4d ago

F-Droid and Google's Developer Registration Decree - Google’s move to break free app distribution

F-Droid and Google's Developer Registration Decree | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository

The future of this elegant and proven system was put in jeopardy last month, when Google unilaterally decreed that Android developers everywhere in the world are going to be required to register centrally with Google. In addition to demanding payment of a registration fee and agreement to their (non-negotiable and ever-changing) terms and conditions, Google will also require the uploading of personally identifying documents[^regid], including government ID, by the authors of the software, as well as enumerating all the unique “application identifiers” for every app that is to be distributed by the registered developer.
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, and the world will be deprived of the safety and security of the catalog of thousands of apps that can be trusted and verified by any and all. F-Droid’s myriad users5 will be left adrift, with no means to install — or even update their existing installed — applications.

Android @lemmy.world

Grazed @lemmy.world

4d ago

F-Droid and Google's Developer Registration Decree | F-Droid

f-droid.org /en/2025/09/29/google-developer-registration-decree.html

Android @lemdro.id

limerod @reddthat.com

4d ago

F-Droid and Google's Developer Registration Decree

f-droid.org /en/2025/09/29/google-developer-registration-decree.html

Privacy @lemmy.world

floofloof @lemmy.ca

4d ago

F-Droid and Google's Developer Registration Decree

f-droid.org /en/2025/09/29/google-developer-registration-decree.html

93 comments

Oh, it's preventing sidloading?! I thought it was just for their app store!
That's shit.
- Yes, some of the latest commits to AOSP repo added code to the Package Installer app for denying .apk package installation based on developer verification result, and even for denying installing .apk packages when internet isn't available so it can't contact Google's servers for developer verification results. Google is already making it clear this kind BS is how they intend to enforce this ridiculous decree.
  
  It is open source. Just remove that code, build, use F-Droid.
  
  That's egregious and really will impede using open source software on Android. Guess my phone will turn into a device for tethering now, instead.
  
  So downstream just removes that code? I don't see the big deal
- If I understood correctly it doesn't prevent sideloading, but even apps not from the app store will need to have their creator's legal identity verified by Google. Meaning not only do they have to dox themselves, but they have to pay Google for the privilege. And if it's an app developed to not comply with Goggle's terms then it just won't be usable at all.
  
  I see a mass migration to LineageOS, Graphene, Calyx in the very near future.
- Stop calling it "sideloading" as if it was something bad. Let's all call it "installing apps"
- It is just for their app store. If you don't install gapps, this doesn't matter..
  
  Affecting just 99.99 % of android users
It's up to us, users of those FOSS apps, to collectively pour more money into the pockets of FOSS devs to make f-droid more important to their bottom line (and for a lot of FOSS apps that are also distributed on the play store, it won't be hard to be a bigger financial input) so that when the requirement is pushed to their play store account, they feel free to decide to side with their hearts and say goodbye play store, knowing this community will keep them fed.
Time for many of us to get aquainted with the liberapay button on most app pages in f-droid.
If Google was smart they would hammer out some sort of agreement with F-droid
I'm not sure they are that smart
- They are rich, they don't need to be smart
  
  Once you reach orbit you can fall forever and never crash.
I wish more people focused a bit more on the need to agree to terms and conditions, I didn't know that was a part of this issue and that massively increases the negative impact of this potential policy change
Google's terms and conditions are consistently draconian and stupid. Especially if it's the same terms and conditions applied to the play store, where apps constantly get pulled and devs are always frustrated as hell
Edit: I think pretty much everyone who replied regarding terms and conditions misunderstood what I meat, which leads me to believe I may have communicated poorly. My point is that early news coverage didn't mention independent apps needing to follow Google terms and conditions.
That's not just a privacy issue for devs, that's an issue of Google wanting control over what the apps and actually do, and it changes how severe of a problem this is. I've also learned since then that this may mean only the devs can distribute apps(?), which would potentially kill f-droid outside of custom roms (I still don't fully understand that part but that idea was also not in early coverage)
- Google's terms and conditions are consistently draconian and stupid.
  They are not stupid, they are just intentionally malicious.
- I will always believe that people can't be asked to read a whole fucking T&C written in legalese to avoid being transformed in a human centipede.
  Fuck that bullshit!
  
  I think pretty much everyone who replied regarding terms and conditions seems to have potentially misunderstood what I meat, which leads me to believe I may have communicated poorly. My point is that early news coverage didn't mention independent apps needing to follow Google terms and conditions.
  That's not just a privacy issue for devs, that's an issue of Google wanting control over what the apps and actually do, and it changes how severe of a problem this is. I've also learned since then that this may mean only the devs can distribute apps(?), which would potentially kill f-droid outside of custom roms (I still don't fully understand that part but that idea was also not in early coverage)
  
  "I have read and agree to the Terms" is the biggest lie on the web. Together, we can fix that.
  https://tosdr.org/en
- What are people going to do instead? It isn't really feasible for people to spend hours reading legalese and from the standpoint of the consumer there is really no other option
  
  I think pretty much everyone who replied regarding terms and conditions seems to have potentially misunderstood what I meat, which leads me to believe I may have communicated poorly. My point is that early news coverage didn't mention independent apps needing to follow Google terms and conditions.
  That's not just a privacy issue for devs, that's an issue of Google wanting control over what the apps and actually do, and it changes how severe of a problem this is. I've also learned since then that this may mean only the devs can distribute apps(?), which would potentially kill f-droid outside of custom roms (I still don't fully understand that part but that idea was also not in early coverage)
But what can we do beyond letting out elected officials who don't care know about it? How can we really push back against Google for doing this?
- Donate to PostmarketOS so that we have a polished Linux alternative to Android.
  https://postmarketos.org/
  
  I will, I think Google has proven that android can't be the "open source" alternative, especially since it's not even open source anymore
- Only purchase devices you can unlock bootloader and root, then bypass this with an Xposed module that hooks into Package Installer like how you would bypass Google's stupid minimal SDK version requirement for side-loading that's already enforced for years.
  Google has made it absolutely clear that for years there's absolutely no reason you should ever use an Android device without root anymore than you should use a personal Linux device without sudo lol
  
  Unfortunately for work I'm not allowed to have a rooted phone, that's their only requirement. On top of that working in finance I know that tokenized payments like Google wallet and apple pay are the most secure, and I like leaving my wallet at home and paying with my phone. I hear though no other OSes or roms support wallet, is that still true?
- Elected officials can only do so much as people still need to care. Eenshitification will drive people into other platforms if it gets bad enough.
- Stop buying their phones and using their services?
  
  And use what?
- Just don't install gapps :yawn:
Didn't apple just lose some court cases about this?
What's China going to do? Fork Android more officially?
- I could see China pouring a lot of resources into Linux phones.
  
  AFAIK Huawei already forks Android (and the Play Store) for their stuff, but I have zero knowledge beyond that.
How will this be enforced?
- It will be enforced by Package Installer app, just like how minimal SDK version requirement is enforced, per recent commits to AOSP repo.
  
  Did --bypass-low-target-sdk-block get removed?
- i think basically play protect, but instead of a ban list, it will be an allow list.
  
  So people without gapps are unaffected, cool.
  Nothing burger scare and cowardice from F-Droid
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, and the world will be deprived of the safety and security of the catalog of thousands of apps that can be trusted and verified by any and all
What the FUCK F-Droid. Why would you close your doors?!?
This change would literally have no effect on many of your developers and many of your users.
Just because someone writes Android software or runs Android apps doesn't mean they need to distribute apps on google play or install gapps
- Did you not read what they were saying? They don't want to, they would HAVE to.
  
  That's misinformation. Downstream OSes don't include gapps, by default
It's not in any jeopardy. I don't use gapps anyway
- Good for you.
- MicroG rocks

93 comments