If you haven’t seen this yet, Google is planning to require mandatory developer identity verification for all Android apps, including apps distributed outside the Play Store, taking effect September 2026. This affects every independent and open source Android developer directly.

This is not just about the Play Store. After September 2026, on any certified Android device, applications from unverified developers will be blocked by default. The only proposed bypass, the “advanced flow”, exists only as a blog post and has not appeared in any beta, dev preview, or canary release. No one outside Google has seen it.

The community has been fighting back at keepandroidopen.org:

  • Read the full breakdown of what this means
  • Sign the open letter (organisations only)
  • Contact your national regulators — contacts listed by country on the site
  • Add the countdown banner to your project

September 2026 is closer than it looks. The time to push back is now.

  • BazoogleEnglish
    4·
    8 小时前

    There is more information on the website. This was Google’s “solution”:

    Update: Google has revealed the “advanced flow” — it is not a solution

    On March 19, 2026, Google published details ↗ of the “advanced flow” mechanism intended for “power users” to allow installation of applications from unverified developers after the lockdown takes effect. It goes like this:

    1. Enable Developer Mode ↗ by tapping the software build number in About Phone seven times
    2. In Settings > System, open Developer Options and scroll down to “Allow Unverified Packages.”
    3. Flip the toggle and answer a scare screen confirming that you are not being coerced
    4. Enter your device unlock pin/password
    5. Restart your device
    6. Wait 24 hours
    7. Return to the unverified packages menu at the end of the security delay
    8. Scroll past additional scare screen warnings and select either “Allow temporarily” (seven days) or “Allow indefinitely.”
    9. On the next scare screen, confirm that you understand the risks.
    10. You can now install unverified packages on the device by tapping the “Install anyway” option in the package manager.

    This entire flow is delivered through Google Play Services, not the Android OS, meaning Google can modify, restrict, or remove it at any time without an OS update and without any user consent. The advanced flow has still not appeared in any Android beta, dev preview, or canary release. As of the date of this update, it exists only as a blog post and UI mockups. The community is being asked to accept a product announcement as a functional safeguard five months before the mandate takes effect.

    Until Google provides a shipping implementation that can be independently verified, our position remains unchanged: all apps from non-registered developers will be blocked once their lockdown goes into effect in September 2026.