> My vision of the hack is to distribute a verified loader apk, which in turn dynamically loads any apk the user wants.
Right back to Symbian signed AppTRK and rolling back hardware clocks. Great.
A theoretical way to circumvent Android developer verification
71–80 of 185 posts
Re: A theoretical way to circumvent Android developer verification
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's eu(maybe even EEA?) wide free roaming legally mandated since I think 2017 or so? But it's not a permanent solution, your second paragraph still holds true.
I know of some UK SIMs that do not roam.
As far as I know it is only EU. Both UK and Switzerland have some operators that roam and some that do not. fwiw, fastweb in Italy provides roaming in both and has a very generous fair usage policy.
Re: A theoretical way to circumvent Android developer verification
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
That very much depends on the country, many require ID.
The ID presented at time of purchase does not have to be the ID of the actual user of the card. Your local drunkard will be happy to get $10 to buy a SIM card for you. Or you could visit eBay (or local equivalent) and get a valid SIM card without leaving your house.
> The ID presented at time of purchase does not have to be the ID of the actual user of the card
In some EU member states this might be fine, but definitely not all.
> Your local drunkard will be happy to get $10 to buy a SIM card for you.
Buying a SIM card was always the easy bit. Getting it activated may not be, it depends on which country you're in.
https://www.telekom.de/prepaid-aktivierung/en/start
"For the Selfie-Ident you identify yourself with your identity card, passport or residence permit. (Selfie-Ident is currently possible worldwide with the German ID card, residence permit and passport. Alternatively, you can use Video-Ident and identify yourself in a video call with an employee.)
Important: Temporary identification documents are not supported due to internal check. You need a tablet or smartphone with a camera and an internet connection."
Re: A theoretical way to circumvent Android developer verification
#74I think this means we need to rely on web technologies more. PWAs are looking pretty good on mobile devices these days and you can publish any web app you want with no reviewing authority. The web has a bunch of crazy APIs now that let you build crazy things and for everything else you're a hosted server away somewhere that can run more complex jobs. I believe devices I own should let me do whatever I want with them…
I thought Brent Simmons did a great job laying out why PWAs don't work: https://inessential.com/2025/10/04/why-netnewswire-is-not-we... The tl;dr is that a PWA implies an app which is based in the cloud. So suddenly you need a server, and you need to store user data, which means costs and dealing with privacy and security.
I read the article, and I'm pretty certain he's talking about a traditional web application. When we speak of PWAs we're thinking of a set of APIs that let a web app behave like a native application. i.e 'installation' + service workers, background sync, IndexDB/FileSystem etc. You could probably make a self-sufficient RSS reader with what's available.
Re: A theoretical way to circumvent Android developer verification
#75While it is technically feasible, it is not a good idea to try and find a technical solution to a people/organisation problem. Do not accept the premise of assholes. I hope we can get the EU to fund a truly open Android Fork. Maybe under some organisation similar to NL Labs. --- edit --- Furthermore, the need for a trustworthy binary to be auditable to a certain hash or something would make banning this a simple task…
The same EU that's doing Chat Control?
The same EU that's doing NL Labs, the org mentioned in the comment you're replying to.
Re: A theoretical way to circumvent Android developer verification
#76>My vision of the hack is to distribute a verified loader apk, which in turn dynamically loads any apk the user wants. A user obtains the loader apk once and loads apps without installing as much as they want.
Google's not going to let you keep your signing key if you do this with it.
Re: A theoretical way to circumvent Android developer verification
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
The ID presented at time of purchase does not have to be the ID of the actual user of the card. Your local drunkard will be happy to get $10 to buy a SIM card for you. Or you could visit eBay (or local equivalent) and get a valid SIM card without leaving your house.
> The ID presented at time of purchase does not have to be the ID of the actual user of the card In some EU member states this might be fine, but definitely not all. > Your local drunkard will be happy to get $10 to buy a SIM card for you. Buying a SIM card was always the easy bit. Getting it activated may not be, it depends on which country you're in. https://www.telekom.de/prepaid-aktivierung/en/start "For the Self…
Surely others may use your phone?
Re: A theoretical way to circumvent Android developer verification
#78I think this means we need to rely on web technologies more. PWAs are looking pretty good on mobile devices these days and you can publish any web app you want with no reviewing authority. The web has a bunch of crazy APIs now that let you build crazy things and for everything else you're a hosted server away somewhere that can run more complex jobs. I believe devices I own should let me do whatever I want with them…
I thought Brent Simmons did a great job laying out why PWAs don't work: https://inessential.com/2025/10/04/why-netnewswire-is-not-we... The tl;dr is that a PWA implies an app which is based in the cloud. So suddenly you need a server, and you need to store user data, which means costs and dealing with privacy and security.
Practically you are going to have a server distribute a native application anyways.
Re: A theoretical way to circumvent Android developer verification
#79these holes will be closed and turning into flaming jumping hoops, so this is not viable. fight the people designing the game.
Re: A theoretical way to circumvent Android developer verification
#80yeah, googs can get rekt, I’m not even