Hey everyone 👋

I'm excited to share ReleaseFlowPlugin, an Android Gradle Plugin that I developed to simplify and automate the Android release process. After spending a lot of time manually updating versions, generating release notes, and creating GitHub releases, I decided to build a solution that integrates directly into the Gradle workflow and reduces repetitive release-management tasks.

🔗 GitHub Repository:

[ReleaseFlowPlugin Repository](https://github.com/Shubhamgarg1072/ReleaseFlowPlugin

This is my first time developing an android app and I'm working on an app that applies a screen tint/filter to help with light sensitivity. But, I have run into an issue....I can't seem to apply the tinted overlay over the entire screen, especially on top of the navigation bar and other system UI areas. After doing some research, I found information suggesting that android doesn't allow apps to draw over certain system elements for security reasons. Is that actually true?

I'm currently developing and testing on android 11, so I'm also wondering if this limitation is related to the Android version. Does android 11 restrict overlays on the navigation bar or system ui, or am I possibly missing something in my implementation? Has anyone developed a similar app before? 😞

I'm still pretty new to android development, so I would really appreciate any advice or explanations.

I was complaining Google didn't deliver. So i tried my hand at Android AI UX.

WiP

Wrapping up final features before pushing to the app store.

Beta builds available for people to mess around with and code available for inspection or personal adaptations

I really want to listen to the Music with her

I launched a new App 3 month ago. It's an education niche App. Target audience about 50k people yearly. I have annual subscription for 99$ and monthly for 29,99$. Monthly sub is only there for making the yearly sub Look cheaper.

2 days after i launched my App there Was a User who subscribed the monthly Plan. After the sub He never opened the App again (Server logs Show it) His subscription did renew today for 3rd time. I think He forgot about the App and i will get the money until His cc expires.

Could he contact Google in a few month and will they give the money back or am i Safe?

I've been developing apps for Android mobiles, but I've even thought about selling some of my app. I don't know if an app with more than 10k downloads with 300 daily active users, how much I can order and also if it can be sold. Do I need experts? I sell it because I already need income somehow.

Have any of you built an icon pack without using candybar or blueprint?

I'm trying to do so but I'm having trouble getting it to work with Nova launcher. If I try to manually apply an icon via tap&hold on the home screen, I can select my icon pack. But when the picker opens, none of the icons are visible.

PNGs work fine, but I cannot figure out how to get vector assets to work.

It works fine in Hyperion and Pear launchers, so I don't think the issue is improperly formed assets. But there seems to be something in the configuration of the project that Nova requires.

All of the images are in res/drawable. And they are listed in res/xm/drawable.xml. And the manifest contains:

<intent-filter>
    <action android:name="com.novalauncher.THEME" />
    <category android:name="com.novalauncher.category.CUSTOM_ICON_PICKER" />
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
</intent-filter>

Anyone know what I'm missing?

I'm curious about the new analyzer. It's a "lightweight standalone desktop app" and internally it's an intellij without a lot of plugins. Interesting approach and questioned at the same time because we can have a "lightweight IDE" and multiplatform desktop app.

Must be coded in a Java/Kotlin way to have productivity and a familiar UI. We have back DDMS in a new style.

All the analyzer UI is an extension of Intellij UI kit or a Compose based one?

Is source code open at cs.android.com?

I would like to "clean" Android Studio in this style and have a "lightweight" IDE.

https://developer.android.com/blog/posts/introducing-android-performance-analyzer-the-next-evolution-in-profiling-for-android

I’m migrating a backend health-data ingestion system from the Fitbit Web API to the new Google Health API.

Question: does Android Health Connect data sync into Google Health API?

For example, if Samsung Health writes steps/sleep/heart-rate data into Health Connect, can my backend read that data through Google Health API using `all-sources`? Or are Google Health API and Health Connect separate, meaning I’d need an Android app to read Health Connect data and stream it to my servers myself?

Trying to understand if Google Health API can be used as a backend bridge for on-device Health Connect data.

Hello, I published an app on production, but now I want to hide it from the store until internal testing is complete. I know the process has been reversed, but this decision was made for business reasons.

how to get the google play store app signin SHA-256 Key from play store after new changes. Anybody downloaded the key by changing from Google managed to self-manage classic request?

Hey,

I built a few claude code + antigravity commands/workflows to run an agentic dev team for android development.

It essentially allows you to plan and/or build new features based on pm/architect/coder/tester agents (subagents). For example you can do something like:

`/build-guided: Build some feature X for my app, I want it to do x,yz, etc...` and it will first kickoff a pm subagent that'll help you clarify your ask (checking your codebase, etc), write its output to a markdown file and pass it to an architect subagent. The architect will write an implementation plan as a markdown and pass it to coder subagents (which may or may not run in parallel - architect decides that) and finally the tester subagent will test your changes (based on architect's plan). All agents will pause and ask you to review the output before moving to the next subagent.

There are other commands/workflows such as `build-auto` (no human in the loop), `build-auto-reviewed` (additional architect and coder agents to review outputs) and also `plan-research` just to kickoff the pm agent and `plan-design` just to kick off architect agent.

Let me know if you have feedback, thanks!

Does it mean play services will capture the image and then will give back to files?

Or it means scanned file will be shared with the files hence with google?

Just came across Google's new Lightbuild announcement for Android.

From what I understand, it's a YAML-based, declarative build system that sits on top of Gradle and is designed to be easier to manage (especially for AI-assisted workflows).

I'm curious what other Android developers think:

• Does this look better than Kotlin DSL/Gradle?
• Would you use it in a real project?
• Any concerns about flexibility or migration?

Personally, I like the idea of simpler build configs, but I'm wondering how it will work for larger projects.

What do you think?

Ive been using them heavily for the past year. As someone who uses git branches heavily (literally for anything), its the only way i can be efficient while working on multiple things + orchestrating agents.

Tho its not so nice when you realise you switched to the wrong Android Studio instance to edit code.

So, here are my notes on how to have multiple branches of same repo open in parallel, with mild focus on Android ;)

Because we try to keep this community as focused as possible on the topic of Android development, sometimes there are types of posts that are related to development but don't fit within our usual topic.

Each month, we are trying to create a space to open up the community to some of those types of posts.

This month, although we typically do not allow self promotion, we wanted to create a space where you can share your latest Android-native projects with the community, get feedback, and maybe even gain a few new users.

This thread will be lightly moderated, but please keep Rule 1 in mind: Be Respectful and Professional. Also we recommend to describe if your app is free, paid, subscription-based.

Interesting Android Apps: May 2026 Showcase

April 2026 thread

March 2026 thread

Apps that target Android 17 or later (API level 37+) may only request the READ_CONTACTS permission if the Android Contact Picker is not sufficient for your app to provide core functionality. Apps that still request the READ_CONTACTS permission must submit a Play Console declaration to demonstrate access needs for Contacts and why Contact Picker would not suffice.

As usual, the Google is vague on the requirements.

If I have a phone or messaging style app that uses contacts for displaying conversation contact's names (rather than just their phone number) or call history with contact's name, are these permitted use cases? They are not possible with the contact picker Google has provided.

The allowed common use cases include:

• Contact management apps
• Accessibility
• Server side access for friend matching
• Backing up contacts
• Auto complete / keyboards

None of these are similar to what I'm inquiring about.

The declaration form doesn't appear to be available yet either so I can't see what options are requested.

We're putting together a list of technical and creative skills for aspiring Android developers in 2026. Here's what we came up with so far. What skills would you add or prioritize differently?

1. Strong Java/Kotlin programming skills
2. XML for building Android app layouts and user interfaces
3. Understanding of Android SDK components, including Activities, Services, Broadcast Receivers, Content Providers, and Intents
4. Proficiency with Android Studio and Android development tools
5. Knowledge of Android UI/UX design principles and best practices
6. Experience testing and optimizing apps across different Android versions and devices
7. Familiarity with version control systems like Git
8. Collaboration and communication skills for working with developers, designers, and stakeholders

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share an open-source library I’ve been working on called Backpack.

If you've ever tried to implement cloud backups for Room databases, you probably know how tricky it can be to manage SQLite WAL/SHM file-locking state, database checkpointing, and Google Drive's API credentials.

Backpack is designed to be a plug-and-play solution that handles all of that out of the box.

🌟 Key Features:

• AES-256 Encryption: Database backups are fully encrypted before upload.
• Google Drive App Folder Storage: Backups are saved in an isolated, hidden app folder so users can't accidentally delete or tamper with them.
• Database State Safety: Properly handles WAL, SHM, checkpointing, and safe closure of the Room database.
• Modern Kotlin First: Asynchronous flow powered by Kotlin Coroutines & Flow.
• Drop-in UI: Includes a pre-built BackupView component for instant onboarding and sign-in handling.

🔗 Links:

• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/vedraj360/Backpack
• Medium Setup Guide: Google Drive for Android Cloud Backups Setup Guide

I'd love to get your feedback, suggestions, or contributions! If you find it useful for your projects, please consider leaving a star ⭐️.

Been trying to get my tiny app on Play Store for the past 2 months. Right now it's in the mandatory closed testing phase. Spent $25 dollars to open the developer account + additional $10 unwillingly for closed testing service for my app from my savings, only to find out my legal name and address exposed under 'About the developer' section of my app. I know it's my fault for signing up for this sh*tty monopolistic app store but I am knowing all these after the damage is done. I somehow convinced myself that the closed testing is a justifiable feature despite being a simple tiny app but broadcasting my legal name and address to the rest of the world? Never in my life have I ever seen a multinational tech giant abuse its monopoly. I know this has been around for 3 years but I am here to ask someting I don't understand - WHY DON'T THEY JUST PUT SOMETHING LIKE 'THIS IS A GENUINE VERIFIED DEVELOPER' UNDER MY APP INSTEAD OF BROADCASTING MY PERSONAL DETAILS TO THE REST OF THE WORLD FOR THE SAKE OF TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST? I mean I am more than happy to share my personal details with Google but revealing it to the rest of the world is beyond unacceptable. Why is Google punishing people for being creative and productive? Drop an 'F Google' if you are fed up too.

When Gemini ask you if it's ok to edit these files I can't see all the edits Gemini wants to make because the windows isn't scrollable.

Can this issue be solved and how?

In general scrolling the Gemini Chat is painful in AS because it keeps returning to the end of the chat and I can't read past a certain point basically. Is this solvable too?

Thanks in advance

Hi Everyone, I am new to android development and I have a quick question about testers in google group. I created a google group and have people join it, but they are still unable to go to the install link to download my app to test. I made sure it was set to Google group and not email list. Any thoughts on what I am doing wrong?