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Android Developer Verification

android-developers.googleblog.com

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Re: Android Developer Verification

#41

Post by TGower »

brnt wrote: post #36
TGower wrote: post #31

It really seems like they are doing a lot to appease the tiny minority of us power users, adb load unaffected, one time toggle in settings to opt out, no change to alternative app stores as long as the apk was built by a verified developer. Crazy how harsh the sentiment is here, there are real people being harmed by scam apps intercepting sms one time codes and this will reduce the rate of that happening. It's not li…

Those scam apps largely are installed from the Play store. Let them fix that first.

Really, there are apps that will intercept and exfiltrate your bank one time code sms that are just sitting on the play store? First I'm hearing of this, what's the name of one?

Re: Android Developer Verification

#42

Post by mcsniff »

mrtksn wrote: post #35

The Android verification is such a broken experience. Recently I decided to purchase a dev account for my company, so far: 1) Provided my company DUNS number etc. once to create the payment profile. I did this some times ago, don’t remember the details but it was an involved verification process and it is marked as verified business payment profile. 2) Later on the payment step verified myself with a passport and ban…

What you're describing is not "broken", it's the process and it appears it hasn't even failed for you.

My experience with getting a verified "business" developer account from Google mirrors the experience as getting one from Apple, except it's a one-time fee and much less than Apple.

Yes there are hoops to jump through, identification usually requires some hoops, but pretty it's straightforward. I am not commenting on the requirements of these hoops, yes, it's BS that they exist but it's their platform so it's their rules.

What type of "experience" are you expecting to have anyway?

Re: Android Developer Verification

#43

Post by kcb »

TGower wrote: post #37
kcb wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the initial announcement included none of that... it wasn't addressed at all until the harsh sentiment.

Then shouldn't we celebrate the victory, drop it, and move on?

Victory is my device and its OS working the same way it always worked and the way it worked when I bought it.

Re: Android Developer Verification

#45

Post by Macha »

bossyTeacher wrote: post #30

"However, our recent analysis found over 90 times more malware from sideloaded sources than on Google Play." Has anyone seen the report for that analysis. I bet most people here would love to read it too.

I mean, I’m sure “Fortnite with infinite vbucks.apk” has a much worse malware rate than the play store, but I’m almost certain that fdroid has a lower malware rate than the play store and I honestly suspect even “random apks off github” might have a similar rate to the play store

Re: Android Developer Verification

#46

Post by throwaway85825 »

ethagnawl wrote: post #12

What % of Android users actually want this? Do they know or care? I've been using Android since 2010 because it was open in ways that the Apple ecosystem wasn't. I do not want this and imagine hardly any other power users (for lack of a better term) do. I'm already using a mostly deGoogled device but this really seals the deal. I have been longing for a true Linux phone for years and now seems like a good time to get…

It would be good if there was less malware and outright scams in the play store but that's really orthogonal to the developer verification issue.

Re: Android Developer Verification

#47

Post by mrtksn »

mcsniff wrote: post #42
mrtksn wrote: post #35

The Android verification is such a broken experience. Recently I decided to purchase a dev account for my company, so far: 1) Provided my company DUNS number etc. once to create the payment profile. I did this some times ago, don’t remember the details but it was an involved verification process and it is marked as verified business payment profile. 2) Later on the payment step verified myself with a passport and ban…

What you're describing is not "broken", it's the process and it appears it hasn't even failed for you. My experience with getting a verified "business" developer account from Google mirrors the experience as getting one from Apple, except it's a one-time fee and much less than Apple. Yes there are hoops to jump through, identification usually requires some hoops, but pretty it's straightforward. I am not commenting o…

With Apple I filled the forms, accepted the agreements, entered the DUNS and paid with a card on my name and that was it.

How does that mirror uploading my passport many times, entering company details many times, typing my e-mail and phone numbers many times both because I had to start over and because I was asked many times even if I provided these some steps back? Now I paid and waiting, hopefully I will later be verifying my e-mail address or something that I verified a few times prior.

> What type of "experience" are you expecting to have anyway?

The Apple experience. An experience that is well thought and streamlined, that doesn’t keep me entering the same information over and over again. I don’t mind paying a little more for well designed products. The $75 difference is nothing to justify this charade, I don’t think that that Google was short of $75 and designed this low quality experience, I think it’s engraver in their DNA.

Re: Android Developer Verification

#49

Post by cubefox »

charcircuit wrote: post #34
ethagnawl wrote: post #12

What % of Android users actually want this? Do they know or care? I've been using Android since 2010 because it was open in ways that the Apple ecosystem wasn't. I do not want this and imagine hardly any other power users (for lack of a better term) do. I'm already using a mostly deGoogled device but this really seals the deal. I have been longing for a true Linux phone for years and now seems like a good time to get…

People don't want it until they've been scammed. Then they'll complain why you didn't save them.

Do people complain about being scammed with Windows or macOS? Apparently not. So they probably also don't complain about Android. The security seems more an excuse to become more closed. Like iOS.

Re: Android Developer Verification

#50

Post by 0xbadcafebee »

tl;dr how to install an app from unverified developer ("advanced flow")

  1. enable developer mode
  2. confirm you aren't being coached
  3. restart your phone and reauthenticate
  4. come back after 24 hours and unlock device
  5. install app from unverified developer, option of enabling for 7 days or indefinitely
This is apparently a one-time process. Advanced flow for users launches globally August 2026. Verification requirement kicks in September 2026.

Personally I am hopeful that people work toward a completely new, non-Android OS. 15 GB of space on my phone, and 1.5 GB of RAM, is dedicated to Android OS alone. This design, and the control this company (and the mobile providers, and device manufacturers) have over the mobile world, is ridiculous. Let's start over.

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