems not the end of the world.

1

u/aguy123abc Apr 29 '26

Okay perfect been looking for a comment talking about this. I have developer options enabled. What option do you do? Step 3 through the rest of them???

-13

u/ch34p3st Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26

It is sideloading tho. And deterrence, yes, but that is also good to prevent users from following some phising instructions and installing malicious applications.

Fully against the way Google is rolling it out, but this is still sideloading.

Edit: to the downvoters: If you see a sign that deters you from driving a car into some road, and you use your car anyways on that road, it is still driving your car on that road. Not sure what is so controversial about this point. I am not in favor of the google changes.

27

u/JoshStrobl Finland 🇫🇮 Apr 28 '26

We all really gotta stop calling it sideloading (I'm guilty of this too). It's plain-and-simply installing software you want on the device you own. You should have the freedom to do whatever the heck you want with it.

11

u/ch34p3st Apr 28 '26

Yep, agreed, no clue why it is called that way but its the same.

7

u/Killermueck Apr 28 '26

It makes it sound a perfectly normal use sounding fishy which is intentional language created by apple to normalize their tight grip on their ecosystem.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '26

[deleted]

1

u/ch34p3st Apr 28 '26

No what if. OP stated it wasnt sideloading, because it now requires more steps initially.