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Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings

android-developers.googleblog.com

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Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings

#91

Post by kccqzy »

MBCook wrote: post #69
kccqzy wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just create a virtual phone number (say Google Voice) and put that up.

So just to list list an app I need to sign up for an additional phone number. Why? So people can call me? For what? Tech support? To ask if I exist? I’m not answering that phone number. Im not signing up for it. People in Hacker News complain left and right about all of Apple‘s policies and the hoops they make you jump through and how you have to pay $100 a year. I have an app on the App Store. I don’t have to post m…

I don't understand. You are paying $100 a year for the App Store. And yet you are unwilling to pay for the existence for a phone number that costs less than $100?

People on Hacker News rightly complain about Apple's store. But you are applying this double standard here. If you want to complain, complain better.

Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings

#92

Post by pd33 »

looks like a direct response to EU agreement https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_... "Furthermore, Google will facilitate also information on the company (e.g. legal name and address) and direct and effective contact points (e.g. a live telephone agent);"

Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings

#94

Post by jki275 »

LeoPanthera wrote: post #79
jki275 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google Voice...

Is it not the case that Google Voice only lets you have one additional number? I need a few.

I think you can have one per account. I'm not sure what their policies on that are, I know I've had many accounts over the years.

Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings

#95

Post by lucb1e »

impissedoff1 wrote: post #75
lucb1e wrote: post #20

There's more Play news, unfortunately... Two days ago, I updated Stellarium Mobile. On launch, it now requires that you are logged into the Play Store. No more anonymous Android usage. I emailed the developer with what I saw in adb logcat, they came back yesterday with this: > I see your point. The new google verification code requires a google play account it seems. It works with some third party stores, but you nee…

Aurora still works, you just can't use the search, you enable the search tab and it directs to google play in browser , then you hit a button to send the direct link back to app

Not really.

Aurora lets you download and install the apk, but when you then open Stellarium Mobile, then either:

- if you don't have the Play Store enabled, it will throw a stack trace about not being able to reach the licensing server, which manifests in the UI as a pop-up message telling you to reinstall the app (lol) or suck it up, and when you dismiss it, the app closes.

- if you do, then it will open up the Play Store specifically and require you sign in there. Whether it will work then, since Google doesn't know that you have this app installed (since you used Aurora), I don't know. If you don't and you just hit back or something, the app closes.

The developer of Stellarium Mobile says this is going to be the new standard for all apps. A friend that makes an Android game says he heard that he needs to update the in-app purchases SDK before November 2023, so presumably that's when all apps go dark that have any sort of plus/pro/premium version or donation functionality

So you're technically right of course, aurora still works, but if the apps that you can fetch from there don't work, then can I really tell people that they can use aurora instead of the play store?

Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings

#96

Post by pests »

jki275 wrote: post #94
LeoPanthera wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it not the case that Google Voice only lets you have one additional number? I need a few.

I think you can have one per account. I'm not sure what their policies on that are, I know I've had many accounts over the years.

You need to verify a real phone number with each additional account and those can't be virtual numbers.

Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings

#97

Post by jki275 »

pests wrote: post #96
jki275 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you can have one per account. I'm not sure what their policies on that are, I know I've had many accounts over the years.

You need to verify a real phone number with each additional account and those can't be virtual numbers.

Yeah, I vaguely remember they said that was a thing. I still have probably about ten google accounts and none of them are tied to a real phone number.

It's been years since I set them all up, so I don't remember exactly how I got around that, but it seems like it wasn't terribly difficult. Maybe I used Skype?

Re: Google now requires and lists phone number in Play Store listings

#98

Post by pests »

jki275 wrote: post #97
pests wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You need to verify a real phone number with each additional account and those can't be virtual numbers.

Yeah, I vaguely remember they said that was a thing. I still have probably about ten google accounts and none of them are tied to a real phone number. It's been years since I set them all up, so I don't remember exactly how I got around that, but it seems like it wasn't terribly difficult. Maybe I used Skype?

They only do the real number check when you are first creating the account right before number selection. They never ask you again to confirm or do any kind of verification with the real number.

I've had to change my phone number a few times over the decade and my personal gvoice is verified with whatever number I had 10 years ago. I just don't set it as a callback or text receiver.

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