Is this a great problem for Murena?: I found this when using Fdroid.
”Suomi ▾
Your phone is about to stop being
yours.
130
DAYS U NT I L LO C K D O W N
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.
↓
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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:
1Delve into System Settings, find Developer Options
2Tap the build number seven times to enable Developer Mode
3Dismiss scare screens about coercion
4Enter your PIN
5Restart the device
6Wait 24 hours
7Come back, dismiss more scare screens
8Pick “allow temporarily” (7 days) or “allow indefinitely”
9Confirm, 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?"▸ “…still sideloading if you use the advanced flow?”
▸ “…only a problem if you have something to hide?”
▸ “…the same thing Apple does?”
▸ “…just $25 and some paperwork?”
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.
A L L T H O S E O P P O S E D…
6 6 O R G A N I Z AT I O N S F R O M 2 1 C O U N T R I E S H AV E S I G N E D T H E open letter
ObtainiumRocky LinuxFedimedia
obtainium.imranr.devrockylinux.orgfedimedia.it
Read the full open letter and thank the signatories →
What they’re saying
TECH PRESS
“Google plans to block side-
loading like Apple, declaring war
on Android freedom”
“Google’s Apple envy threatens to
dismantle Android’s open legacy”
"Keep Android OpeTuta Blog
Ars TechnicaLinux Magazine
"The requirement extends
Google’s gatekeeping
authority from its own Play
Store to every alternative
distribution channel on
Android ""Google’s move is
about ‘security,’ b
about consolidat
and tightening co
formerly open ec
EDITORIALS & ANALYSIS
“What student is going to
upload their passport to a
trillion-dollar surveillance
corporation just to share their
weekend project?”
fireborn, mataroa.blog
LLM Advocates
Techdirt
ORGANIZATIONS & OPEN LETTERS
“Google Play itself has repeatedly
hosted malware, proving that
corporate gatekeeping doesn’t
guarantee user protection.”
“Nearly 50 organizations
published an open letter opposing
what they characterize as a ‘kill
switch for the open ecosystem.’”
"Google will cut off
developers to Andr
not register with Go
will kill independen
like F-Droid and se
F-Droid
Tech-ish KenyaKDE
“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.”“Your device, their rules. The
phone you bought and paid for is
no longer really yours.”"Google is removin
advantage Android
Switched to Linux – YouTubeTuta Blog – BlogSomeOrdinaryGame
“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.”“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.”“They’re boiling the
removing features
choice is gone.”
pimeys (diabetic user on life-critic…Serinus, Lemmyhn92726819, Hacke
YOUTUBERS & CREATORS
DEVELOPERS & COMMUNITYVOICES FROM THE PETITION
"I used APK’s to play tons of
games I loved, like angry birds
star wars and I don’t wanna see
it taken from me. It has always
been easier then apple (I know
because I sideload all the time)…"The openness of Android is
perhaps one of the greatest
features of Android. While many
people do not sideload apps,
many others do for a variety of
reasons. Having the ability to…"Limiting APK file
good idea. It is bas
apple os and will g
projects… "
Jane, change.orgEric, change.orgJosias, change.org
All references, editorials, press coverage, and videos →
→
Take Action
Full resource list, regulator contacts, links for every country, and how to fight back
→
Open Letter
Read the open letter signed by organizations opposing developer verification
You bought your phone.
You should decide what runs on it.
That shouldn’t require a 9-step process, a 24-hour wait, and Google’s
ongoing permission.
Share this page. Don’t sign up. Don’t let them close Android.
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yksinomaan tiedotus- ja koulutustarkoituksissa.
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Tekijänoikeus: Ei mitään. Tämä työ on merkitty CC0 1.0 Universal**n your privacy! Adopt /e/OS the deGoogled mobile OS and online services**