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Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

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Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#62
These days I don't really want a smartphone at all, but begrudgingly use one for things like mobile banking, receiving SMS tokens, etc.

If someone made a screenless powerbank-shaped Android device, I might be interested. The device would double as a 5g wifi modem, and to access the UI you'd remote in over VNC from a laptop, or unrestricted mobile device like a PinePhone.

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#63
post #59

Google is doing everything in their power to make me move to an iphone... between shit like this, effectively bricking some old models of pixels with un-rollbackable patches that destroy batteries, closing down the android development process, making absurd testing requirements to publish apps, etc. Google doesn't make better phones, they were just less hostile to the consumer. That seems to be going away :(

[deleted]

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#64
post #40

If this is enforced via Play Protect, then the whole mechanism can likely be disabled with: adb shell settings put global package_verifier_user_consent -1 This does not require root access and prevents Android from invoking Play Protect in the first place. (This is what AOSP's own test suite does, along with other test suites in eg. Unreal Engine, etc.) I personally won't be doing this verification for my open-source…

What does this break?

There shouldn't be any side effects other than rendering Play Protect inert. No other AOSP component relies on this setting.

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#66
While I like to jump on the Google bash train as much as anyone, this is to comply with EU laws.

Apple implemented a similar change for the EU App Store earlier this year to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA), a regulation that now requires app developers to provide their “trader status” to submit new apps or app updates for distribution.

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#67
post #59

Google is doing everything in their power to make me move to an iphone... between shit like this, effectively bricking some old models of pixels with un-rollbackable patches that destroy batteries, closing down the android development process, making absurd testing requirements to publish apps, etc. Google doesn't make better phones, they were just less hostile to the consumer. That seems to be going away :(

Is sideloading a thing on iOS?

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#68
post #59

Google is doing everything in their power to make me move to an iphone... between shit like this, effectively bricking some old models of pixels with un-rollbackable patches that destroy batteries, closing down the android development process, making absurd testing requirements to publish apps, etc. Google doesn't make better phones, they were just less hostile to the consumer. That seems to be going away :(

Wasn’t Apple the one actually caught throttling devices with an update to slow phones down under the guise of "saving battery"?

Leaving Google for Apple, and expecting a more open app store, is going to be disappointing. I’m not a Google fanboy by any means, just pointing out the landscape out there

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#70
It will be interesting to see how they handle packages from the various f-droid repos. F-droid builds and signs all their apps themselves, so will all of f-droid be covered by a single signing key and developer account? Or will the fact that they take apps from lots of folks bar them from an account?
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