This is crazy, this means 10 years from now only terrorists will distribute software. Unacceptable! How many platforms now allow one to build and distribute a binary?
Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
141–150 of 1001 posts
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#142So that's it then. If this actually goes through, there will be no option in the mobile OS market for an OS that both: a) allows the installation of apps without any contractual relationship with any party, and b) allows the use of mainstream and secure apps like banking
In time, you will only be able to access banking from your desktop using an approved OS and browser with attestation...
A dedicated app on a locked down OS is vastly more controllable than something like a browser that can do virtually whatever it wants.
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#143These 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.
The set up I run consists of an older 5g phone that hospots to my other phone, no apps of consiquence on either phone, I sign into my email through web mail, and sign into banking through a browser, all of my apps come from fdroid and similar, mostly used for media, manual updates for those through the fdroid web site.
As to the device you mention, it should be possible to take a phone apart and spoof* all of the mic's and cameras, likely the gps, and haptic motor and speakers as well, and have a 5g touch screen modem with plain internet, or keep the speakers and it's a media device, or put all the audio on a micro switch. * use matched resistors, or black out the sensors detach the antena for gps lets just say I realy dont like bieng advertised to
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#144I never really got into "phone" progrmaming, always waiting for the shenanigans to die down. But somehow the shanigans have gotten worse and for a significant chunk of the world population, the phone is the only computation device they have at all.
I never got into it because I was convinced developers would refuse to give up control over distribution when Apple started doing it. I wish I was right, but here we are.
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#145> Google will begin to verify the identities of developers distributing their apps on Android devices, not just those who distribute via the Play Store This is absolutely unacceptable. That's like you having to submit your personal details to Microsoft in order to just run a program on Windows. Absolutely nuts and it will not go as they think it will.
Someone create a website to emulate apk!
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#146> The requirement will go into effect in September 2026 for users in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. Google notes how these countries have been “specifically impacted by these forms of fraudulent app scams.” Verification will then apply globally from 2027 onwards. At least most of the world has until 2027 to install LineageOS or GrapheneOS.
>At least most of the world has until 2027 to install LineageOS or GrapheneOS.
Which only work on a tiny, almost insignificant sub-set of phones. If you don't have one of those, you're screwed.
Not to mention the bootloader is getting locked down so you can't even install one of these in the first place.
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#147This is the worst thing to happen to technology in recent times since there is only two major phone OS's. It isn't possible to ban encryption, so the governments have to chip away at security and privacy using these techniques. From: https://developer.android.com/developer-verification "You may also need to upload official government ID." This won't end well for Google or the governments involved when the people get…
> the people get so angry that they are forced to roll this back.
This is political fantasy. There is no mechanism for "the people" to force anyone to roll this back. They can vote for the candidate owned by google, or the candidate owned by google. If they want to find another candidate, they'll have to use google to find one.
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#148Official announcement: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/elevating-... More info: https://developer.android.com/developer-verification https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answ... Personally...we all know the Play Store is chock full of malicious garbage, so the verification requirements there don't do jack to protect users. The way I see it, this is nothing but a power grab, a way…
> This is such an odd statement. I mean, surely they have to be willing to review the contents of apps at some point (if only to suspend the accounts of developers who are actually producing malware), or else this whole affair does nothing but introduce friction.
Requiring company verification helps against some app pretending to be made by a legitimate institution, e.g. your bank.
Requiring public key registration for package name protects against package modification with malware. Typical issue - I want to download an app that's not on available "in my country" - because I'm on a holiday and want to try some local app, but my "play store country" is tied to my credit card and the developer only made it available in his own country thinking it would be useless for foreigners. I usually try to download it from APKMirror. APKMirror tries to do signature verification. But I may not find it on APKMirror but only on some sketchy site. The sketchy site may not do any signature verification so I can't be sure that I downloaded an original unmodified APK instead of the original APK injected with some malware.
Both of these can be done without actually scanning the package contents. They are essentially just equivalents of EV SSL certificates and DANE/TLSA from TLS world.
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#149They have the ecosystem by the balls. Phone manufacturers in recent years have been making unlocking & modifying their devices more and more difficult, google and app developers have been cracking down harder on modded devices by implementing TPM equivalents in the hardware to sign and verify that your system is a google-appproved one, and alternatives still are decades behind in terms of app ecosystem. I think they…
Don’t worry though, the TPM requirements in everything are for your protection.
Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android
#150These companies need to be destroyed by antitrust violations. I am so tired of these tech companies abusing their market position. I want the FTC to stop being toothless and useless and just absolutely crush these companies. The amount of disdain I have for these companies can't even be properly expressed.