Tuesday, September 2, 2025

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Google just ruined Android development forever

This is just horrible.

Google wants to take away the freedom we've always had with Android and APKs.

They want to have tight control over all the apps we can install on our Android phones.

So much for "open-source". The one major advantage it always had over iOS.

As a dev who occasionally makes apps just for myself I was even recently thinking of switching to Android just because of this.

For over a decade it's been the open alternative to Apple's walled garden.

Letting you install apps from the web and decide what software you trusted without corporate gatekeeping.

All that is going straight down the toilet in a matter of months.

This can't be happening

Starting in 2026 Google will begin blocking app installs from third-party sources unless the developer verifies their identity through Google's systems.

That includes apps distributed via websites, alternative stores, or even shared directly between friends.

Starting in a few countries and then expanding globally in 2027 and beyond.

On paper, this isn't about banning sideloading. Google insists sideloading is still "fundamental to Android." But in practice, this is a shift from "your device, your choice" to "your device, Google's terms."

This isn't an isolated case. We've seen this playbook before.

Google's Manifest V3 changes in Chrome drastically limited the power of ad blockers and privacy extensions—under the guise of security and performance. Developers were forced to comply with new APIs that neutered their functionality, while Google's own advertising stack remained untouched.

Now we're watching the same logic creep into Android.

Claim security. Lock it down. Funnel developers into Google-controlled verification systems.

What began in the browser is now reaching the OS.

Tight control

There's also a deeper undertone here: retribution.

Google recently lost a high-profile antitrust case against Epic Games, one that challenged Google Play's monopoly over Android app distribution. The ruling confirmed what many already believed: that Google was making it unfairly hard to compete with the Play Store.

This new sideloading restriction looks suspiciously like a response. If Google can't force developers into the Play Store economically, it can still do it technically—by requiring identity verification for sideloading and tightening the noose around "alternative" installs.

It's not about user safety. It's about regaining leverage.

For "security purposes"

Google…

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