**Keep Android Open**
"In August 2025, Google announced that as of September 2026, it will no longer be possible to develop apps for the Android platform without first registering centrally with Google."
#Android #FOSS #OpenSource #FreeAndOpendOpenSourceSoftware #FLOSS #FreeAndLibreOpenSourceSoftware #Android16 #Android17 #phone #phones #FDroid #OSS
@k8vsy For what it's worth, according to Google that is for commercial applications in the Play Store.
For student and hobbyist developers: We're committed to keeping Android an open platform for you to learn, experiment, and build for fun.
So it might not be as apocalyptic as it initially sounds. At least until more information comes out, I would expect that we'll still be able to install "untrusted" apps via fdroid, apk, etc.
@fdroidorg @k8vsy oh, hey!
But you're also not in the Play Store, now, right? I use your app store, myself, and I'm pretty sure I needed to side-load the apk to install it.
As long as Android is Android, it seems like it would be incredibly difficult to prevent determined users from installing "untrusted" applications without removing adb and other methods of side loading apps.
My usual train of thought is to follow the money. Google wants money, and it wouldn't benefit them financially to damage their own ecosystem by making development overly difficult. If they somehow blocked unsigned applications at the kernel level or something, wouldn't that completely break the ability for anyone to develop on the platform?
That's my thought, at least.
I don't support the move, but I don't think it's going to be as catastrophic as it sounds.
@me @k8vsy Umm, think you've missed the news, this is not about Play...
Here's where you start: https://f-droid.org/2025/09/29/google-developer-registration-decree.html
Here you understand: https://f-droid.org/2025/10/28/sideloading.html
And then you subscribe via RSS to our news!
Thanks for the extra details.
For context, it's probably obvious, but I am not an Android developer myself.
I guess I'm still a bit lost on how they would make that would work. Keeping something out of the Play store is easy; prohibiting me from manually installing an application on an Android device (especially once rooted) is much harder.
They also claim they're making an explicit distinction between commercial and hobbyist/student developers, so what prevents me from installing a commercial application under the guise of it being an application I developed myself as a hobbyist?
And I assume this would only be specific to Google's flavor of Android. AOSP and forks could theoretically choose not to make those restrictions in their code.
