Your phone is about to stop being yours.
Starting September 2026, a silent update, nonconsensually pushed by Google, will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with Google, signed their contract, paid up, and handed over government ID.
Every app and every device, worldwide, with no opt-out.
↓What Google is doing
In August 2025, Google announced a new requirement: starting September 2026, every Android app developer must register centrally with Google before their software can be installed on any device. Not just Play Store apps: all apps. This includes apps shared between friends, distributed through F-Droid, built by hobbyists for personal use. Independent developers, church and community groups, and hobbyists alike will all be frozen out of being able to develop and distribute their software.
Registration requires:
- Paying a fee to Google
- Agreeing to Google's Terms and Conditions
- Surrendering your government-issued identification
- Providing evidence of your private signing key
- Listing all current and all future application identifiers
If a developer does not comply, their apps get silently blocked on every Android device worldwide.
Who this hurts
You
You bought an Android phone because Google told you it was open. You could install what you wanted, and that was the deal.
Google is now rewriting that deal, retroactively, on hardware you already own. After the update lands, you can only run software that Google has pre-approved. On your phone: your property, that you paid for.
Independent developers
A teenager's first app, a volunteer's privacy tool, or a company's confidential internal beta. It doesn't matter. After September 2026, none of these can be installed without Google's blessing.
F-Droid, home to thousands of free and open-source Android apps, has called this an "existential" threat. Cory Doctorow calls it "Darth Android".
Governments & civil society
Google has a documented track record of complying when authoritarian regimes demand app removals. With this program, the software that runs your country's institutions will exist at the pleasure of a single unaccountable foreign corporation.
The EFF calls app gatekeeping "an ever-expanding pathway to internet censorship."
Google's "escape hatch" is a trap door
Google says "power users" can "still install" unverified apps. Here's what that actually looks like:
- Delve into System Settings, find Developer Options
- Tap the build number seven times to enable Developer Mode
- Dismiss scare screens about coercion
- Enter your PIN
- Restart the device
- Wait 24 hours
- Come back, dismiss more scare screens
- Pick "allow temporarily" (7 days) or "allow indefinitely"
- Confirm, again, that you understand "the risks"
Nine steps. A mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period. For installing software on a device you own.
Worse: this flow runs entirely through Google Play Services, not the Android OS. Google can change it, tighten it, or kill it at any time, with no OS update required and no consent needed. And as of today, it hasn't shipped in any beta, preview, or canary build. It exists only as a blog post and some mockups.
This is bigger than Android
If Google can retroactively lock down billions of devices that were sold as open platforms, every hardware manufacturer on the planet is watching.
The principle being established: the company that made your device gets to decide, after you've bought it, what software you're allowed to run. In software, this is called a "rug pull"; but at least you could always install competing software. In hardware, it is a fait accompli that strips you of your agency and renders you powerless to the whims of a single unaccountable gatekeeper and convicted monopolist.
Android's openness was never just a feature. It was the promise that distinguished it from iPhone. Millions chose Android for exactly that reason. Google is now revoking that promise unilaterally, on devices already in people's pockets, because they've decided they have enough market dominance and regulatory capture to get away with it.
Ars Technica: "Google's Apple envy threatens to dismantle Android's open legacy."
But wait, isn't this...
"...just about security?"
The security rationale is a smokescreen. Google Play Protect already scans for malware independent of developer identity. Requiring a government ID doesn't make code safer. It makes developers identifiable and controllable. Malware authors can register. Indie developers and dissidents often can't. The EFF is blunt: identity-based gatekeeping is a censorship tool, not a security one.
"...still sideloading if you use the advanced flow?"
Nine steps, 24-hour wait, buried in Developer Options, delivered through a proprietary service that Google can revoke whenever they want. That's not sideloading. That's a deterrence mechanism built to ensure almost nobody completes it. And since it runs through Play Services rather than the OS, Google can tighten or kill it silently.
"...only a problem if you have something to hide?"
Whistleblowers, journalists, and activists under authoritarian governments will be the first victims. People in domestic abuse situations are next. All these groups have legitimate reasons to distribute or use software without putting their legal identity in a Google database. Anonymous open-source contribution is a tradition older than Google itself. This policy ends it on Android.
"...the same thing Apple does?"
Apple has been a walled garden from day one. People chose Android because it was different. "Apple does it too" is a race to the bottom and a weak tu quoque argument. And under regulatory pressure (the EU's Digital Markets Act), even Apple is being forced to open up. Google is moving in the opposite direction: attempting to further entrench its gatekeeping status.
"...just $25 and some paperwork?"
Maybe, if you're a developer in the US with a credit card and a driver's license. Try being a student in sub-Saharan Africa, or a dissident in Myanmar, or a volunteer maintaining a community health app. The cost isn't only financial: you're surrendering government ID and evidence of your signing keys to a company that routinely complies with government demands to remove apps and expose developers.
Fight back
Everyone
- Install F-Droid on every Android device you own. Alternative stores only survive if people actually use them.
- Contact your regulators. Regulators worldwide are genuinely concerned about monopolies and the centralization of power in the tech sector, and want to hear directly from individuals who are affected and concerned.
- Share this page. Link to keepandroidopen.org everywhere.
- Push back on astroturfers. The "well, actually..." crowd is out in force. Don't let them set the narrative.
- Sign the change.org petition and join the over 100,000 signatories who have made their voices heard.
- Read and share our open letter
- Tell Google what you think of this through their own developer verification survey (for all the good that will do).
Developers
Do not sign up. Don't join the program by signing up for the Android Developer Console and agreeing to their irrevocable Terms and Conditions. Don't verify your identity. Don't play ball.
Google's plan only works if developers comply. Don't.
- Talk other developers and organizations out of signing up.
- Add the FreeDroidWarn library to your apps to warn users.
- Run a website? Add the countdown banner.
Google employees
If you know something about the program's technical implementation or internal rationale, contact tips@keepandroidopen.org from a non-work machine and a non-Gmail account. Strict confidence guaranteed.
All those opposed…
69 organizations from 21 countries have signed the open letter
Proton AG proton.me
Digital Rights Watch digitalrightswatch.org.au
Nextcloud nextcloud.com
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) fsf.org
FULU Foundation fulu.org
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) beuc.eu
FOSDEM fosdem.org
The Center for Digital Progress (D64) d-64.org
La Quadrature du Net laquadrature.net
Data Rights datarights.ngo
Fundación Karisma karisma.org.co
Vivaldi Technologies AS vivaldi.com
Rocky Linux rockylinux.org
Software Freedom Conservancy sfconservancy.org
European Digital Rights (EDRi) edri.org
Software Liberty Association of Taiwan slat.org.tw
Forbrukerrådet forbrukerradet.no
The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) ccc.de
OpenMedia openmedia.org
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) fsfe.org
FACILe facil.qc.ca
Brave brave.com
epicenter.works – for digital rights epicenter.works
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) eff.org
MetaBrainz Foundation metabrainz.org
Fedimedia fedimedia.it
Technopolice Bruxelles technopolice.be
The Calyx Institute calyx.org
Unified Push unifiedpush.org
Italian Linux Society ils.org
Open Rights Group (ORG) openrightsgroup.org
/e/ Foundation e.foundation
iodé iode.tech
FUTO futo.org
Digitale Gesellschaft digitale-gesellschaft.ch
CryptPad cryptpad.org
Rossmann Group rossmanngroup.com
Techlore techlore.tech
Cryptee crypt.ee
The Digital Rights Foundation digitalrightsfoundation.pk
F-Droid f-droid.org
GNOME Foundation gnome.org
April april.org
ARTICLE 19 article19.org
Associação Nacional para o Software Livre (ANSOL) ansol.org
GitHub Store github-store.org What they're saying
Tech press
"Google is restricting one of Android's most important features, and users are outraged"
SlashGear
"Google's dev registration plan 'will end the F-Droid project'"
The Register
"Google will verify Android developers distributing apps outside the Play store"
The Verge
"Google's Requirement For All Android Developers To Register And Be Verified Threatens To Close Down Open Source App Store F-Droid"
Techdirt
"I've been an Android user for almost 15 years -- and Google's sideloading changes are pushing me back to iPhone"
Tom's Guide
"Google's Apple envy threatens to dismantle Android's open legacy"
Ars Technica
"Google Clamps down On Android's Openness"
Internet Freedom Foundation (India)
"Keep Android Open"
Linux Magazine
"Google plans to block side-loading like Apple, declaring war on Android freedom"
Tuta Blog
"Google's developer registration 'decree' means the end for alternative app stores"
Cybernews
"Android app store provider Aptoide hits Google with fresh lawsuit alleging monopoly and anticompetitive chokehold"
Benzinga
"Keep Android Open – Abwehr gegen Verbot anonymer Apps von Google"
heise online
"Android Security or Vendor Lock-In? Google's New Sideloading Rules Smell Fishy"
It's FOSS News
"Google kneecaps indie Android devs, forces them to register"
The Register
"I've been an Android user for almost 15 years -- and Google's sideloading changes are pushing me back to iPhone"
Tom's Guide
"It effectively makes the Play Store a monopoly without actually mandating that it is a monopoly."
I-Programmer
"Open letter warns mandatory registration 'threatens innovation, competition, privacy and user freedom'"
Infosecurity Magazine
"Open-Source Android Apps Threatened by Google's New Policy"
Datamation
"Sideloading on Android? Soon It'll Be Like a TSA Check for Apps"
Android Headlines
"Google will make you wait 24 hours to sideload Android apps"
How-To Geek
"Google will require developer verification to install Android apps, including sideloading"
9to5Google
"Google's New Developer Rules Threaten to End the F-Droid Open-Source App Store"
How-To Geek
"Over 67 groups urge the company to drop ID checks for apps distributed outside Play"
The Register
"Google's Android developer verification program draws pushback"
InfoWorld
"F-Droid Slams Google for Misleading Users About Android's App Verification"
Android Headlines
"Google says it's making Android sideloading 'high-friction' to better warn users about potential risks"
XDA Developers
"'Keep Android Open' Movement Challenges Google's Developer Verification Rule"
Open Source For U
"An 'existential' threat to alternative app stores"
The New Stack
"Open-Source Android Apps at Risk Under Google's New Decree"
TechRepublic
"We all know that's a load of bullshit. Adding a goddamn 24-hour waiting period is batshit insanity."
Thom Holwerda, OSnews
"Sideloading on Android? Soon It'll Be Like a TSA Check for Apps"
Android Headlines
"Google's Attack on Sideloading Will Rob Android of One of Its Best Features"
How-To Geek
"Google will require developer verification for Android apps outside the Play Store"
TechCrunch
"F-Droid Says Google Is Lying About the Future of Sideloading on Android"
How-To Geek
"F-Droid Says Google Is Lying About the Future of Sideloading on Android"
How-To Geek
"Sideloading is dead for all intents and purposes. The Android you know and love is slowly disappearing."
Android Police
"Google's new ID requirements could destroy independent app stores"
TechSpot
"Android's sideloading limits are its most anti-consumer move yet"
MakeUseOf
"F-Droid says Google's new sideloading restrictions will kill the project"
Ars Technica
"Google's new developer rules could threaten sideloading and F-Droid's future"
Gizmochina
"Android, Epic, and What's Really Behind Google's 'Existential' Threat to F-Droid"
Slashdot
"Google's Attack on Sideloading Will Rob Android of One of Its Best Features"
How-To Geek
"This will wipe out Android as an actual alternative to Apple's mobile OS offerings."
Hackaday
"Google's New Developer ID Rule Could Harm F-Droid"
Reclaim The Net
"Resistance to Google's Android verification grows among developers"
Techzine EU
"F-Droid project threatened by Google's new dev registration rules"
Bleeping Computer
Editorials & analysis
"Android wasn't supposed to be 'safe.' It was supposed to be free."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"Every additional bureaucratic hurdle reduces diversity in the software ecosystem and concentrates power in large established players."
Mikhail Korotaev, Nextcloud Blog
"Centralizing the registration of all applications worldwide gives Google newfound powers to completely disable any app it wants."
Mikhail Korotaev, Nextcloud Blog
"The $25 isn't the real cost. The chilling effect is. Submitting government ID to Google is a non-starter for pseudonymous contributors and privacy researchers."
Arafat Alim, DEV Community
"Android is no longer the scrappy rebel. It's just another empire tightening the drawbridge."
Newsfangled
"Sideloading, a longstanding pillar of Android's openness, is now being marginalized, placing the Android platform closer to the walled-garden approach of Apple's iOS."
Purism
"This is not about protecting users. This is about control. This is about Google cutting out the last remaining artery of independence in Android."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"Google's attempts to make Android 'more secure' are, in fact, increasing the risk for Android users. The more friction you introduce in the name of security, the more likely users will attempt to bypass security completely."
Ken Buckler, Enterprise Management Associates
"Google is turning sideloading from a right into a permission slip, and the open-source community has until September to convince it otherwise."
Reclaim The Net
"This policy represents a dramatic departure from Android's decades-old tradition of openness, in which developers could build and share apps freely without first submitting to a centralized authority."
Biometric Update
"Google's move is not credibly about 'security,' but actually about consolidating power and tightening control over a formerly open ecosystem."
Techdirt
"Google isn't certifying apps, they're certifying developers. This implies that the company can somehow predict whether a developer will do something malicious in the future."
Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
"Android is not open anymore. It's not an alternative. It's not even trying. It's iOS with ads and spyware bolted on."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"There is also the very real possibility that Google will leak your identity with the result that any apps with political implications could result in persecution and worse."
I-Programmer
"The requirement extends Google's gatekeeping authority from its own Play Store to every alternative distribution channel on Android."
LLM Advocates
"What student is going to upload their passport to a trillion-dollar surveillance corporation just to share their weekend project?"
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"Google's story that this move is motivated by security is obviously bullshit. The idea that Google can improve Android's safety by certifying developers, rather than code, is obvious bullshit."
Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
"Although Google's claim is that this is for 'security', it does not prevent the regular practice of scammers buying up existing verified developer accounts."
Maya Posch, Hackaday
"This is not a developer account sign-up. This is comprehensive surveillance of the software development ecosystem."
PixelUnion
"The proposed Android Developer Verification program isn't a security update; it's a kill switch for the open ecosystem."
Hillary Keverenge, Tech-ish Kenya
"Google has announced that they are altering the deal. And telling us that we should pray that they don't alter it further. Block this policy change now before they wrap their cold metal hands around our necks."
Jesse Wilson, PublicObject.com
"Destroying F-Droid isn't some 'oops.' It's the mission. It's Google finally cutting the last remaining escape route and locking every single user inside their store."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"This is a form of malicious compliance with the court orders stemming from its losses to Epic Games."
Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
"Android does not just warn anymore. It enforces."
Youssef Mabrouk, Ostorlab
"The phone you bought and paid for is no longer really yours. Google decides which apps are allowed to be loaded on Android and which are not."
Tuta Blog
"Innovation may be the biggest casualty in all of this. This new rule erodes your right to make informed decisions about your own devices."
MakeUseOf
"One US corporation is placing itself between every Android developer and every Android user on earth."
PixelUnion
"Once there is no such thing as 'sideloading', there's virtually no difference between iOS and Android. I see no reason to buy Android over iOS at this point."
Thom Holwerda, OSnews
"Freedom of choice is being reframed as a 'security risk.'"
Newsfangled
"Developers from sanctioned countries or those without Google Play access cannot verify themselves. This creates systemic discrimination against developers based on birthplace rather than conduct."
agnostic-apollo (Termux developer), GitHub
"Google has announced what can only be described as a death blow to the open ecosystem that made Android. Under the guise of 'security,' Google is implementing draconian developer verification requirements."
AndroidSage
"This could turn Google into the effective gatekeeper for all apps on certified Android devices."
It's FOSS News
"Google has not removed Android's openness, but it is turning openness from a default right into a conditional, attributable, and tiered capability."
MerchMindAI
Organizations & open letters
"A centralized global registration system for Android will inevitably chill this work. Those communities are likely to drop out of developing for Android altogether."
Electronic Frontier Foundation
"The European Pirate Party called for proportionate and transparent measures that ensure security without restricting innovation, limiting anonymity, or distorting competition."
European Pirate Party
"This extends Google's gatekeeping authority beyond its own marketplace into distribution channels where it has no legitimate operational role."
Open letter, over 67 signatory organizations
"Nearly 50 organizations published an open letter opposing what they characterize as a 'kill switch for the open ecosystem.'"
Tech-ish Kenya
"While Android used to be praised for its freedom and independence, it will become a closed shop just like Apple."
Tuta
"Your Smartphone, Their Rules: How App Stores Enable Corporate-Government Censorship."
ACLU
"Google's developer verification policy creates a centralized database, controlled by a single corporation, containing the real-world identity of every person who writes software for Android."
Brave
"Android's biggest strength has always been its openness. That's what attracted developers and users in the first place."
AdGuard
"Google's abusive approach to the Android operating system has only gotten worse in recent years. Software freedom is sorely lacking in the 'computers in our pockets' we call cell phones."
Free Software Foundation
"Forcing software creators into a centralized registration scheme is as egregious as forcing writers and artists to register with a central authority."
F-Droid
"We unequivocally advise against signing up for this program, now or ever."
F-Droid Open Letter
"Changes would impose barriers to entry for individual developers, small teams and volunteer projects by imposing fees, identity checks and terms that may not align with the principles of an open ecosystem."
Infosecurity Magazine
"There are governments who might very much like to know the names of the developers of those applications so that they can go after them."
Electronic Frontier Foundation
"MEP Christel Schaldemose formally questioned whether Google's mandatory central registration is compatible with the Digital Markets Act."
European Parliament
"Google Play itself has repeatedly hosted malware, proving that corporate gatekeeping doesn't guarantee user protection."
F-Droid
"Verification just confirms who's behind the app, it doesn't guarantee clean code or rule out malicious behavior."
AdGuard
"We are running out of time until Google becomes the gate-keeper of all users devices."
F-Droid
"When you set up a gate, you invite authorities to use it to block things they don't like. And when you build a database, you invite governments to try to get access."
Electronic Frontier Foundation
"Developers who choose not to use Google's services should not be forced to register with, and submit to the judgement of, Google."
Open letter, over 67 signatory organizations
"Centralised, intransparent security architectures certainly help secure monetization and the market by locking out competitors."
Nextcloud
"Developers who build privacy-first browsers, encrypted messaging apps, VPNs, Tor-based software or tools for journalists and activists would be required to upload government ID to Google. These developers are unlikely to trust Google and might stop developing for Android."
Brave
"Google is turning Android into a walled garden monopoly. We must prevent it."
Osservatorio Nessuno
"This is a profound change, one that shatters the entire premise of the Android ecosystem, long regarded as the antithesis of the closed Apple ecosystem."
AdGuard
"Unilaterally consolidating power to approve software into the hands of a single unaccountable corporation is a threat to digital sovereignty everywhere."
Nextcloud
"If it were to be put into effect, the developer registration decree will end the F-Droid project and other free/open source app distribution sources as we know them today."
F-Droid
"A policy that forces every Android developer to hand their identity to Google, regardless of whether they use Google's services, makes Android a less-open and less-private platform."
Brave
"Ultimately, Google's plan will stop you from owning your Android phone."
Tuta
"For developers building tools specifically designed to protect user privacy, being forced to surrender their own personal data as a precondition for distribution is deeply contradictory."
AdGuard
"Remember: It's your phone, your data, your freedom. Don't let Google take it away."
Tuta
"Independent software distribution on Android will now require Google's explicit permission."
AdGuard
"This invasion of privacy of developers is not just an overreach of Google's authority over Android, but also jeopardizes developer safety."
Software Freedom Conservancy
"Google will cut off independent developers to Android if they do not register with Google first. This will kill independent platforms like F-Droid and severely impede FLOSS devs from creating apps for Android."
KDE
YouTubers & creators
"I have really no more strong reason to not recommend you all get iPhones, because this just is pretty much an iPhone with a Google logo on it at this point."
Techlore – YouTube
"Android has become what they set out to destroy."
Linus Sebastian, LMG Clips – YouTube
"This has obvious problems for non-Google operating systems like iodeOS, LineageOS, or BraxOS. Google Android will 'check in' with Google to verify the identity of the app and to validate the operating system."
Rob Braxman Tech – Locals
"Google has been carefully watching from the sidelines to see what exactly it is that Apple can get away with."
Linus Sebastian, LMG Clips – YouTube
"Google isn't testing this in the US or Europe first. They're starting in countries like Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. Why? Because these are massive growth markets where regulation is weaker. By the time regulators catch up, the damage will already be done."
ChiefGyk3D – YouTube
"Follow the money. Google makes money when apps are downloaded from its store. Google has completely forgotten about its earlier company motto: Don't be evil."
Tuta Blog – Blog
"This is an iPhone now. I didn't want to buy an iPhone. I use Android because it gives me freedom. If you are not going to give me freedom with my computer, then why would I buy your stuff anymore?"
Louis Rossmann – YouTube
"Your device, their rules. The phone you bought and paid for is no longer really yours."
Tuta Blog – Blog
"This means you can't sideload an app from an unofficial source. But it could also be used to lock the ecosystem so we're forced to install only Google apps on approved Google OS versions."
Rob Braxman Tech – Locals
"If I'm going to be trapped in a walled garden anyway, I'll take the one that's built properly."
fireborn – Blog
"Every single time a company takes away your ability to do what you want with what you bought and paid for, every single time they twist a knife, we have to point it out."
Louis Rossmann – YouTube
"Google keeps getting in as much trouble as Apple when Google is half evil and Apple is full evil. So there are probably people inside Google saying, 'Why not just go full evil?'"
Louis Rossmann – YouTube
"Google is removing the one key advantage Android has over iOS."
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – YouTube
"Google is setting a requirement that only they can fulfill, forcing developers to go through Google and killing off thousands of apps. Countless users stranded."
Techlore – YouTube
"The widely-circulated narrative that Google already backed down from this is false. They didn't, and that misunderstanding may be the most dangerous part of the story right now."
Techlore – YouTube
"When you download applications, you've simply installed an application. I don't want to use words like 'sideload.'"
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – YouTube
"Google decides what's safe for you, and you don't get a say."
fireborn – Blog
"Imagine Dell told you that you could no longer install any operating system other than Windows on your laptop. That's what Google is doing to your phone."
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – YouTube
"Developers of privacy-focused tools and emulators will have to dox themselves, making them vulnerable to government agencies or legal action."
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – YouTube
"The fact of the matter is, this is my device. I paid a lot of money for it. I should be able to do with it what I want."
Switched to Linux – YouTube
"Google already can disable malware that they find on your device. It's already a built-in feature. So what is developer registration actually adding here? Is it security or control? You decide."
Techlore – YouTube
"I'm not using the word 'phone.' I'm using the word 'computer.' This has over 8 GB of RAM, a terabyte of storage. It's a computer. And I'm also not going to be using words like 'sideload.' When you download an exe file onto your Windows computer, you've installed an application. You haven't 'sideloaded' something."
Louis Rossmann – YouTube
"This represents the last real safe place for free and open-source software in the entire mobile ecosystem. Once it's gone, it's gone. And we're going to spend the next decade trying to claw it back."
Techlore – YouTube
"Google is doing to Android what Microsoft once tried to do to the web. Embrace, extend, extinguish. Just wrapped in a shinier open-source package."
ChiefGyk3D – YouTube
"That's not openness. That is control."
ChiefGyk3D – YouTube
"F-Droid is basically saying that the new Google developer registration process will likely kill the open-source app store entirely."
The Linux Experiment – YouTube
"A world where two tech companies from the same city that dominate all of our mobile devices both require centralized developer registration is a world with one more lever for surveillance, one more checkpoint for censorship."
Techlore – YouTube
Developers & community
"After 15 years of professional development on Android I too am now thinking about switching my focus to something different. And it sucks."
MrDresden, Hacker News
"Signal, VPNs -- they'll have a list of everyone opting out of government-mandated backdoors."
Max-P, Lemmy
"I buy a device with my own money, which I supposedly then own, but then I need to ask some corporation permission to use it."
askonomm, Hacker News
"I hate this so much. More and more I get the feeling I have no control over the devices I own. My fear is that Windows will eventually follow. For security reasons of course. It's the path we're on now."
cheesyvoetjes, Reddit
"Some time in the future, we will look back to this era and ask ourselves what went wrong."
BenjaminRi, Lobsters
"Anyone else thinking this looks like a precursor to banning Signal and similar? 1) Put Google in control of what you can install. 2) Get Google to block it."
harry8, Hacker News
"Google's own Play Store had over 600 million malware downloads. They keep talking about 'security' but their own store is crawling with fake apps and straight up malware while actual useful stuff gets buried or rejected."
Historical-Employ129 (324 upvotes), Reddit
"Don't beg. Don't get in a position that freedoms depend on the whims of a corporation or willingness of a government to regulate them. Build."
jzb, Lobsters
"Give me liberty or give me Symbian."
masterofn001, Lemmy
"The phrase 'sideload' is psychological propaganda we are all best off rejecting."
WaffleMonster, Slashdot
"I teach digital literacy and 99% of unsavory software I encounter on people's phones come from the Play Store or App Store. I will believe they're serious about protecting users when I see them do something about the crap ton of borderline scam apps infesting their stores."
1995ToyotaCorolla, Lemmy
"It took them 17 years to finally pull the cage all the way shut."
Apocryphon, Hacker News
"Years ago, I wondered how Google would try to get away with locking down Android and shutting the cage door after capturing such a large dependent user base. Now I see how they are trying to get away with it."
chaznabin, Reddit
"It is a disgrace how Google has managed this situation. The promised 'advanced flow' hasn't appeared in any Android 16 or 17 betas. Google is quietly proceeding with the original lockdown."
fermigier, Hacker News
"Google now has a flag on my phone they can control remotely to keep me from accessing the apps I want."
vala, Lemmy
"I still remember how in the early days of Android vs iOS discussions, the main point was 'but it's OPEN!' The word 'open' was used as a comma by Google people. It was The Thing. The Difference. Good vs Evil and all that."
jwr, Hacker News
"Can't come at a worse time. People are just learning to make things through vibe coding, and they're gonna want to put their own apps on their phones. And now Google says no."
Serinus, Lemmy
"This isn't just a competition between app stores; it's a struggle for choice and dignity. Your phone shouldn't be a cage carefully constructed by others, but an extension of your own will."
renshijian, Hacker News
"'Sideload' is like 'jaywalking'; seeks to stigmatize humans being human."
tejtm, Hacker News
"There's an entire genre of scamming where the scammers spend months building rapport with their victims before cashing out. One day is nothing."
free_bip (on the 24-hour wait defeating scammers), Hacker News
"Computing is infrastructure. Personal computers are a means of expressing agency. This is like banning people from moving furniture around their house without approval from mortgage lenders."
wervenyt, Tildes
"Social engineering is destroyed with education, not with restriction and control. Trading freedom for safety eliminates both."
survirtual, Hacker News
"Antitrust action is badly needed. It is ridiculous that I need permission from my device manufacturer to install software on hardware I own."
jim201, Hacker News
"Brazil government app refuses to operate with developer mode on."
flykespice (developer in Brazil), Hacker News
"The fundamental problem is that we are relying on the good graces of Google to keep Android open, despite the fact that it often runs contrary to their goals as a $4T for-profit behemoth. The 'don't be evil' days are very far behind us."
paxys, Hacker News
"They have stolen a free product and are now actively locking out the people who built it."
TheTearMiser, Lemmy
"Software gatekeeping is a threat to human rights. Just recently an app to track ICE was banned from the iOS app store even though this should clearly be protected first amendment speech."
gthing, Reddit
"Google seems to actively hate people who develop for their platforms."
hbn, Hacker News
"Play store is full of scam apps, F-Droid isn't, but Play Store is considered secure. It's all theatre."
gcupc, Lobsters
"We are talking about something categorically worse than vendor lock-in: Collective vendor lock-in."
anordal, Lobsters
"Any time someone puts a lock on something that belongs to you, and won't give you a key, they're not doing it for your benefit."
vord (quoting Cory Doctorow), Tildes
"Making it harder makes it harder to treat ourselves. Software like AndroidAPS is unique. It's hard to find or very expensive and inferior in the proprietary market."
pimeys (diabetic user on life-critical medical software), Lobsters
"Google's plan to require developer verification would give Google and governments the ability to ban any app."
Zak, Hacker News
"If I go down this path, I will stop all development on Android. I implore all other developers to resist this. This will completely lock down the platform forever, there will be no going back."
BatteryMountain, Hacker News
"I want to deploy apps on my device. They are my apps, it's my device, and I should not be required to ask for permission to do so."
fsniper, Hacker News
"All the banking and payment apps in India refuse to open if you have developer mode on."
nibbleyou (developer in India), Hacker News
"Google wants the authority of a gatekeeper without the overhead of human accountability."
afferi300rina, Hacker News
"It's not cyclic. It's a ratchet and it gets tighter and tighter."
BenjaminRi, Lobsters
"Whatever Google is doing kind of scares me. We have a big DIY community of diabetics in Germany running tools like AndroidAPS that cannot ever be distributed through official channels."
pimeys (Type 1 diabetic, DIY medical software), Lobsters
"We need to start treating phones differently. We're entering a world where we can't choose what we run on them. Their primary purpose is to gather data on us and serve us advertising, they're engineered for addiction, yet engaging in the world is immensely difficult without one."
specproc, Hacker News
"Once deployed, there's a near 100% chance of such a mechanism being used for evil."
Zak, Lemmy
"They're boiling the frog -- slowly removing features until all choice is gone."
hn92726819, Hacker News
"If your country is ever in the crosshairs of 'American interests' and bears the brunt of its sanctions, it is possible that you cannot install apps from your fellow citizens. Your own local government, bank, and store apps."
devsda, Hacker News
"This is a war on users that want to keep control of their phones and when it's done, you will not be able to escape the enshittification."
ikidd, Lemmy
"You have no right telling me what I can and cannot run on my own devices."
MrZander, Hacker News
"Requiring a government ID to distribute software. Holy shit. If you are a kid and want to create a game for your friends, you better get that birth certificate ready!"
llitz, Reddit
"Twice I have had to deal with Google silently disabling my drone app to the point I had to buy an older phone to perform work. When I purchase a device that works with another device, under no circumstances should I be at the mercy of any updates they make."
cbrophoto (drone professional), Reddit
"You are essentially a child to them. The difference is society has decided not to step in to protect you from your abusive parents."
globular-toast, Hacker News
"If Android's sandbox and permission systems actually worked, then the mere act of installing an app from an arbitrary source would be as harmless as visiting an arbitrary website."
mwcampbell, Lobsters
"Android was never actually open and now they are abandoning even the thin pretense."
Tiraon, Tildes
"Android is for everyone, provided they submit to Google exclusively."
gumby271, Hacker News
"My Pixel 6 just broke, and after 15 years of using Android, I've finally been convinced to move to iOS. If I must live in a walled garden, I suppose I'll choose the one with nicer flowers."
yonato, Hacker News
"The open Android I knew and loved is long gone."
girvo, Hacker News
"For 'security' -- always security with these assholes. They're just building the walls of the walled garden higher."
lynxy, Tildes
"Google has no right to be my parent. As long as I can't reject paternalism, I don't believe for a second this is done with the well-being of scam victims as the main priority."
gspr, Lobsters
"Google selling Android as both open source and open to running any software you like in order to quickly gain market share, only to break those promises after driving competing platforms out of the market is nothing more than fraud."
GeekyBear, Hacker News
"If the likes of Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and others have their way, you will not own your computer; those companies will effectively own your computers."
RUs1729, Slashdot
"Modern life practically forces you to put all your eggs into a phone controlled by one of two profit-seeking companies."
koala, Lobsters
"The war on General Purpose Computing is the death of innovation and a direct attack on digital freedom."
layfellow, Hacker News
Voices from the petition
"Android promised us a choice. We shouldn't let them take it away from users and developers alike just to have more control. "
Cross, change.org
"Removing the feature that set android apart, the very feature that drove countless users to choose Android, is not something we will sit idly by and accept. These are our devices. We own them. Not the corporations. They do not get to tell us how we can and can't use our devices. You are not protecting us. You are attempting to control us, to build a monopoly and line your pockets more than you already have. "
Jorja, change.org
"Like many others I use Android because it is more open than iOS. This change strips away one of the few real advantages it has over iPhone, sideloading apps. This change is not going to make iPhone users switch to Android but will make Android users look for alternatives. "
Omar, change.org
"The entier reason I left apple is because of Googles open source and user controlled devices, allowing for sideloading APKs as well as giving you ultimate say on if somthing is safe for you. Add in the new OneUI 8 that has more or less stopped users from rooting devices and we might as well just call it the "Apple Google phone" and just shut down google. Let Steve Jobs win as Google/Samsung seem to prefer. "
Jaylin, change.org
"Android must remain a free platform. Google isn't doing this for security reasons. They want to control us, but we can't let that happen. "
Luciano, change.org
"Just another step big tech is taking to take away our rights and freedoms. "
Martin, change.org
"Android has always been my preferred due to the freedom and flexibility it allows developers and consumers like me. To take that away, you're becoming more like apple and deciding what I, the consumer of your devices and software do with my device. If this goes forward, I will utilize an alternative to apple or android. "
Genesis, change.org
"I bought the whole phone, i'll use the whole phone, whatever way I want. Openness of Android is the only reason I choose android, if I wanted a "Locked Down" phone, i'll just go with Apple at that point. Make these censorship at least optional to block, LET ME DECIDE, but dont force it onto blocking of APK installs all together FOR EVERYONE, let the user decide for themselves. I don't want Google to decide what I can or cannot do with the phone I BOUGHT. If I bought a phone, with the expectation and the capacity of doing X,Y,Z with it, don't take away the Z AFTER I BOUGHT IT. I'll just refuse to update my phone if it get's pushed that way. There's more malware on the ADS you promote, rather than anywhere else, im sure. "
Bryan, change.org
"Android gives users choice and that is literally the reason why I use Android. For people in places like Iran, China, Russia, and others who want to use apps that can get them unbias news media, but cannot install western news media apps from the Google Play Store how do you think they get their apps. If Google really cared about the security of their users they would actually fix stock Android's issues with permissions management and lack of zero trust architecture. Instead of fighting the symptoms (third part apps) Google should be finding the cure which is fixing the first lines of user's defense browers and OS. Google isn't coming for third party browser extentions, but they are coming for our apps. This makes no sense. It is clearly a ploy to give Google more Apple like control of OUR devices and wants to stop users who do not want to go as far as installing a more secure Android ROM (*cough* *cough* install GrapheneOS *cough*), but who still want a DeGoogled phone. "
Jannet, change.org
"Google wanna eliminate biggest advantage of Android over iOS "
Misa, change.org
"I strongly believe that Android used to be the go to for app developers and it is essential that they keep their open policy because it only opens up more users to test their apps for them before a full official release "
Garrette, change.org
"It doesn't surprise me to hear that GOOGLE is going to do this. It's not about creating something that could possibly be of benefit anymore. The all mighty dollar has to raise it's ugly head now days or it's just not worth doing. "
Ralph, change.org
"The only thing that set Android apart from Apple (and frankly made it objectively better than Apple) is the freedom of control you have over a device you actually own. Removing that ability makes Android no better than Apple, might as well say you don't really own that phone or tablet when you take away such freedoms. "
George, change.org
"Yeah i like the big man having control over the phone i bought. Thats the only reason i went to Android. Never again. Hope Android is dying for it "
Tobias, change.org
"I should be allowed to download whatever I want onto the phone I paid for "
Celia, change.org
"Hands off the APK! I left Russia for Freedom in 2022 and now you trying to restrict our Freedom like a criminal Putin. "
Alex, change.org
"Android has always been about freedom and an open option for not only everyday users but developers and artists as well. If Google gets their way this will be a devastating blow to privacy, freedom, independence and how people live their lives. Do not let them get away with this! "
Jonathan, change.org
"Android being "open" is what draws a lot of people to it from the others. This effectively makes it more closed. "
Glenn, change.org
"Freedom of choice and the end users ability to load applications and make changes to their devices is exactly why I switched to Android so many years ago. Truly hoping this is resolved and back to the core android roots once again. "
Ryan, change.org
"I support identity verification for those who wish to register, but do not support restricting consumers’ ability to install software that they want to. "
Roke, change.org
"Anyone who wants to write an Android app should be fully allowed, and should never be forced to pay for your own program through fees. "
Keiran, change.org
"Stop Google censorship "
André, change.org
"Interesting how F-droid has been successfully been managing their own repo for years while simultaneously maintaining user and developer privacy, yet Google suddenly decides user safety is such an important thing that they have to sacrifice developer privacy on Android and conveniently have what apps users are allowed to install regulated by them and only them. If this was something they were doing on their store it would be disruptive, but developers who don't want to fork over pictures of their government ID, and 25 dollars apparently, could distribute their apps elsewhere. The privacy implications of forcing every developer, regardless of the distribution platform they use, to validate their government ID through a centralized source is far beyond the pale of Google's responsibilities and a major violation of privacy. The fact that they're even able to make a move like this should be treated as a travesty. It's not pro consumer either. As it stands today, users may choose to install apps from other appstores, including ones focused on open source software and privacy. Should Google's policy go into effect, they get to determine what apps we're allowed to install on the phones we bought and paid for. This alongside the sweeping age verification we've been seeing everywhere feels less focused on actual safety as opposed to surveillance. If I wanted a walled garden, I'd have gotten an apple phone. If this crap keeps up, I'm gonna have to search for a Linux phone whether they're ready for mass adoption or not. "
Pyre, change.org
"Free open Android is the reason we use it. Spread the word people. "
Gregory, change.org
"Android phones letting me control my apps in my way is why I love and stick with Android. I can't support upstart developers without our current APK framework. A future without one of the lead reasons I own an Android phone, is a future where I just stop owning a phone. "
Kyle, change.org
"We need spaces where independents can still create and choose freely based on their own values and needs. Kindly leave us that! "
m, change.org
"This is a clear grab at power over Android's massive userbase to manipulate the masses via censorship and mass surveillance. If this isn't stopped, they will only push the rules further and further until the slope is so slippery it becomes a cliff. "
Boris, change.org
"As a regular user of Android, I've always loved the freedom that Android gave me when it came to downloading apps and APKs. I've never had an issue with Android up until now. This policy is going to be restricting and a violation of the digital rights of both consumers and the creators. This does not protect anybody in the equation, and if this policy goes through then I will not use Android services anymore. Google, please hear our voices and do not go through with this. You will lose many supporters if you do. "
Simon, change.org
"You will bury yourselves. "
William, change.org
"Don't let Google shut down Android, let your voice be heard! "
Gustavo, change.org
"I can't let them have this. This world and especially these last years, tech companies think they can fully control you, utilized you, abuse you. Pls let this be one win for us "
Isaac, change.org
"Android having access to custom software is a main thing that separates it from iOS. Don't destroy this amazing feature. "
Henry, change.org
"It's my phone that I bought with my money. Why is Google allowed to determine what apps I install on it? "
Eugene, change.org
"Stop this madness !! Don’t you have better things to do like stop governments looking at the peoples emails, pictures etc. It’s ridiculous you are tracking and legally hacker everyone’s as it is. Do the right thing and stop trying to track and sell everyone’s Data. You have enough money and data. LEAVE APK AND DEVELOPERS ALO E. "
Brian, change.org
"Fight for internet freedom/anonymity! "
m, change.org
"Google and Android have built their empire on the promise of letting users modify, adapt or change what they wish on their phone. Taking this incredibly backwards step from what defined their values for so many years is nothing but a slap in the face to all who have supported these companies over all these years. Changing the base use of devices for so many will have knock on effects for security, in disability or aged access and of course a complete abandonment of privacy in all users. Please share this far and wide as this is the opening act to the symphony of absolute control and forced compliance to a handful of Tech companies. "
Robert, change.org
"The change to requiring app verification through a wireless, centralized service, instead of a feature of the OS, is a change that is inconvenient at best, and threatens the portable device market as it currently stands at worst. By making this change, Google is further revoking the customization and autonomy (or what is left of it on most carrier phones) that not only drives many users to get Android in the first place, but is a reminder of what makes computers so wonderful, in my opinion; the ability for every one to customize, and hack their own device to be perfectly their own. This wonderful thing is a basic function of any "free" computing platform that should not be revoked, but increasingly, it has. Please, Google, do not take this direction, and shut off the venue of customization that allows people to use their devices the way they want to, and has lit the torch for many future software developers and computer scientists. "
Zacario, change.org
"As a newer developer I was shocked when I heard the app I had been working on was not approved because all the hoops to jump through. Then they wanted a monthly payment. I was so deterred that I discontinued development on a project meant to help mental health. I became the one who needed it. I was depressed and discouraged. To this day I haven't touched the code base and I was team Google. I think I'm more disappointed in my blind faith than anything else. Hope we can turn this around. "
Beau, change.org
"By implementing mandatory developer registration in September 2026, Google is fundamentally betraying the core promise of Android as an open ecosystem. This shift towards a restrictive, gatekeeper model breaks user trust, kills anonymous innovation, and signals that Android is no longer about user freedom, but rather total corporate control. This is the end of the open platform I chose to support. I urge Google to reverse course it is not too late. The path we are heading on is a very dark one . If you carr only about money you should consider how much money you will lose from this.. I will be leaving Googles ecosystem entirely from chrome, to gemini, to android . I Have been with Google since the beta invites of Gmail but this direction I cannot support and WILL not. Apple would be smart to take advantage of this and capture a gigantic portion of your marketshare. I know I will be using my iphone instead of my s25 ultra. "Don't be evil" - Google But even step you have taken is from greed and control. Which is evil. You have betrayed the very people who made you who you are. "
Michael, change.org
"Android is the only system the you can do anything with. by closing it. there will be no privacy in the internet. "
jack, change.org
"I switched to Android for freedom, not being locked down like Apple!!! There's no point in using Android anymore if they start making it exactly like iOS. Please don't limit the usage of APKs google! "
Nathaniel, change.org
"As an open source coder, I cannot continue to work on mobile platforms with this change. It closes the door on an individuals right to free expression with the hardware platforms we already own. "
William, change.org
"I'm old enough to remember when Google's company montto was "Don't be evil". "
Ryan, change.org
"The spirit of open source is one of the basis of the Internet.Please do not reverse the course of history. "
Roberto, change.org
"The ability to install APKs are a core feature in Android's open nature. It also helps developers to freely test and debug their apps. Installing APKs should be completely free and allowed. Thanks to everyone who made me see this project. Do you want me to draw this as a support material? Thanks. "
Emir, change.org
"I've been an user of Android based phones for a very long time. I am fully against the idea of this move Google is trying, as it is just another notch in the attempted censorship and surveillance of the internet as a whole. If this move is allowed to go through, I will find workarounds or work towards getting a third party phone deal where I don't have to deal with this. These big tech companies should not have the authority to force us to bend to them. We have the power to make them back down. Let our voice be heard. Boycott these companies and make them lose money. The moment their financial gains are threatened, they will surrender. "
Brandon, change.org
"Seriously, this can harm game devs/ports (legally) plus every APK is checked if this decision is accepted. "
Leonardo, change.org
"This is one of the starting points/gates to mass surveillance. If we don't act now it will be too late when there's already multiple structures put in place enabling the next following steps intheir hold on control. "
Dhariuz, change.org
"Ive used exclusively Android for years because of the freedom it gives its users. Such a wonderful community of developers and users that I know everyone would mourn if it went away. POWER TO THE PEOPLE! "
Alora, change.org
"Love android because its open source, you're literally killing your base and the reason why people love android. Close it down and we will all find a better solution "
Courtney, change.org
"Why was Brazil the first country mentioned regarding developer verification for apps??? They want control, for pleasure!??? "
Bruno Eduardo, change.org
"I don't know what words will reach the ones that need to hear them. I'll just say I'm willing to switch, drop, or do what I think works for me. "
Daniel, change.org
"When I purchased my Android product, it was with the understanding that I could use it how I pleased. This doesn't make anything better, they are doing this in a bid to control what their consumers are able to access. It is predatory and they must be held accountable. "
Phillip, change.org
"This new policy is absurd and should never go into effect. Android's "openness" has always been a big selling point, and now they are trying to take that from everyone. "
Leonardo, change.org
"A significant amount of the apps I use are small hobbyist open-source apps who would not want to go through the verification process just to have their apps be able to be easily installed, and this would effectively kill almost all of them "
Trevor, change.org
"I've always chosen to use Android because I want to have control of how I use my phone. I know installing something might cause problems, but after all it's my decision and my phone too! If I wanted to be "more safe" I'd buy a phone with iOS. Let the users decide how they want to use their phones at their own risk. "
Nicky, change.org
"This is absurd. To remove one of the main things that drew people to android over iPhone is laughably moronic. Especially when some of the best apps recommend by people come from outside the play store. Pull it together! "
Logan, change.org
"If this forced update happens. I definitely will be finding a new operating system for my phone or a new phone without Google. You can take that to the bank...!!! "
James, change.org
"I object to being forced to use Google "approved" bloatware and non-open source software on my devices. "
Kinene, change.org
"Hey Google. You are a silent cancer. You've engulfed everything in your path for decades: true innovation, billions of unsuspecting people's data, healthy competition, and choice. You've been sued, repeatedly fined, and ordered to break up your monopoly (you haven't), yet you keep metastasizing. I could cite historical, philosophical, religious, even SciFi metaphors of what you are, but "plague" is sufficient. For the love of humanity, if in fact there's anyone left at Plague HQ who still identifies as human, keep your metastatic tentacles off the Android Developer Platform. You've done enough harm already. Signed, The last cancer-free organ you have yet to destroy "
Andromeda, change.org
"This will eliminate a large number of users from the Android platform, most will leave because they are being restricted, and the others like myself will leave purely on principle. Teaching people to use technology in a smarter way will always be better than restrictions, and all of this will just be the beginning of censorship and control on a global scale, as is already happening with other Google applications. "
Bradley, change.org
"The only reason why I absolutely love android is because it makes me feel like I actually OWE my device and can do with it whatever I please to do, if google is limiting what I CAN or CANT do this means the device is no longer mine and why would I stick with android when there is other ecosystems like iOS which are SO much better than googles tracking and privacy? I want android to stay the way it’s been, open, amazing and fulfilling for users like me and so many others, all of my friends and family members use/have android because it belongs to them, if google decides to implement this APK blocking I assure them everyone around me will start buying iPhones! "
Andres, change.org
"I've always installed software from whatever source I chose. I don't think locking things down on Android any more than they already are helps anyone. It just adds fuel to suspicions we already have about Google vision due the Android ecosystem. "
Jason, change.org
"As an app developer, the last time I sent google my address, they put it on their store page for anyone to see. It was not clear to me that they would do this and it happened without my clear consent. During this time, I was also receiving death threats. I felt unsafe and afraid, and Google's actions directly contributed to my lack of personal safety. I will never trust Google with my personal information again. I would rather just not support Android platform than compromise my privacy and safety. "
Skye, change.org
"As a consumer, I bought and use Android platform devices because I care about my privacy and I care about accessing third-party applications that are not strictly on Google's Play Store. I utilize F-Droid and various other third-party app stores, and this would be a major impediment to me. I did not agree to Google pulling the rug from beneath me well after I bought several thousand dollar Android phones and devices. "
Stephen, change.org
"The ONLY reason why i stay with android is because of the freedom. That is literally the only thing that makes android stand out compared to apple and is the reason why I stayed with android my whole life . If this change does happen and that freedom gets taken away . Im definitely going to switch to apple as there is no reason to entertain android/google anymore . Google , take note of your communities feelings on this matter and understand the risks from an financial stand point on how negatively this will impact your sales. I'm flat out saying you will lose me at least who is a loyal android and google supporter. If im willing to leave , imagine the rest of the community. "
Vincenzo, change.org
"The iOS user experience is invariably more polished and seamless than any Android device. In the tablet market especially, Android can't hold a candle to iOS when it comes to usable. For the entirety of Android's existence, the freedom to use our devices the way we want, rather than being beholden to the whims of a manufacturer, has been THE reason to use Android. Not a reason, not the most important or compelling reason, THE ONE AND ONLY REASON. To remove or hamper the ability to sideload apps is to remove Android's only reason to exist. Remember, no matter how many of our rights and abilities you remove with regard to how customers use their devices, there's one right you cannot touch: our right to purchase an objectively easier to use iOS device. "
Pranam, change.org
"Developer verification can improve security, but requiring centralized registration for all apps on certified devices risks creating new barriers to competition and innovation. Security shouldn’t come at the cost of openness and choice. "
Caleb, change.org
"You either die being choice free and open for the people, or live long enough to change your values and become like Apple. Don't be disgusting. "
Daniel, change.org
"This restriction simply ruins the entire premise that the android community has based itself on. It deprives users of the basic freedom that they rightfully deserve to have, since they acquired and rightfully paid for their device(s). It's another step into censorship and a monopoly under the premise of "security". The Google Play Store itself is a perpetrator of insecurity and restricting the developer base won't make it any better. If this is pushed foward, I will cease to use any android system that uses Google Play Services. "
Maria, change.org
"Let me sideload my Android apps. "
Stephan, change.org
"Why did I even buy an android phone?? They think I went iOS to android for no reason? WE WANT IT OPEN! "
David, change.org
"Using Android has always meant having the freedom to customize your experience to your hearts content, this would be the end of an era. This would also be the end of many small app developers that can't or won't conform to the what one might say 'invasive' requirements to publish an app. You can say goodbye to FOSS and side loading which is a huge part of Android customization. "
sebastian, change.org
"Android has long been the operating system that has allowed customization and freedom. It's the bedrock on why I use the platform. Taking away the ability to use FOSS and alternative sources just kills what makes Android Android for me. At that stage I might as well give in and get a blue bubble and better base privacy. Super disappointed in this direction. "
Jacob, change.org
"I have contributed to FOSS apps that were published to Google play and F-Droid + similar stores, as well as written multiple apps for myself and family members. Android has long been an open platform that actually gives the user(s) freedom to do what they want with the device they own. However, that free and open model is coming under threat more and more in the name of "security" all while collecting and monetizing our user data. We do not need another walled garden Apple experience. Android users use Android BECAUSE of choice and freedom, not in spite of it. "
Christopher, change.org
"The whole point of going for an Android over an iPhone is the freedom to customize and install what I want. It's bad enough that there are fewer and fewer makers that allow things that used to be expected (headphone jack, replaceable battery, SD storage) but at least we had the apps we wanted, how we wanted them. If this changes, there will be no point to the entire Android platform. This cannot be allowed to happen. We know this isn't about security, either, it's about surveillance and being able to sell more of our data "
Lewis, change.org
"I've been on android for as long as I can remember. The freedom to develop and most importantly do what I want with my own device is wonderful. To have that taken away from us all would be terrible, especially since the whole reason I love Android is how it is now. "
Angelo, change.org
"Google's promise was that Android would remain an open ecosystem allowing developers to freely play in an open sandbox and build applications without requiring a central authority. Users are capable of determining and accepting risk on their own, and the barrier to sideloading is high enough to keep most general users safe. It's been shown that even Play Store's security reviews are not perfect and that malware makes its way onto the platform, so there is no basis for this change other than greed and overreach. "
Cameron, change.org
"I started using an Android device because of the freedom to use the software I wanted to use. If Google goes forward with these restrictions, I wont have any reason to use Android devices anymore. "
Luis, change.org
"Please let us have freedom with our phones Google, thank you. "
Michael, change.org
"I rely on open source software on all my devices, including my phone. F#ck google and their authoritarian-friendly, privacy destroying policies. I'm scared of the future of software. I don't wanna have to give my government ID just to use a f#cking "
Tyler, change.org
"Freedom of expression and choice, without filtering. "
Ralph, change.org
"The differentiating factor with Android was always freedom. Apple had a locked down market and their own thing over there, meanwhile Android was open. I don't want to give up my tech sovereignty so a corrupt multinational conglomerate can harvest my data and shove more useless bloatware onto hardware I own, all while forcing mass surveillance. "
Michael, change.org
"The whole reason I've stuck with android so long is because of how many choices I had compared to other options. Now they are trying to get rid of them and for what? The only thing they gain by doing this is their customers ire and I don't want to sit and let something so predatory just get passed like this. "
Logan, change.org
"I have been an Android user since smartphones became mainstream, and the primary reason I chose Android was the freedom it offers. Unlike other platforms, Android allows users to install applications from outside official stores, enabling innovation, experimentation, and personal control over our own devices. Over the years, I have used open-source applications from platforms like GitHub and F-Droid, many created by independent developers who may not have the resources—or the desire—to publish through centralized stores. In some cases, I have even modified open-source code to suit my personal needs and compiled my own versions of apps. This is not just a niche use case—it represents the very spirit of open computing. Requiring developers to submit personal identification and restricting distribution channels will disproportionately impact: Independent and open-source developers Users in region-restricted environments Applications that are no longer available on official stores This change does not just improve security—it introduces control over who is allowed to distribute software, fundamentally shifting Android away from being an open platform. If users are no longer free to install applications of their choice, Android devices risk becoming restricted ecosystems similar to closed platforms—where functionality is determined not by the user, but by a central authority. The ability to sideload apps is not a loophole—it is a defining feature of Android. Removing or weakening it undermines user autonomy, developer freedom, and the very reason many of us chose this platform in the first place. "
Eranga, change.org
"Well google showed their true colours. Time to start migrating all my accounts away from them. What a joke. "
Jordan, change.org
"I'm only using android for apk's otherwise I would be using IOS/iPhone, Also without apk's there would be no reason to keep updates going for certain developers, we would be losing one of the things that makes android what it is, That is my opinion on this whole idea from google "
JaCureon, change.org
"If Google goes through with this, there will be no more Free and Open Source Software on Android. This move by Google has nothing to do with malware, and everything to do with oversight and control. I bought this Android device specifically because it was sold to me as an open platform. If Google goes through with this, I will be throwing this device in the garbage and sending them an invoice for $600 "
Llywel, change.org
"My business uses and older app distributed via apk. It is no longer maintainable but works perfectly fine. It will be a huge hassle rebuilding the app just to comply with this new rule to be certified. "
Aaron, change.org
"Limiting the installation of APK files (sideloading) is bad because it turns Android, known for its openness, into a "walled garden" similar to Apple's. This restriction strips users of their freedom, treating them as if they cannot make decisions about their own devices. Furthermore, it stifles competition and innovation. Alternative app stores, like F-Droid (focused on open-source), and developers testing their apps are directly harmed. This forces everyone to depend exclusively on the Google Play Store, giving Google total control over the market and what you can or cannot install, often under the guise of "security." In the end, it's a trade-off of Android's fundamental freedom for centralized corporate control. "
Lucas de arruda, change.org
"Apenas apoio "
Immer, change.org
"If Android no longer allows me to install what I want, how I want, there is no reason for me to not use Apple products. Your company is already going down the wrong path in so many ways with not properly supporting third-party open source Android variants; do not let this be the final nail in your OS's coffin. "
Peter, change.org
"APK or go away "
Joshua, change.org
"Google should be ashamed of itself and give users the freedom to install any app they want. Why don't they remove those apps from their store where thousands of people suffer from viruses? Bunch of scoundrels! "
Jorge, change.org
"I'll repeat what I have seen many other say. It's not "sideloading", it's installing. It's not "making sure you only get what we know is good", it's a digital company town. We already pay for every aspect of our time on this earth. The fact that they want to make it so you can't go anywhere but them? It's a giant flashing LED sign that says monopoly. And I say to not let it happen, for privacy, for ownership, for the right to do what we want with the stuff we buy. "
Benjamin, change.org
"Device freedom shluld not be limted and the whole appel of android is device freedom taking that away defeats the whole point terrible change hope this doesn't go through "
Logan, change.org
"There are games, apps, that are FREE, because the authors want it that way, no charge. WHY SHOULD GOOGLE WIN MONEY WITH THEM??? "
Ana, change.org
"Google already has too much to say on which apps one is allowed to run on their phone. Play Integrity already ruins the Android experience for most custom ROM users and now they're going for side loading, too. This has to stop. "
Alexander, change.org
"The freedom Android offers for young inquisitive minds is the entery way to Dev-Land. Certainly they are aware of how many of their employees started from this basic idea and how many they may loose by taking it away. Not only that do they really believe we won't migrate to something better? But as a consumer we need to try and understand what the future will look like, why this is the decision not just for Android but for Windows and more. "
Joseph, change.org
"I don't want to have to choose between switching phones and being able to download uncensored apps. Most people simply don't have the time or freedom to switch to Linux, and Google knows it. We are not stupid. We don't need their "protection." We can make our own choices for ourselves. "
Adele, change.org