Il tuo telefono sta per smettere di essere tuo.
A partire da settembre 2026 un aggiornamento silenzioso, imposto da Google senza il consenso degli utenti, bloccherà tutte le applicazioni Android i cui sviluppatori non si siano registrati presso l'azienda, non abbiano firmato il contratto, non abbiano pagato e non abbiano fornito un documento d'identità.
Tutte le applicazioni e tutti i dispositivi, in tutto il mondo, senza possibilità di rinuncia.
↓Cosa sta facendo Google
Nell'agosto 2025 Google ha annunciato un nuovo requisito: a partire da settembre 2026 ogni sviluppatore di applicazioni Android dovrà registrarsi presso Google prima che il proprio software possa essere installato su qualsiasi dispositivo. Non solo le applicazioni del Play Store: tutte le applicazioni. Questo include le applicazioni condivise tra amici, distribuite tramite F-Droid, realizzate da appassionati per uso personale. Sviluppatori indipendenti, gruppi religiosi e comunitari, nonché semplici appassionati, si vedranno tutti preclusa la possibilità di sviluppare e distribuire il proprio software.
Per registrarsi è necessario:
- Pagare una tassa a Google
- Accettare i termini e condizioni di Google
- Fornire un documento di identità rilasciato dalle autorità
- Fornire la prova della propria chiave di firma privata
- Fornire un elenco di tutti gli identificatori delle applicazioni attuali e futuri
Se uno sviluppatore non rispetterà questi requisiti, le sue applicazioni verranno bloccate in modo silenzioso su tutti i dispositivi Android nel mondo.
Chi viene danneggiato
Tu
Hai comprato un telefono Android perché Google ti aveva detto che era un sistema aperto. Potevi installare quello che volevi, questo era l'accordo.
Adesso Google sta riscrivendo tale accordo, con effetto retroattivo, sull'hardware che già possiedi. Una volta installato l'aggiornamento, potrai utilizzare solo software preventivamente approvato da Google. Sul tuo telefono: un dispositivo di tua proprietà, che hai pagato di tasca tua.
Sviluppatori indipendenti
La prima applicazione di un adolescente, uno strumento per la privacy di un volontario o la versione beta interna riservata di un'azienda. Non importa, dopo settembre 2026 nessuna di queste potrà essere installata senza l'approvazione di Google.
F-Droid, che ospita migliaia di applicazioni Android gratuite e open source, ha definito questa situazione una "minaccia esistenziale". Cory Doctorow la chiama "Darth Android".
Governi e società civile
Google ha una storia documentata di ottemperanza alle richieste di rimozione delle applicazioni da parte dei regimi autoritari. Con questo programma il software che gestisce le istituzioni del tuo paese dipenderà dal capriccio di una singola società straniera che non deve rendere conto a nessuno.
L'EFF definisce il controllo delle applicazioni un "percorso in continua espansione verso la censura di Internet."
La "via di fuga" di Google è una trappola
Google afferma che gli "utenti esperti" possono "ancora installare" le applicazioni non verificate. Ecco come funziona in pratica:
- Accedi alle impostazioni di sistema, trova le opzioni sviluppatore
- Tocca il numero di build sette volte per abilitare la modalità sviluppatore
- Ignora le schermate di allarme relative alla coercizione
- Inserisci il tuo PIN
- Riavvia il dispositivo
- Attendi 24 ore
- Torna indietro, ignora altre schermate di avviso
- Scegli "consenti temporaneamente" (7 giorni) o "consenti a tempo indeterminato"
- Conferma, ancora una volta, di aver compreso "i rischi"
Nove passi. Un periodo di riflessione obbligatorio di 24 ore. Per l'installazione di software su un dispositivo di tua proprietà.
Peggio ancora: questa procedura passa interamente tramite i Google Play Services, non il sistema operativo Android. Google può modificarla, renderla più rigida o eliminarla in qualsiasi momento, senza che sia necessario alcun aggiornamento del sistema operativo e senza alcun consenso. Al momento non è stata ancora rilasciata in nessuna versione beta, anteprima o canary, esiste solo sotto forma di articolo sul blog e alcuni prototipi.
È una questione più grande di Android
Se Google può bloccare retroattivamente miliardi di dispositivi venduti come piattaforme aperte, tutti i produttori di hardware del pianeta stanno a guardare.
Il principio che si sta affermando è il seguente: l'azienda che ha prodotto il tuo dispositivo può decidere, dopo che l'hai acquistato, quale software ti è permesso utilizzare. Nel mondo del software questo si chiama truffa, ma almeno è sempre possibile installare un software concorrente. Nel mondo dell'hardware, invece, è un fatto compiuto che ti priva di ogni autonomia e ti rende impotente di fronte ai capricci di un unico controllore che non deve rendere conto a nessuno e che è stato dichiarato monopolista.
L'apertura di Android non è mai stata solo una caratteristica, era la promessa che lo distingueva dall'iPhone e milioni di persone hanno scelto Android proprio per questo motivo. Adesso Google sta venendo meno a questa promessa in modo unilaterale, proprio sui dispositivi che la gente ha già in tasca, perché ha deciso di avere abbastanza potere di mercato e influenza sulle autorità di regolamentazione da poterlo fare impunemente.
Ars Technica: "L'invidia di Google nei confronti di Apple rischia di smantellare le caratteristiche di apertura che contraddistinguono Android."
Un attimo, non si tratta forse...
"...solo di sicurezza?"
La motivazione della sicurezza è solo una cortina fumogena. Google Play Protect esegue già la scansione alla ricerca di malware indipendentemente dall'identità dello sviluppatore. Richiedere un documento d'identità ufficiale non rende il codice più sicuro. Ciò rende gli sviluppatori identificabili e controllabili. Gli autori di malware possono registrarsi, mentre gli sviluppatori indipendenti e i dissidenti spesso non possono farlo. L'EFF è stata categorica: il controllo basato sull'identità è uno strumento di censura, non di sicurezza.
"...di sideloading se utilizzi la procedura avanzata?"
Nove passi, 24 ore di attesa, nascosta nelle opzioni sviluppatore, fornita tramite un servizio proprietario che Google può revocare quando vuole. Questa non è sideloading, ma un meccanismo di deterrenza creato per garantire che quasi nessuno riesca a portarlo a termine. Inoltre, dato che funziona tramite i Play Services anziché tramite il sistema operativo, Google può inasprirne le condizioni o eliminarlo in modo silenzioso.
"...di un problema solo se hai qualcosa da nascondere?"
Gli informatori, i giornalisti e gli attivisti sotto governi autoritari saranno le prime vittime. Le persone in situazioni di violenza domestica saranno le prossime. Tutti questi gruppi hanno motivi legittimi per distribuire o utilizzare software senza che la loro identità legale finisca in un database di Google. Il contributo anonimo all'open source è una tradizione più antica della stessa Google. Questa politica pone fine a tutto ciò su Android.
"...della stessa cosa che fa Apple?"
Apple è stata una piattaforma chiusa fin dal primo giorno. Le persone hanno scelto Android perché era diverso. "Anche Apple lo fa" è una corsa al ribasso e un debole argomento tu quoque. Inoltre, sotto la pressione normativa (il Digital Markets Act dell'UE), anche Apple è stata costretta ad aprirsi. Google sta andando nella direzione opposta: sta cercando di consolidare ulteriormente il suo stato di controllore.
"...di solo 25 dollari e un po' di scartoffie?"
Forse, se sei uno sviluppatore negli Stati Uniti con una carta di credito e una patente di guida. Prova a metterti nei panni di uno studente dell'Africa subsahariana, di un dissidente in Myanmar o di un volontario che gestisce un'applicazione per la salute della comunità. Il costo non è solo economico: stai consegnando il tuo documento d'identità e le prove delle tue chiavi di firma a un'azienda che asseconda regolarmente le richieste del governo di rimuovere le applicazioni e smascherare gli sviluppatori.
Contrattacca
Tutti
- Installa F-Droid su ogni dispositivo Android che possiedi. Gli store alternativi sopravvivono solo se le persone li utilizzano davvero.
- Contatta le autorità di regolamentazione. Le autorità di regolamentazione di tutto il mondo sono sinceramente preoccupate per i monopoli e la concentrazione di potere nel settore tecnologico e desiderano ascoltare direttamente le testimonianze delle persone coinvolte e preoccupate.
- Condividi questa pagina. Pubblica ovunque il link a keepandroidopen.org.
- Contrasta gli astroturfer. La folla del "beh, in realtà..." è all'opera. Non lasciare che siano loro a dettare la narrativa.
- Firma la petizione su change.org e unisciti agli oltre 100.000 firmatari che hanno fatto sentire la propria voce.
- Leggi e condividi la nostra lettera aperta
- Fai sapere a Google cosa ne pensi tramite il loro sondaggio di verifica degli sviluppatori (per quel poco che servirà).
Sviluppatori
Non registrarti. Non aderire al programma registrandoti alla console per gli sviluppatori Android e accettando i loro termini e condizioni irrevocabili. Non verificare la tua identità e non stare al gioco.
Il piano di Google funziona solo se gli sviluppatori lo seguono. Non farlo.
- Convinci altri sviluppatori e organizzazioni a non registrarsi.
- Aggiungi la libreria FreeDroidWarn alle tue applicazioni per avvisare gli utenti.
- Gestisci un sito web? Aggiungi il banner con il conto alla rovescia.
Dipendenti di Google
Se sei a conoscenza dei dettagli relativi all'implementazione tecnica o alle motivazioni interne del programma, contatta tips@keepandroidopen.org utilizzando un computer non aziendale e un account non gmail. Ti garantiamo la massima riservatezza.
Tutti coloro che si oppongono...
71 organizzazioni provenienti da 23 paesi hanno firmato la lettera aperta
The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) ccc.de 
Digital Rights Watch digitalrightswatch.org.au 
LineageOS lineageos.org 
Techlore techlore.tech 
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) fsf.org 
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) fsfe.org 
Aurora Store auroraoss.com 
Fundación Karisma karisma.org.co 
Codeberg e.V. codeberg.org 
Vivaldi Technologies AS vivaldi.com 
ARTICLE 19 article19.org 
The App Fair Project appfair.org 
OpenMedia openmedia.org 
Unified Push unifiedpush.org 
IzzyOnDroid izzyondroid.org 
GitHub Store github-store.org 
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) eff.org 
GNOME Foundation gnome.org 
XMPP Standards Foundation xmpp.org 
Brave brave.com 
FUTO futo.org 
The Tor Project torproject.org 
FOSDEM fosdem.org 
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) beuc.eu 
Obtainium obtainium.imranr.dev 
Software Liberty Association of Taiwan slat.org.tw 
Privacy Guides privacyguides.org 
The Digital Rights Foundation digitalrightsfoundation.pk 
Software Freedom Conservancy sfconservancy.org 
iodé iode.tech 
Cryptee crypt.ee 
KDE e.V. kde.org 
VideoLAN videolan.org 
GNU/Linux València gnulinuxvalencia.org 
Fedimedia fedimedia.it 
Italian Linux Society ils.org 
Forbrukerrådet forbrukerradet.no 
Rossmann Group rossmanngroup.com 
La Quadrature du Net laquadrature.net 
Proton AG proton.me 
AdGuard adguard.com 
Technopolice Bruxelles technopolice.be 
Ghostery ghostery.com 
The Center for Digital Progress (D64) d-64.org 
/e/ Foundation e.foundation 
The Calyx Institute calyx.org 
Rocky Linux rockylinux.org 
epicenter.works – for digital rights epicenter.works 
FULU Foundation fulu.org 
Osservatorio Nessuno OdV osservatorionessuno.org 
MetaBrainz Foundation metabrainz.org 
European Digital Rights (EDRi) edri.org 
April april.org 
Open Web Advocacy open-web-advocacy.org 
JMP.chat jmp.chat 
Molly molly.im 
CryptPad cryptpad.org 
Digitale Gesellschaft digitale-gesellschaft.ch 
The Guardian Project guardianproject.info 
Associação Nacional para o Software Livre (ANSOL) ansol.org 
FACiL facil.qc.ca 
Data Rights datarights.ngo 
microG microg.org 
F-Droid f-droid.org 
Fastmail fastmail.com 
Tuta Mail tuta.com 
OW2 ow2.org 
Nextcloud nextcloud.com 
The OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF) osmfoundation.org 
Open Rights Group (ORG) openrightsgroup.org 
GrapheneOS Foundation grapheneos.org Leggi la lettera aperta per intero e ringrazia i firmatari →
Cosa dicono
Stampa specializzata
"F-Droid Says Google Is Lying About the Future of Sideloading on Android"
How-To Geek
"Google says it's making Android sideloading 'high-friction' to better warn users about potential risks"
XDA Developers
"Google will require developer verification for Android apps outside the Play Store"
TechCrunch
"Google kneecaps indie Android devs, forces them to register"
The Register
"Google is restricting one of Android's most important features, and users are outraged"
SlashGear
"Google will verify Android developers distributing apps outside the Play store"
The Verge
"Google's New Developer ID Rule Could Harm F-Droid"
Reclaim The Net
"Sideloading on Android? Soon It'll Be Like a TSA Check for Apps"
Android Headlines
"Google's new developer rules could threaten sideloading and F-Droid's future"
Gizmochina
"Google's developer registration 'decree' means the end for alternative app stores"
Cybernews
"F-Droid Slams Google for Misleading Users About Android's App Verification"
Android Headlines
"F-Droid says Google's new sideloading restrictions will kill the project"
Ars Technica
"Google's new ID requirements could destroy independent app stores"
TechSpot
"This will wipe out Android as an actual alternative to Apple's mobile OS offerings."
Hackaday
"Google's Android developer verification program draws pushback"
InfoWorld
"Google's New Developer Rules Threaten to End the F-Droid Open-Source App Store"
How-To Geek
"Google's Attack on Sideloading Will Rob Android of One of Its Best Features"
How-To Geek
"Google's Requirement For All Android Developers To Register And Be Verified Threatens To Close Down Open Source App Store F-Droid"
Techdirt
"Android, Epic, and What's Really Behind Google's 'Existential' Threat to F-Droid"
Slashdot
"F-Droid project threatened by Google's new dev registration rules"
Bleeping Computer
"F-Droid Says Google Is Lying About the Future of Sideloading on Android"
How-To Geek
"Open-Source Android Apps at Risk Under Google's New Decree"
TechRepublic
"Google will require developer verification to install Android apps, including sideloading"
9to5Google
"Keep Android Open"
Linux Magazine
"Google Clamps down On Android's Openness"
Internet Freedom Foundation (India)
"It effectively makes the Play Store a monopoly without actually mandating that it is a monopoly."
I-Programmer
"We all know that's a load of bullshit. Adding a goddamn 24-hour waiting period is batshit insanity."
Thom Holwerda, OSnews
"Android's sideloading limits are its most anti-consumer move yet"
MakeUseOf
"Resistance to Google's Android verification grows among developers"
Techzine EU
"Google will make you wait 24 hours to sideload Android apps"
How-To Geek
"Android app store provider Aptoide hits Google with fresh lawsuit alleging monopoly and anticompetitive chokehold"
Benzinga
"Over 67 groups urge the company to drop ID checks for apps distributed outside Play"
The Register
"An 'existential' threat to alternative app stores"
The New Stack
"Open-Source Android Apps Threatened by Google's New Policy"
Datamation
"I've been an Android user for almost 15 years -- and Google's sideloading changes are pushing me back to iPhone"
Tom's Guide
"Sideloading on Android? Soon It'll Be Like a TSA Check for Apps"
Android Headlines
"Keep Android Open – Abwehr gegen Verbot anonymer Apps von Google"
heise online
"'Keep Android Open' Movement Challenges Google's Developer Verification Rule"
Open Source For U
"Google's Apple envy threatens to dismantle Android's open legacy"
Ars Technica
"Google's Attack on Sideloading Will Rob Android of One of Its Best Features"
How-To Geek
"Android Security or Vendor Lock-In? Google's New Sideloading Rules Smell Fishy"
It's FOSS News
"Google plans to block side-loading like Apple, declaring war on Android freedom"
Tuta Blog
"Google's dev registration plan 'will end the F-Droid project'"
The Register
"Sideloading is dead for all intents and purposes. The Android you know and love is slowly disappearing."
Android Police
"Open letter warns mandatory registration 'threatens innovation, competition, privacy and user freedom'"
Infosecurity Magazine
"I've been an Android user for almost 15 years -- and Google's sideloading changes are pushing me back to iPhone"
Tom's Guide
Editoriali e analisi
"The $25 isn't the real cost. The chilling effect is. Submitting government ID to Google is a non-starter for pseudonymous contributors and privacy researchers."
Arafat Alim, DEV Community
"Destroying F-Droid isn't some 'oops.' It's the mission. It's Google finally cutting the last remaining escape route and locking every single user inside their store."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"What student is going to upload their passport to a trillion-dollar surveillance corporation just to share their weekend project?"
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"Google has announced what can only be described as a death blow to the open ecosystem that made Android. Under the guise of 'security,' Google is implementing draconian developer verification requirements."
AndroidSage
"Google has announced that they are altering the deal. And telling us that we should pray that they don't alter it further. Block this policy change now before they wrap their cold metal hands around our necks."
Jesse Wilson, PublicObject.com
"The requirement extends Google's gatekeeping authority from its own Play Store to every alternative distribution channel on Android."
LLM Advocates
"There is also the very real possibility that Google will leak your identity with the result that any apps with political implications could result in persecution and worse."
I-Programmer
"Android is no longer the scrappy rebel. It's just another empire tightening the drawbridge."
Newsfangled
"Centralizing the registration of all applications worldwide gives Google newfound powers to completely disable any app it wants."
Mikhail Korotaev, Nextcloud Blog
"Every additional bureaucratic hurdle reduces diversity in the software ecosystem and concentrates power in large established players."
Mikhail Korotaev, Nextcloud Blog
"Android wasn't supposed to be 'safe.' It was supposed to be free."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"This is a form of malicious compliance with the court orders stemming from its losses to Epic Games."
Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
"This is not a developer account sign-up. This is comprehensive surveillance of the software development ecosystem."
PixelUnion
"Google is turning sideloading from a right into a permission slip, and the open-source community has until September to convince it otherwise."
Reclaim The Net
"The proposed Android Developer Verification program isn't a security update; it's a kill switch for the open ecosystem."
Hillary Keverenge, Tech-ish Kenya
"Sideloading, a longstanding pillar of Android's openness, is now being marginalized, placing the Android platform closer to the walled-garden approach of Apple's iOS."
Purism
"One US corporation is placing itself between every Android developer and every Android user on earth."
PixelUnion
"Google has not removed Android's openness, but it is turning openness from a default right into a conditional, attributable, and tiered capability."
MerchMindAI
"Google isn't certifying apps, they're certifying developers. This implies that the company can somehow predict whether a developer will do something malicious in the future."
Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
"This is not about protecting users. This is about control. This is about Google cutting out the last remaining artery of independence in Android."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"The phone you bought and paid for is no longer really yours. Google decides which apps are allowed to be loaded on Android and which are not."
Tuta Blog
"Android is not open anymore. It's not an alternative. It's not even trying. It's iOS with ads and spyware bolted on."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"Although Google's claim is that this is for 'security', it does not prevent the regular practice of scammers buying up existing verified developer accounts."
Maya Posch, Hackaday
"Google's attempts to make Android 'more secure' are, in fact, increasing the risk for Android users. The more friction you introduce in the name of security, the more likely users will attempt to bypass security completely."
Ken Buckler, Enterprise Management Associates
"This policy represents a dramatic departure from Android's decades-old tradition of openness, in which developers could build and share apps freely without first submitting to a centralized authority."
Biometric Update
"Google's story that this move is motivated by security is obviously bullshit. The idea that Google can improve Android's safety by certifying developers, rather than code, is obvious bullshit."
Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
"Freedom of choice is being reframed as a 'security risk.'"
Newsfangled
"Once there is no such thing as 'sideloading', there's virtually no difference between iOS and Android. I see no reason to buy Android over iOS at this point."
Thom Holwerda, OSnews
"Android does not just warn anymore. It enforces."
Youssef Mabrouk, Ostorlab
"Developers from sanctioned countries or those without Google Play access cannot verify themselves. This creates systemic discrimination against developers based on birthplace rather than conduct."
agnostic-apollo (Termux developer), GitHub
"This could turn Google into the effective gatekeeper for all apps on certified Android devices."
It's FOSS News
"Google's move is not credibly about 'security,' but actually about consolidating power and tightening control over a formerly open ecosystem."
Techdirt
"Innovation may be the biggest casualty in all of this. This new rule erodes your right to make informed decisions about your own devices."
MakeUseOf
Organizzazioni e lettere aperte
"When you set up a gate, you invite authorities to use it to block things they don't like. And when you build a database, you invite governments to try to get access."
Electronic Frontier Foundation
"Google's abusive approach to the Android operating system has only gotten worse in recent years. Software freedom is sorely lacking in the 'computers in our pockets' we call cell phones."
Free Software Foundation
"Developers who choose not to use Google's services should not be forced to register with, and submit to the judgement of, Google."
Open letter, over 67 signatory organizations
"While Android used to be praised for its freedom and independence, it will become a closed shop just like Apple."
Tuta
"Android's biggest strength has always been its openness. That's what attracted developers and users in the first place."
AdGuard
"For developers building tools specifically designed to protect user privacy, being forced to surrender their own personal data as a precondition for distribution is deeply contradictory."
AdGuard
"Google Play itself has repeatedly hosted malware, proving that corporate gatekeeping doesn't guarantee user protection."
F-Droid
"Your Smartphone, Their Rules: How App Stores Enable Corporate-Government Censorship."
ACLU
"There are governments who might very much like to know the names of the developers of those applications so that they can go after them."
Electronic Frontier Foundation
"This extends Google's gatekeeping authority beyond its own marketplace into distribution channels where it has no legitimate operational role."
Open letter, over 67 signatory organizations
"If it were to be put into effect, the developer registration decree will end the F-Droid project and other free/open source app distribution sources as we know them today."
F-Droid
"Developers who build privacy-first browsers, encrypted messaging apps, VPNs, Tor-based software or tools for journalists and activists would be required to upload government ID to Google. These developers are unlikely to trust Google and might stop developing for Android."
Brave
"Ultimately, Google's plan will stop you from owning your Android phone."
Tuta
"Remember: It's your phone, your data, your freedom. Don't let Google take it away."
Tuta
"We unequivocally advise against signing up for this program, now or ever."
F-Droid Open Letter
"Google is turning Android into a walled garden monopoly. We must prevent it."
Osservatorio Nessuno
"Google's developer verification policy creates a centralized database, controlled by a single corporation, containing the real-world identity of every person who writes software for Android."
Brave
"We are running out of time until Google becomes the gate-keeper of all users devices."
F-Droid
"Verification just confirms who's behind the app, it doesn't guarantee clean code or rule out malicious behavior."
AdGuard
"Changes would impose barriers to entry for individual developers, small teams and volunteer projects by imposing fees, identity checks and terms that may not align with the principles of an open ecosystem."
Infosecurity Magazine
"Nearly 50 organizations published an open letter opposing what they characterize as a 'kill switch for the open ecosystem.'"
Tech-ish Kenya
"Centralised, intransparent security architectures certainly help secure monetization and the market by locking out competitors."
Nextcloud
"Forcing software creators into a centralized registration scheme is as egregious as forcing writers and artists to register with a central authority."
F-Droid
"A policy that forces every Android developer to hand their identity to Google, regardless of whether they use Google's services, makes Android a less-open and less-private platform."
Brave
"A centralized global registration system for Android will inevitably chill this work. Those communities are likely to drop out of developing for Android altogether."
Electronic Frontier Foundation
"Google will cut off independent developers to Android if they do not register with Google first. This will kill independent platforms like F-Droid and severely impede FLOSS devs from creating apps for Android."
KDE
"Independent software distribution on Android will now require Google's explicit permission."
AdGuard
"The European Pirate Party called for proportionate and transparent measures that ensure security without restricting innovation, limiting anonymity, or distorting competition."
European Pirate Party
"MEP Christel Schaldemose formally questioned whether Google's mandatory central registration is compatible with the Digital Markets Act."
European Parliament
"Unilaterally consolidating power to approve software into the hands of a single unaccountable corporation is a threat to digital sovereignty everywhere."
Nextcloud
"This is a profound change, one that shatters the entire premise of the Android ecosystem, long regarded as the antithesis of the closed Apple ecosystem."
AdGuard
"This invasion of privacy of developers is not just an overreach of Google's authority over Android, but also jeopardizes developer safety."
Software Freedom Conservancy
YouTuber e creatori
"Google already can disable malware that they find on your device. It's already a built-in feature. So what is developer registration actually adding here? Is it security or control? You decide."
Techlore – YouTube
"Google is setting a requirement that only they can fulfill, forcing developers to go through Google and killing off thousands of apps. Countless users stranded."
Techlore – YouTube
"Every single time a company takes away your ability to do what you want with what you bought and paid for, every single time they twist a knife, we have to point it out."
Louis Rossmann – YouTube
"When you download applications, you've simply installed an application. I don't want to use words like 'sideload.'"
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – YouTube
"A world where two tech companies from the same city that dominate all of our mobile devices both require centralized developer registration is a world with one more lever for surveillance, one more checkpoint for censorship."
Techlore – YouTube
"Google decides what's safe for you, and you don't get a say."
fireborn – Blog
"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."
Switched to Linux – YouTube
"Follow the money. Google makes money when apps are downloaded from its store. Google has completely forgotten about its earlier company motto: Don't be evil."
Tuta Blog – Blog
"This represents the last real safe place for free and open-source software in the entire mobile ecosystem. Once it's gone, it's gone. And we're going to spend the next decade trying to claw it back."
Techlore – YouTube
"The widely-circulated narrative that Google already backed down from this is false. They didn't, and that misunderstanding may be the most dangerous part of the story right now."
Techlore – YouTube
"I have really no more strong reason to not recommend you all get iPhones, because this just is pretty much an iPhone with a Google logo on it at this point."
Techlore – YouTube
"Google is doing to Android what Microsoft once tried to do to the web. Embrace, extend, extinguish. Just wrapped in a shinier open-source package."
ChiefGyk3D – YouTube
"This is an iPhone now. I didn't want to buy an iPhone. I use Android because it gives me freedom. If you are not going to give me freedom with my computer, then why would I buy your stuff anymore?"
Louis Rossmann – YouTube
"Google is removing the one key advantage Android has over iOS."
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – YouTube
"F-Droid is basically saying that the new Google developer registration process will likely kill the open-source app store entirely."
The Linux Experiment – YouTube
"Imagine Dell told you that you could no longer install any operating system other than Windows on your laptop. That's what Google is doing to your phone."
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – YouTube
"Developers of privacy-focused tools and emulators will have to dox themselves, making them vulnerable to government agencies or legal action."
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – YouTube
"Google keeps getting in as much trouble as Apple when Google is half evil and Apple is full evil. So there are probably people inside Google saying, 'Why not just go full evil?'"
Louis Rossmann – YouTube
"That's not openness. That is control."
ChiefGyk3D – YouTube
"This has obvious problems for non-Google operating systems like iodeOS, LineageOS, or BraxOS. Google Android will 'check in' with Google to verify the identity of the app and to validate the operating system."
Rob Braxman Tech – Locals
"If I'm going to be trapped in a walled garden anyway, I'll take the one that's built properly."
fireborn – Blog
"I'm not using the word 'phone.' I'm using the word 'computer.' This has over 8 GB of RAM, a terabyte of storage. It's a computer. And I'm also not going to be using words like 'sideload.' When you download an exe file onto your Windows computer, you've installed an application. You haven't 'sideloaded' something."
Louis Rossmann – YouTube
"Google has been carefully watching from the sidelines to see what exactly it is that Apple can get away with."
Linus Sebastian, LMG Clips – YouTube
"Android has become what they set out to destroy."
Linus Sebastian, LMG Clips – YouTube
"Your device, their rules. The phone you bought and paid for is no longer really yours."
Tuta Blog – Blog
"Google isn't testing this in the US or Europe first. They're starting in countries like Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. Why? Because these are massive growth markets where regulation is weaker. By the time regulators catch up, the damage will already be done."
ChiefGyk3D – YouTube
"This means you can't sideload an app from an unofficial source. But it could also be used to lock the ecosystem so we're forced to install only Google apps on approved Google OS versions."
Rob Braxman Tech – Locals
Sviluppatori e comunità
"Google selling Android as both open source and open to running any software you like in order to quickly gain market share, only to break those promises after driving competing platforms out of the market is nothing more than fraud."
GeekyBear, Hacker News
"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."
pimeys (diabetic user on life-critical medical software), Lobsters
"If I go down this path, I will stop all development on Android. I implore all other developers to resist this. This will completely lock down the platform forever, there will be no going back."
BatteryMountain, Hacker News
"Google's own Play Store had over 600 million malware downloads. They keep talking about 'security' but their own store is crawling with fake apps and straight up malware while actual useful stuff gets buried or rejected."
Historical-Employ129 (324 upvotes), Reddit
"The open Android I knew and loved is long gone."
girvo, Hacker News
"We are talking about something categorically worse than vendor lock-in: Collective vendor lock-in."
anordal, Lobsters
"It is a disgrace how Google has managed this situation. The promised 'advanced flow' hasn't appeared in any Android 16 or 17 betas. Google is quietly proceeding with the original lockdown."
fermigier, Hacker News
"The war on General Purpose Computing is the death of innovation and a direct attack on digital freedom."
layfellow, Hacker News
"You have no right telling me what I can and cannot run on my own devices."
MrZander, Hacker News
"Android is for everyone, provided they submit to Google exclusively."
gumby271, Hacker News
"Brazil government app refuses to operate with developer mode on."
flykespice (developer in Brazil), Hacker News
"Social engineering is destroyed with education, not with restriction and control. Trading freedom for safety eliminates both."
survirtual, Hacker News
"Years ago, I wondered how Google would try to get away with locking down Android and shutting the cage door after capturing such a large dependent user base. Now I see how they are trying to get away with it."
chaznabin, Reddit
"If your country is ever in the crosshairs of 'American interests' and bears the brunt of its sanctions, it is possible that you cannot install apps from your fellow citizens. Your own local government, bank, and store apps."
devsda, Hacker News
"Signal, VPNs -- they'll have a list of everyone opting out of government-mandated backdoors."
Max-P, Lemmy
"I want to deploy apps on my device. They are my apps, it's my device, and I should not be required to ask for permission to do so."
fsniper, Hacker News
"There's an entire genre of scamming where the scammers spend months building rapport with their victims before cashing out. One day is nothing."
free_bip (on the 24-hour wait defeating scammers), Hacker News
"Google seems to actively hate people who develop for their platforms."
hbn, Hacker News
"It's not cyclic. It's a ratchet and it gets tighter and tighter."
BenjaminRi, Lobsters
"All the banking and payment apps in India refuse to open if you have developer mode on."
nibbleyou (developer in India), Hacker News
"I buy a device with my own money, which I supposedly then own, but then I need to ask some corporation permission to use it."
askonomm, Hacker News
"I hate this so much. More and more I get the feeling I have no control over the devices I own. My fear is that Windows will eventually follow. For security reasons of course. It's the path we're on now."
cheesyvoetjes, Reddit
"I still remember how in the early days of Android vs iOS discussions, the main point was 'but it's OPEN!' The word 'open' was used as a comma by Google people. It was The Thing. The Difference. Good vs Evil and all that."
jwr, Hacker News
"Once deployed, there's a near 100% chance of such a mechanism being used for evil."
Zak, Lemmy
"Anyone else thinking this looks like a precursor to banning Signal and similar? 1) Put Google in control of what you can install. 2) Get Google to block it."
harry8, Hacker News
"Antitrust action is badly needed. It is ridiculous that I need permission from my device manufacturer to install software on hardware I own."
jim201, Hacker News
"Any time someone puts a lock on something that belongs to you, and won't give you a key, they're not doing it for your benefit."
vord (quoting Cory Doctorow), Tildes
"Modern life practically forces you to put all your eggs into a phone controlled by one of two profit-seeking companies."
koala, Lobsters
"If the likes of Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and others have their way, you will not own your computer; those companies will effectively own your computers."
RUs1729, Slashdot
"Give me liberty or give me Symbian."
masterofn001, Lemmy
"Twice I have had to deal with Google silently disabling my drone app to the point I had to buy an older phone to perform work. When I purchase a device that works with another device, under no circumstances should I be at the mercy of any updates they make."
cbrophoto (drone professional), Reddit
"We need to start treating phones differently. We're entering a world where we can't choose what we run on them. Their primary purpose is to gather data on us and serve us advertising, they're engineered for addiction, yet engaging in the world is immensely difficult without one."
specproc, Hacker News
"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."
Serinus, Lemmy
"Google wants the authority of a gatekeeper without the overhead of human accountability."
afferi300rina, Hacker News
"This is a war on users that want to keep control of their phones and when it's done, you will not be able to escape the enshittification."
ikidd, Lemmy
"For 'security' -- always security with these assholes. They're just building the walls of the walled garden higher."
lynxy, Tildes
"The fundamental problem is that we are relying on the good graces of Google to keep Android open, despite the fact that it often runs contrary to their goals as a $4T for-profit behemoth. The 'don't be evil' days are very far behind us."
paxys, Hacker News
"Google's plan to require developer verification would give Google and governments the ability to ban any app."
Zak, Hacker News
"Software gatekeeping is a threat to human rights. Just recently an app to track ICE was banned from the iOS app store even though this should clearly be protected first amendment speech."
gthing, Reddit
"Google now has a flag on my phone they can control remotely to keep me from accessing the apps I want."
vala, Lemmy
"Computing is infrastructure. Personal computers are a means of expressing agency. This is like banning people from moving furniture around their house without approval from mortgage lenders."
wervenyt, Tildes
"It took them 17 years to finally pull the cage all the way shut."
Apocryphon, Hacker News
"This isn't just a competition between app stores; it's a struggle for choice and dignity. Your phone shouldn't be a cage carefully constructed by others, but an extension of your own will."
renshijian, Hacker News
"Play store is full of scam apps, F-Droid isn't, but Play Store is considered secure. It's all theatre."
gcupc, Lobsters
"Requiring a government ID to distribute software. Holy shit. If you are a kid and want to create a game for your friends, you better get that birth certificate ready!"
llitz, Reddit
"The phrase 'sideload' is psychological propaganda we are all best off rejecting."
WaffleMonster, Slashdot
"Google has no right to be my parent. As long as I can't reject paternalism, I don't believe for a second this is done with the well-being of scam victims as the main priority."
gspr, Lobsters
"Some time in the future, we will look back to this era and ask ourselves what went wrong."
BenjaminRi, Lobsters
"Android was never actually open and now they are abandoning even the thin pretense."
Tiraon, Tildes
"If Android's sandbox and permission systems actually worked, then the mere act of installing an app from an arbitrary source would be as harmless as visiting an arbitrary website."
mwcampbell, Lobsters
"Whatever Google is doing kind of scares me. We have a big DIY community of diabetics in Germany running tools like AndroidAPS that cannot ever be distributed through official channels."
pimeys (Type 1 diabetic, DIY medical software), Lobsters
"After 15 years of professional development on Android I too am now thinking about switching my focus to something different. And it sucks."
MrDresden, Hacker News
"'Sideload' is like 'jaywalking'; seeks to stigmatize humans being human."
tejtm, Hacker News
"I teach digital literacy and 99% of unsavory software I encounter on people's phones come from the Play Store or App Store. I will believe they're serious about protecting users when I see them do something about the crap ton of borderline scam apps infesting their stores."
1995ToyotaCorolla, Lemmy
"My Pixel 6 just broke, and after 15 years of using Android, I've finally been convinced to move to iOS. If I must live in a walled garden, I suppose I'll choose the one with nicer flowers."
yonato, Hacker News
"You are essentially a child to them. The difference is society has decided not to step in to protect you from your abusive parents."
globular-toast, Hacker News
"Don't beg. Don't get in a position that freedoms depend on the whims of a corporation or willingness of a government to regulate them. Build."
jzb, Lobsters
"They're boiling the frog -- slowly removing features until all choice is gone."
hn92726819, Hacker News
"They have stolen a free product and are now actively locking out the people who built it."
TheTearMiser, Lemmy
Voci dalla petizione
"Preferisco Android perché è una sistema aperto e mi permette di utilizzare applicazioni sviluppate da migliaia di straordinari sviluppatori. Molte app che utilizzo per il mio lavoro, per il controllo del cellulare, per la gestione della produttività, per l'intrattenimento sono open source e installare tramite f-droid. Chiudere il sistema Android contraddice l'etica dell'azienda e limita gli utenti che credono nell'open source e nella pluralità dei servizi. "
Gerardo, change.org
"I wanna install anything I want "
Macintosh, change.org
"If Google decides to turn Android into a closed system I will just start using Apple instead. "
Luiz, change.org
""Android'in en büyük gücü her zaman açık olmasıydı: İstediğimiz uygulamayı sideload edip yükleyebilmek, bağımsız geliştiricilerin özgürce app yayınlayabilmesi, F-Droid gibi alternatif mağazalar... Google'ın 2026'daki zorunlu kimlik doğrulama + kayıt dayatmasıyla bu özgürlük bitiyor. Devlet kimliği vermek, ücret ödemek, her app'i Google'a bildirmek zorunda kalmak kabul edilemez! Bu, Android'i iOS gibi kapalı bir kutuya çevirmek demek. Bağımsız geliştiriciler, hobici coder'lar, gizlilik odaklı kullanıcılar hepsi zarar görecek. Lütfen Google geri adım atsın, Android'i açık tutalım! İmza veren herkese teşekkürler, sesimizi yükseltelim ✊ #KeepAndroidOpen" "
Özen Can, change.org
"I like freedom :) "
XNotToails143X, change.org
"I thik that Android should keep free, 'cause I've been using a Smartphone, specially Huawei, and I just could play videogames download the APK file If I'll use again Huawei I neee that "
PABLO, change.org
"Si hacen esto, será mejor cambiarnos a iPhone "
Alex, change.org
"I like owning what I pay for. "
Kullin, change.org
"I AGREE BECAUSE I JUST DOOOO!! "
Anthony, change.org
"i dont want google to become a monopoly "
gosha, change.org
"Se google chiuderà android come apple, non compreremo né io né la mia famiglia né i miei amici piu smartphone android in futuro "
Marco, change.org
"No le quiten su esencia a android!! "
Ivan, change.org
"Se mi bloccano gli apk sono fregato non posso più usare YouTube revanced e installare giochi craccati e diventerebbe come ios e poi per me se lo bloccano e la fine di android purtroppo😢 "
Antonio, change.org
"I bought the phone. I decide what I can install onto it. "
Evan, change.org
"Without sideloading I really don't know why I would stick with android/Google. "
Josiah, change.org
"My device is mine, not a pu lic service I access. "
Carter, change.org
"I like android. I don't wan "
Luke, change.org
"Da quasi due anni uso con soddisfazione GrapheneOS. È uno strumento valido, libero, sviluppato da volontari. /Mutatis mutandis/ è uno dei Linux dei cellulari. Supportate anche Voi questa petizione! "
Luca, change.org
"i just wanna play angry birds star wars 2 again... "
Gustavo, change.org
"I hate corporate greed "
Zach, change.org
"Google deve capire che gli sviluppatori non sono di sua proprietà!!! Fate sentire la vostra voce! "
Paolo, change.org
"I chose Android because it was open. I don’t want Google deciding what software I’m allowed to install on a device I paid for. "
Mohamad Khair, change.org
"I've only used android because I could install third party apps. "
Toby, change.org
"My device, my choice. Get lost Google. If I wanted a "walled garden", I could think of a better place to go. "
Zac, change.org
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