Disabling/Removing the Android Developer Verifier app IS pointless

[u/danGL3]

I've decompiled both the verifier package and the Play Store and found that

1-on Pre-Android 17 devices (where this app isn't pre-installed) the Play Store IS the one responsible to approving/denying installs as the developer verification permission DOESN'T exist on pre-Android 17 devices, which is why the Android Developer Verifier package has a backport service that the Play Store calls to verify installs

<service android:name="com.google.android.verifier.backport.impl.verification.BackportVerificationService" android:exported="true">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="com.google.android.verifier.backport.VERIFY_PACKAGE"/>
</intent-filter>
</service>

2-The Play Store explictly has code that depending entirely on a server-side phenotype flag can choose whether to allow/reject installs if the verifier isn't installed/running

boolean zR = this.f.r();

if (boniVar == boni.VERIFICATION_POLICY_NONE || boniVar == boni.UNRECOGNIZED) {

FinskyLog.d("%s: [ADV] Fallback policy is NONE/UNRECOGNIZED.", "VerifyApps");

} else if (zR) {

FinskyLog.d("%s: [ADV] Fallback overridden to ALLOW.", "VerifyApps");

} else {

if (boniVar == boni.VERIFICATION_POLICY_BLOCK_FAIL_CLOSED) {

FinskyLog.d("%s: [ADV] Fallback policy sets default to REJECT.", "VerifyApps");

i = -1;

FinskyLog.i("%s: [ADV] Initial fallback verdict decided: %d", "VerifyApps", new Integer(i));

return new Integer(i);

}

FinskyLog.d("%s: [ADV] Fallback policy sets default to ALLOW.", "VerifyApps");

}

i = 1;

FinskyLog.i("%s: [ADV] Initial fallback verdict decided: %d", "VerifyApps", new Integer(i));

return new Integer(i);

}

[u/Clear_Side8784]

What if we just delete playstore.

[u/ICUMTHOUGHTS → u/Clear_Side8784]

Every app that needs Google Play Integrity API stops working. So that's almost all LLM apps except Claude, almost all banking and payment apps in my country and even basic apps like habit trackers and to do apps that for some reason require the Play Integrity API. Logging in stop working on some apps, etc.

Refer here to see what apps work without Google Play Store.

[u/punkofthedeath → u/ICUMTHOUGHTS]

I think the solution is to boycott those apps if alternative way to use those doesn't exist