What is the future of F-Droid and apps it distributes now that Google is hell bent on stopping sideloading and forcing developers to register at google? A large portion of what F-droid distributes are apps that are not at Google’s good graces.
https://hackaday.com/2025/08/26/google-will-require-developer-verification-even-for-sideloading/
The way I’m understanding it is, some F-Droid apps will still work, but their developer would have to be “verified”, whatever that entails. I’m not sure what will happen if one tried to installed an app with an unverified developer, but it probably won’t be anything good.
Whatever the case, this won’t affect most of us (sorry Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand) until 2027. I have a phone running LineageOS and will continue to use it until it gives out, but my next phone will definitely not be running android, because I am so done with this crap.
@onlooker @Korkki indeed … By 2027 I will have my phone (and old spare phone) on an alternative OS.
In the early days of MS-DOS I had a lock-in and won’t have that again if I can avoid it.
(And all the other reasons to leave Google and the other big tech)
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Google seems to think that unauthorized apps on android devices are most prevalent in the four countries mentioned.
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Tell me about it.
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