Your phone is about to stop being yours.
Starting in 2027*, 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.
↓What Google is doing
In August 2025, Google announced a new requirement: starting in 2027, 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. In 2027, 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:
- Delve into System Settings, find About Phone
- Tap the build number seven times to enable Developer Mode
- Dismiss scare screens about coercion
- Enter your PIN
- Restart the device
- Wait 24 hours
- Come back, dismiss more scare screens
- Pick "allow temporarily" (7 days) or "allow indefinitely"
- Confirm, 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?"
The security rationale is a smokescreen. Google Play Protect already scans for malware independent of developer identity. Requiring a government ID doesn't make code safer. It makes developers identifiable and controllable. Malware authors can register. Indie developers and dissidents often can't. The EFF is blunt: identity-based gatekeeping is a censorship tool, not a security one.
"...still sideloading if you use the advanced flow?"
Nine steps, 24-hour wait, buried in Developer Options, delivered through a proprietary service that Google can revoke whenever they want. That's not sideloading. That's a deterrence mechanism built to ensure almost nobody completes it. And since it runs through Play Services rather than the OS, Google can tighten or kill it silently.
"...only a problem if you have something to hide?"
Whistleblowers, journalists, and activists under authoritarian governments will be the first victims. People in domestic abuse situations are next. All these groups have legitimate reasons to distribute or use software without putting their legal identity in a Google database. Anonymous open-source contribution is a tradition older than Google itself. This policy ends it on Android.
"...the same thing Apple does?"
Apple has been a walled garden from day one. People chose Android because it was different. "Apple does it too" is a race to the bottom and a weak tu quoque argument. And under regulatory pressure (the EU's Digital Markets Act), even Apple is being forced to open up. Google is moving in the opposite direction: attempting to further entrench its gatekeeping status.
"...just $25 and some paperwork?"
Maybe, if you're a developer in the US with a credit card and a driver's license. Try being a student in sub-Saharan Africa, or a dissident in Myanmar, or a volunteer maintaining a community health app. The cost isn't only financial: you're surrendering government ID and evidence of your signing keys to a company that routinely complies with government demands to remove apps and expose developers.
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.
All those opposed…
71 organizations from 23 countries have signed the open letter
European Digital Rights (EDRi) edri.org
Data Rights datarights.ngo
The Center for Digital Progress (D64) d-64.org
Fundación Karisma karisma.org.co
FULU Foundation fulu.org
Technopolice Bruxelles technopolice.be
April april.org
CryptPad cryptpad.org
GitHub Store github-store.org
Rossmann Group rossmanngroup.com
Rocky Linux rockylinux.org
Associação Nacional para o Software Livre (ANSOL) ansol.org
GNOME Foundation gnome.org
Vivaldi Technologies AS vivaldi.com
Fedimedia fedimedia.it
UnifiedPush unifiedpush.org
F-Droid f-droid.org
Digitale Gesellschaft digitale-gesellschaft.ch
Software Liberty Association of Taiwan slat.org.tw
Forbrukerrådet forbrukerradet.no
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) eff.org
epicenter.works – for digital rights epicenter.works
Digital Rights Watch digitalrightswatch.org.au
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) fsf.org
FOSDEM fosdem.org
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) beuc.eu
/e/ Foundation e.foundation
Nextcloud nextcloud.com
GNU/Linux València gnulinuxvalencia.org
La Quadrature du Net laquadrature.net
The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) ccc.de
The Digital Rights Foundation digitalrightsfoundation.pk
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) fsfe.org
OpenMedia openmedia.org
ARTICLE 19 article19.org
Italian Linux Society ils.org
Cryptee crypt.ee
iodé iode.tech
Proton AG proton.me
Open Rights Group (ORG) openrightsgroup.org
Brave brave.com
FACiL facil.qc.ca
Techlore techlore.tech
MetaBrainz Foundation metabrainz.org
Software Freedom Conservancy sfconservancy.org
The Calyx Institute calyx.org
FUTO futo.org What they're saying
Tech press
"Sideloading on Android? Soon It'll Be Like a TSA Check for Apps"
Android Headlines
"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
"I've been an Android user for almost 15 years -- and Google's sideloading changes are pushing me back to iPhone"
Tom's Guide
"Google's Apple envy threatens to dismantle Android's open legacy"
Ars Technica
"Sideloading is dead for all intents and purposes. The Android you know and love is slowly disappearing."
Android Police
"Google kneecaps indie Android devs, forces them to register"
The Register
"Google plans to block side-loading like Apple, declaring war on Android freedom"
Tuta Blog
"We all know that's a load of bullshit. Adding a goddamn 24-hour waiting period is batshit insanity."
Thom Holwerda, OSnews
"Google's dev registration plan 'will end the F-Droid project'"
The Register
"Android, Epic, and What's Really Behind Google's 'Existential' Threat to F-Droid"
Slashdot
"Open-Source Android Apps Threatened by Google's New Policy"
Datamation
"Android app store provider Aptoide hits Google with fresh lawsuit alleging monopoly and anticompetitive chokehold"
Benzinga
"F-Droid says Google's new sideloading restrictions will kill the project"
Ars Technica
"F-Droid project threatened by Google's new dev registration rules"
Bleeping Computer
"I've been an Android user for almost 15 years -- and Google's sideloading changes are pushing me back to iPhone"
Tom's Guide
"Google Clamps down On Android's Openness"
Internet Freedom Foundation (India)
"Google will make you wait 24 hours to sideload Android apps"
How-To Geek
"Google's Android developer verification program draws pushback"
InfoWorld
"Google's new developer rules could threaten sideloading and F-Droid's future"
Gizmochina
"'Keep Android Open' Movement Challenges Google's Developer Verification Rule"
Open Source For U
"Google says it's making Android sideloading 'high-friction' to better warn users about potential risks"
XDA Developers
"Google's Attack on Sideloading Will Rob Android of One of Its Best Features"
How-To Geek
"Google's New Developer ID Rule Could Harm F-Droid"
Reclaim The Net
"This will wipe out Android as an actual alternative to Apple's mobile OS offerings."
Hackaday
"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
"Android's sideloading limits are its most anti-consumer move yet"
MakeUseOf
"Resistance to Google's Android verification grows among developers"
Techzine EU
"Open letter warns mandatory registration 'threatens innovation, competition, privacy and user freedom'"
Infosecurity Magazine
"Keep Android Open"
Linux Magazine
"Android Security or Vendor Lock-In? Google's New Sideloading Rules Smell Fishy"
It's FOSS News
"Google's Attack on Sideloading Will Rob Android of One of Its Best Features"
How-To Geek
"Open-Source Android Apps at Risk Under Google's New Decree"
TechRepublic
"F-Droid Says Google Is Lying About the Future of Sideloading on Android"
How-To Geek
"It effectively makes the Play Store a monopoly without actually mandating that it is a monopoly."
I-Programmer
"F-Droid Slams Google for Misleading Users About Android's App Verification"
Android Headlines
"Keep Android Open – Abwehr gegen Verbot anonymer Apps von Google"
heise online
"Google will require developer verification to install Android apps, including sideloading"
9to5Google
"Sideloading on Android? Soon It'll Be Like a TSA Check for Apps"
Android Headlines
"Google's developer registration 'decree' means the end for alternative app stores"
Cybernews
"F-Droid Says Google Is Lying About the Future of Sideloading on Android"
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
"Google's new ID requirements could destroy independent app stores"
TechSpot
"Google will require developer verification for Android apps outside the Play Store"
TechCrunch
"Google's New Developer Rules Threaten to End the F-Droid Open-Source App Store"
How-To Geek
Editorials & analysis
"Android does not just warn anymore. It enforces."
Youssef Mabrouk, Ostorlab
"This is a form of malicious compliance with the court orders stemming from its losses to Epic Games."
Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
"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
"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
"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
"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
"Google has not removed Android's openness, but it is turning openness from a default right into a conditional, attributable, and tiered capability."
MerchMindAI
"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
"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
"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
"Centralizing the registration of all applications worldwide gives Google newfound powers to completely disable any app it wants."
Mikhail Korotaev, Nextcloud Blog
"Android is no longer the scrappy rebel. It's just another empire tightening the drawbridge."
Newsfangled
"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 move is not credibly about 'security,' but actually about consolidating power and tightening control over a formerly open ecosystem."
Techdirt
"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
"One US corporation is placing itself between every Android developer and every Android user on earth."
PixelUnion
"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
"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
"Every additional bureaucratic hurdle reduces diversity in the software ecosystem and concentrates power in large established players."
Mikhail Korotaev, Nextcloud Blog
"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
"The requirement extends Google's gatekeeping authority from its own Play Store to every alternative distribution channel on Android."
LLM Advocates
"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
"Freedom of choice is being reframed as a 'security risk.'"
Newsfangled
"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
"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
"This is not a developer account sign-up. This is comprehensive surveillance of the software development ecosystem."
PixelUnion
"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
"This could turn Google into the effective gatekeeper for all apps on certified Android devices."
It's FOSS News
"Android wasn't supposed to be 'safe.' It was supposed to be free."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"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
"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
"What student is going to upload their passport to a trillion-dollar surveillance corporation just to share their weekend project?"
fireborn, mataroa.blog
Organizations & open letters
"Ultimately, Google's plan will stop you from owning your Android phone."
Tuta
"Android's biggest strength has always been its openness. That's what attracted developers and users in the first place."
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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"We unequivocally advise against signing up for this program, now or ever."
F-Droid Open Letter
"Nearly 50 organizations published an open letter opposing what they characterize as a 'kill switch for the open ecosystem.'"
Tech-ish Kenya
"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
"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
"Forcing software creators into a centralized registration scheme is as egregious as forcing writers and artists to register with a central authority."
F-Droid
"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
"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
"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
"Google is turning Android into a walled garden monopoly. We must prevent it."
Osservatorio Nessuno
"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
"Google Play itself has repeatedly hosted malware, proving that corporate gatekeeping doesn't guarantee user protection."
F-Droid
"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
"Remember: It's your phone, your data, your freedom. Don't let Google take it away."
Tuta
"Verification just confirms who's behind the app, it doesn't guarantee clean code or rule out malicious behavior."
AdGuard
"We are running out of time until Google becomes the gate-keeper of all users devices."
F-Droid
"Independent software distribution on Android will now require Google's explicit permission."
AdGuard
"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
"Your Smartphone, Their Rules: How App Stores Enable Corporate-Government Censorship."
ACLU
"Unilaterally consolidating power to approve software into the hands of a single unaccountable corporation is a threat to digital sovereignty everywhere."
Nextcloud
"Centralised, intransparent security architectures certainly help secure monetization and the market by locking out competitors."
Nextcloud
"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
"While Android used to be praised for its freedom and independence, it will become a closed shop just like Apple."
Tuta
YouTubers & creators
"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
"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
"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
"That's not openness. That is control."
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
"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
"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
"When you download applications, you've simply installed an application. I don't want to use words like 'sideload.'"
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – 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
"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 removing the one key advantage Android has over iOS."
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – 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
"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
"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
"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 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
"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
"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 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
"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
"Developers of privacy-focused tools and emulators will have to dox themselves, making them vulnerable to government agencies or legal action."
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
"If I'm going to be trapped in a walled garden anyway, I'll take the one that's built properly."
fireborn – Blog
Developers & community
"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
"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
"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
"'Sideload' is like 'jaywalking'; seeks to stigmatize humans being human."
tejtm, 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
"Brazil government app refuses to operate with developer mode on."
flykespice (developer in Brazil), 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
"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
"They have stolen a free product and are now actively locking out the people who built it."
TheTearMiser, Lemmy
"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
"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
"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
"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
"Signal, VPNs -- they'll have a list of everyone opting out of government-mandated backdoors."
Max-P, 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
"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
"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
"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
"You have no right telling me what I can and cannot run on my own devices."
MrZander, 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
"The war on General Purpose Computing is the death of innovation and a direct attack on digital freedom."
layfellow, Hacker News
"The open Android I knew and loved is long gone."
girvo, Hacker News
"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
"Google now has a flag on my phone they can control remotely to keep me from accessing the apps I want."
vala, Lemmy
"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
"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
"Social engineering is destroyed with education, not with restriction and control. Trading freedom for safety eliminates both."
survirtual, 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
"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
"Modern life practically forces you to put all your eggs into a phone controlled by one of two profit-seeking companies."
koala, Lobsters
"The phrase 'sideload' is psychological propaganda we are all best off rejecting."
WaffleMonster, Slashdot
"It took them 17 years to finally pull the cage all the way shut."
Apocryphon, Hacker News
"For 'security' -- always security with these assholes. They're just building the walls of the walled garden higher."
lynxy, Tildes
"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
"Some time in the future, we will look back to this era and ask ourselves what went wrong."
BenjaminRi, Lobsters
"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
"Android is for everyone, provided they submit to Google exclusively."
gumby271, 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
"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
"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
"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
"They're boiling the frog -- slowly removing features until all choice is gone."
hn92726819, Hacker News
"Google wants the authority of a gatekeeper without the overhead of human accountability."
afferi300rina, Hacker News
"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
"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
"Once deployed, there's a near 100% chance of such a mechanism being used for evil."
Zak, Lemmy
"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
"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
"Google's plan to require developer verification would give Google and governments the ability to ban any app."
Zak, Hacker News
"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
"Android was never actually open and now they are abandoning even the thin pretense."
Tiraon, Tildes
"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
"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
"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
"We are talking about something categorically worse than vendor lock-in: Collective vendor lock-in."
anordal, Lobsters
"Give me liberty or give me Symbian."
masterofn001, Lemmy
"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
"All the banking and payment apps in India refuse to open if you have developer mode on."
nibbleyou (developer in India), Hacker News
Voices from the petition
"That cannot be allowed, it even attacks the freedom of all users who use Android, for years that has always been the case, therefore, making that change, It would result in a catastrophic situation for many users, including Google itself, with many losses in every sense. "
Javier, change.org
"I never liked Apple's highly restrictive service for their app and mobile OS. I chose Android because of the freedom of customizability and choice, and ease of access. Do not make Android a wasteland, Google. People who use andriod value privacy and security, while also easily being able to make it better without worrying about who has what information about them. Please, think about the consequences for once. "
Maygen, change.org
"It really seems like part of a conspiracy to turn the entire digital world into a tool for psychological and mass control. Let's raise our voices together against this immense idiocy, most likely promoted primarily by governments and not directly by Google. 👁️📐👌⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐❤️ "
Alessio, change.org
"The tight to sideload software is a central feature that sets Android apart from iphone. Without it you can expect Android marketers to drop as users like me shift to Linux phones and Android alternatives. "
Richard, change.org
"If this update is released, I will switch to iPhone. "
Miguel, change.org
"What happened to not being evil? "
Scott, change.org
"Google’s decision to end sideloading isn’t about user safety, it’s about control. By banning the ability to install apps outside the Play Store, Google isn’t protecting us it’s protecting its profits. Sideloading is what keeps Android open. It’s what allows small, independent developers to create and share apps without paying Google’s gatekeeping fees or begging for corporate approval. It’s what lets users, creators, and innovators build their own digital spaces, free from monopolized ecosystems. Ending sideloading means the end of true user choice. It hands Google even more power over what software we can access, what tools we can use, and ultimately what voices can reach us. This move strengthens surveillance capitalism, deepens corporate monopolies, and pushes us closer to a future where our devices — and our data — belong to corporations, not people. This is about more than Android. It’s about who controls our technology, our privacy, and our freedom online. We cannot allow one of the wealthiest corporations in history to dictate how billions interact with their own devices under the guise of “security.” Sign this petition to demand that Google stop its plan to remove sideloading in 2026. Defend open-source values, user rights, and digital democracy. The internet should serve people, not profit. Together, we can stand up for an open Android and a free digital future for everyone. "
Cole, change.org
"Google, don't be evil. "
Eric, change.org
"Freedom to download and install whatever you want is one of the main reasons people choose AndroidOS over apple products. With how Apple has made steps towards more sustainable hardware, it is getting less and less justifiable to continue using google products. "
Antonio, change.org
"Android is the mobile embodiment of freedom. Central registration with any organization is the absolute end to that freedom. This must be stopped. "
Elvira, change.org
"Drastically changing what I can do with MY devices years after the original purchase is peak anti-consumer behavior. This action should be illegal. Can you imagine if your car manufacturer said you can only use Shell gas to fill up years after you purchased it. Same energy here. Let's STOP THE GOOGLEOPOLY. "
Ayiana, change.org
"Android shines in giving the user freedom to use their devices however they choose to. If Google closes down on this freedom, in my use case as a power user I will be unable to install apps any except from the play store which is a platform that is littered with bad app that are useless and sometimes they cost money making it unnecessarily difficult for Indy devs working on apps whether it for job or weekend project. However if Google clean up the play store they could implement a feature to ask the user at device setup and changeable in settings to manage how strict or lax they what the security to be, or just help support the graphene os project to have a secure android operating system and fix play integrity for Google pay, tap to pay to work. "
Cristian, change.org
"it's crazy that they're doing this . It was the only reason i chose "google" android in the 1st place, because of it's semi open nature "
jamie, change.org
"No kings, not even Google. We the people are largely on android instead of IOS because of its open ecosystem. Killing that kills one of your major reasons for existing. Continue and your can bid farewell to massive chunks of users when the decision of what new phone to choose comes around. "
Patrick, change.org
"If it were only Google Pixel devices with such a restriction I would have been somewhat okay. However, going after any official Android device just shows Google's attitude towards the community as well as the monopoly it has over an OS that many people outside of Google have contributed to. Imagine if starting tomorrow the Linux Foundation puts such a restriction on any hardware running Linux? "
Aleksandar, change.org
"Big G is destroying Android and controlling the narrative. They want to determine everything you see, think, and can communicate. This is completely against the core freedoms that are constantly under attack. Keeping them from this destructive activity is the only thing that can keep millions of people - at least - alive around the world. Being able to load apps from where ever I want allows myself to even function and communicate. "
Jeremie, change.org
"I do not support Google moving android in a totalitarian direction where freedom is removed and central authority is enforced. Keep Android Free! "
Phillip, change.org
"Oh great and wise corporate overlords, I come to you a mere peon, a cog in your profit machine, to implore you to keep Android open to small or niche developers. If you implement the proposed changes you will have turned a thriving app ecosphere into nothing more than a reskinned iOS. Your commitment to Open Source and the availability of Android-.apk-but-not-via-Google are on the line here. Many of the most compelling use cases for my Android device would cease to exist under the proposed regime. If that happens I might as well switch to iOS devices, at least they are pretty. "
Michael, change.org
"Jesus christ google you want to drive away your entire customer base? You realize that the only reason we don't buy iphones is because they don't give us this freedom that Android does. I know you think no one can touch your multi billion dollar empire but know that you have that data because of us. The customers. NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS, NO ONE WANTS THIS. First you "detected root" then you "implemented safety net" then you implemented "play integrity and certification" just pushing and pushing and pushing developers to bow down to you. And now this? No. You aren't staying on top forever. Think very carefully if this is the road you want to tread because we will all leave. And it won't be just Android. Alternative search engines exist. Alternative emails exist. Alternative cloud storage exists. We don't have to bow down to Google. If you do this, it's over. "
Genalio, change.org
"one of the best advantages of Android over iOS "
Anderson, change.org
"SCREW GOOGLE FOR DOING THIS! F-Droid and other 3rf party app stores ARE IMPORTANT and losing them means Google wins and everyone else LOSES. Help support these platforms in any way you can peeps!!! "
Jack, change.org
"My phone, my apps Let me do what I want or else an iPhone will be my phone "
Aaron, change.org
"Android giving users choice has been the staple point of android OS. Removing choices like sideloading apps is not the correct move instead Google should be helping ways to improve Android and allow developers to make it better. "
Ava, change.org
"I bought a andropd because I wanted to have a free open and custom misable experience and now Google is taking that away from us I would rather pay for an iPhone no considering the fact to Google is doing this "
Carter, change.org
"I use Android because I believe in its policy on freedom of software. If Google is able to take that away, it puts immense power in the hands of 2 giant companies (Apple and Google) as the sole arbiters of what software billions of people are and aren't allowed to use. That scares me, and it should scare you too. "
Nate, change.org
"We need to stop the "APPLE-FICATION" of our beloved ANDROID. We have supported Android & Google since it's beautiful inception, to stick it to EVIL BIG CORPS. LIKE APPLE. The act of PREVENTING us from installing APK's or other OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE, is a direct BETRAYAL of us LOYAL USERS of the ANDROID OS. A YUUGE SLAP in the face with 20+ years worth of power behind it. This act maybe not be coming until 2027.... Regardless, this will affect lots of Devs., Users, and others in the ecosystem that prefer to not use the "Play Store" to obtain their apps, and don't Agree with the way that Apple treats it's customers & doesn't want Android to become a company that continually oversteps it's boundaries, & HAS PUT PROFIT OVER PEOPLE SINCE IT'S INCEPTION. ANDROID started as the O.S. of the people, made by an Alliance of Companies, that know how to treat their customers and constantly listened to Android Users, in regards to features and other things that were requested after every update. This is how we have Arrived @ the current version. After countless features added, bug fixes and years of us buying devices with Androids O.S. '27 might be the last year that MILLIONS OF LOYAL ANDROID users turn their backs on the operating system & move on to other Operating Systems that don't want to treat us like children under the guise of "SAFETY".... PLS MAKE SURE TO SHARE THIS WITH EVERYONE YOU KNOW AND ASK THEM TO SHARE AS WELL! OUR LITERAL DIGITAL FREEDOM & PREVENTING ANDROID FROM BECOMING EVERYTHING THEY WERE AGAINST IN THE BEGINNING IS IN OUR HANDS. WILL THIS PETITION WORK? WHO KNOWS. THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE THEIR MINDS ON RECLAIMING ALL THE LOST REVENUE FROM FREE APPS, ALT OPERATING SYSTEMS, AND CRACKED APPS/GAMES. Apple has prevented cracked App from the start, that led many ppl to switch to Android after they started bricking JAIL BROKEN iPhones. This might happen with Android as well, nobody wants a bricked Android just because we don't agree with paying between $3 &$9, in order to not get AD's every time that you start a new level on a game, every 3 minutes, every time you open the app, or being restricted from certain functions that only work with the "FULL" Version of the App. PLS ANDROID DON'T TURN INTO APPLE. Remember the motto that you based your whole system on "DON'T BE EVIL"... Leave that to Apple and their sheep users that allow themselves to be controlled by an evil corp. "
Brian, change.org
"You okay Google? Isolation is never the answer. Hope you feel better soon! "
Robert, change.org
"We will not be pushed around. Resend the restrictions and let people use their property as they see fit. "
Daniel, change.org
"Technology should forever remain in a position to assist and enrich the lives of everyone, not to control, limit, or profit from the average person who was PAID to own a product, and simply wishes to make their life easier. "
Evan, change.org
"You know, I'm pretty much the only person in my immediate friend group that doesn't have an iPhone. If android turns into just another version of iOS then what's stopping me from just going ahead and getting the iPhone to be in their ecosystem? Nothing. Wouldnt it be easier for me to just be the same as them if there's nothing better about android? "
Danielle, change.org
"This change would effectively prevent any normal user from escaping the constant for profit schemes you'll find on the play store. Kids deserve games that don't try to coerce money out of them "
Jody, change.org
"This angers me a lot. The things that I would say would only be suppressed, and I do not mean profanity. "
John, change.org
"Let's go! Google can be based if we all pray together. "
james, change.org
"Google's claim is that this is for trust and security, but this is a move to gain profit from and power over its users, nothing more and most certainly nothing less. I am not willing to give Google the decision as to what kind of app or what kind of information is and is not allowed to exist on *my* personal device, and I do not want to live in a world where tens if not hundreds of millions have their entire worldview curated by Google. Remember when your motto was, "Don't be evil"? Try going back to that philosophy. "
Sean, change.org
"Everything about this software/app lock out is beyond wrong. So is age verification. It is all beyond dystopian. George Orwell is spinning in his grave. My wife works in a major hospital and that hospital is already in a major panic because they have internal apps that can not be put out to apps stores for major security reasons. They have no idea what they are going to do when these apps stop working and can not be installed, used or updated because of these dystopian lockouts (i.e. blocking non app stores' apps from being installed; not to mention the major security risks of age verification). The app monitors many vital operations and medical equipment across three major medical facilities in the same hospital network; among branch facilities. It alerts staff and is used for many areas of communications in the hospital network. If this app can no longer be integrated into the hospital's operations network, the entirety of the hospital's facilities shuts down. I'm sure that if the hospital at which my wife works uses internal apps, then there are many other medical facilities that do also. A neighbor that I check on daily uses an app for necessary medical reasons. This app is not and will never be in any app store. Her doctors and the company that makes the device for thousands of people are in a panic. They can't just put this control/monitoring app out there. They would have to redesign the device's entire system and it could take several years. Plus, there are the major security risks. A friend has advanced diabetes and has a monitoring device stuck in his arm. The monitoring/alert app comes from the device manufacturer and not any app store. I also use medical apps that are not in any app store. I am also diabetic (not as badly as my friend) and disabled. There are several other people in my area that depend on medical apps that are not in any app store and are ONLY provided through a medical facility or medical device manufacturer. These companies do not put these apps out to these app stores for anyone to get their hands on for security reasons. If someone malicious got their hands on these medical device control apps, tampered with it, and re-uploaded it for patients to then obtain, thousands of patients could die. What am I and all these people that depend on proprietary and device specific medical apps across the country going to do when our apps/devices can't be installed or updated and just stop working? These dystopian app lock outs and the risks of age verification will put millions of peoples lives on the line and will have biblical level consequences. This all needs to stop immediately! "
John, change.org
"Google you aren't trying to protect the kids you are not trying to protect your users you are trying to control them and do only what you want closing android will kill it especially in the United States if android is closed there is no reason to have an android no freedom no enjoyment just an iPhone lite "
Garrett, change.org
"Not allowing users to install the applications of their choosing on their own device and forcing developers to verify themselves with Google, even if they exclusively want to make their applications available on alterntive app stores is outrageous and completely unacceptable. "
Brandon, change.org
"Compared to iOS, Android always felt less restrictive and easier to work with, both as a user and developer. Now, Google would like to take that competitive niche and throw it in the dumpster. This benefits no users or developers. It is blatantly greedy, controlling, and nonsensical. It adds more red tape for developers, higher potential for censorship at the whim of Google, and it will turn Android into another iOS. Android users chose not to go with iOS when they bought their devices, for several reasons. For me personally, I liked that Android allowed certain kinds of apps that Apple did not allow on iOS. If Android didn't have that advantage, I would've picked iOS. It's a bad move for Google's business, it's a bad move for developers, and it's a bad move for consumers. Terrible idea all around. "
Bill, change.org
"Google’s success with Android has always been built on the foundation of an open ecosystem. I am signing this petition to urge Google to preserve the right to sideload applications and install APKs. Restricting this functionality would significantly limit user autonomy, stifle innovation from independent developers, and consolidate control in a way that goes against the spirit of the platform. Android should remain a tool that gives power to its users, not one that restricts their ability to choose where their software comes from. Please keep Android open "
Pablo, change.org
"If I want to be restricted in where I get my apps from, which ones to install and my phone to look each year the same, I buy a device with an apple on it (never did). It should be your choice which apps you want to install and where to obtain them from - not the device vendors or OS manufacturers. Keep android open! "
Andreas, change.org
"I bought my Android devices so I could have the freedom to use it as I wish. Google's change goes against every reason I bought my Android devices to use. Keep Android open. Otherwise, what's the point? It feels like I have wasted my time and money now. "
Madison, change.org
"I use sideloaded android apps all the time! They are very useful to have. Android removing this feature will be detrimental to me and many other android users. "
Ian, change.org
"I have been an android user ever since I got my first smartphone over a decade ago. The only reason I still rock an android phone is the ability to customize my phone to my liking and being able to install whatever I want on the machine that I purchased with my money. Taking away the only feature that separates android from iOS is a terrible decision. This will definitely make a good chunk of your fanbase move over to iOS, including myself. "
Luis, change.org
"Google, pls keep the sideloading and freedom of anyone installing or developing apps and others choosing to use them open. It is a breach of trust by making the ecosystem closed. People will hate google, no doubt I have started feeling so too with your move / proposed move. "
Gaspi, change.org
"Boa noticia "
Kleberson, change.org
"Sideloading is what keeps Android as a different thing compared to iOS. Taking that away is like making it the same. Worst, decision, ever. "
Marcos Eloy, change.org
"I should be able to use any app I want on my phone "
Alejandro, change.org
"Stop this madness !! Don’t you have better things to do like stop governments looking at the peoples emails, pictures etc. It’s ridiculous you are tracking and legally hacker everyone’s as it is. Do the right thing and stop trying to track and sell everyone’s Data. You have enough money and data. LEAVE APK AND DEVELOPERS ALO E. "
Brian, change.org
"Yoo wtf? Cant live like dat "
Abs, change.org
"If you, as an Android user are happy using Android but dont understand what this is about, go out and buy an iPhone. Then you'll understand. "
ROBERT, change.org
"We have the right to use our phones as we like. DON'T BREAK OUR FREEDOM "
Ferdari, change.org
"I find this measure deeply concerning. When I choose to buy an phone, it is with the expectation of having control over how I use it. A company should not decide how I use my devices. "
Abdoul, change.org
"There should be a clear flow for users to install any software they want. And there needs to be a strict policy in place so that google wont just make change in future to reverse there actions "
Amrinder, change.org
"The reason I don't like the IPhone ecosystem is because of how restricted it is, inwas able to support games or authors who don't publish on Google playstore due to what country they live "
Hairon, change.org
"We should not be forced into using Google products. Our society doesn't function without choice and competition "
erik, change.org
"APKs have been very useful to me for getting games I would otherwise have to get overseas with my dad earlier. It allows many more other applications to be downloaded on to my phone too, which would allow me to bypass the need to get the admin code to my computer every time I want to get something. What is this bs that Google is doing? "
Ja, change.org
"Either way this is going to lead to a massive lawsuit My phone is my device Google doesn't own it nor does it have the power to tell me what I can and can't install on the device that I own Google believes that it rules the world it's censorship completely destroyed YouTube now they plan to destroy Android in the same way but $1,000 says by this time next year Google will cave to the demands of the people "
Isaiah, change.org
"Google, this is NOT acceptable. You are NOT the gatekeepers of development. You ARE BEING EVIL. "
David, change.org
"Android is the best platform for testing and developing applications. It would be a shame if such an absurd decision caused many users to abandon the operating system and migrate to another. Google, please reconsider this decision. "
Angel Uriel, change.org
"Removing the ability to side-load apps is an egregious deviation from what made Android better. Android should remain free and open, the experience should not be lobotomized into what ends up being just a "cheaper iPhone". "
Luke, change.org
"I have been using Android since the HTC G1, and I've never been so disappointed with the whole thing as I am now. I recognise that Google is doing it's best to keep malware and malicious software out of its app store, but for people who are capable of installing F-Droid, NeoStore or one of the other alternative stores, this is a disaster. Many applications I use are only available here, and with this plan from Google, I'll be unable to access tools, applications and services I use on a daily basis. "
Jon, change.org
"Google,please don't do that. Because if you do that, millions and millions of Android users will switch to iOS, because that's the point of Android even exists! *I* switched to Android because I did not like iOS So please... Give us the freedom we want! "
Eduardo, change.org
"Well google showed their true colours. Time to start migrating all my accounts away from them. What a joke. "
Jordan, change.org
"Google, this would absolutely destroy android. Seriously, one of the only reasons people get Androids over iPhones (aside from them being cheaper) is that they can sideboard apps from the factory. Limiting that would be a huge blow to the Android market. "
Christopher, change.org
"Please, google, no change you words, no comeback with them, we of android ecosystem need a system open. "
Matheus, change.org
"Keep android open to all developers. If this goes into effect I'm done with offial android. I don't care what devices I have to use moving forward but it will not be android devices. "
david, change.org
"I prefer Andriod because of the freedom to install applications from web and altrenative stores other than Play Store. I've lots of apps that I use on daily basis which were downloaded from F-driod and web. Side loading applications is what makes Andriod better than iOS. Don't take away feature that which makes Andriod Cool and Amazing. "
Zupher, change.org
"I buy android to be able to customize my phone as I please. If you do this you lose a loyal customer of over 20 years. "
Jamell, change.org
"Digital freedom matters! "
Koda, change.org
"I am concerned for my privacy with this change. I chose Android under the impression that I can customize my device in ways that can help me protect my online privacy. That's something that can't be said for Apple. The decision to change Android to a closed system is going to hurt people like me who care about online privacy. Google, You're not helping your customer base by doing this. Only making them more likely to switch to iphones or flip phones. This is not the Android I've always known, It's another platform falling into the proprietary capitalism that a significant amount of the android customer base has been trying to steer away from since the early days of smartphones. "
Patience, change.org
"Hey Google, remember what you said? "Be together, not the same." "
Christopher, change.org
"We don’t want Android to be the next IOS —— the well known Anti-GNU softwares. Protection is a cover, Operation of False Flag should not and would not be able to succeed. "
Danny, change.org
"Having the ability to own your phone and use it as you wish is the ONLY reason I have used Android over Iphone for years "
Matthew, change.org
"This will effectively remove the android edge over apple. Modifying my phone is the main reason I choose not just android but GOOGLE PIXEL phone and accessories. Literally a huge market mistake. Signed by android consumer and advocate... "
Michael, change.org
"Show us a reason to use Android over iOS. It is this bit of freedom that makes us choose Android. Without it, we might as well save up for Apple products, which are solid, but less choice. It is the choice that makes Android worth looking at. "
J, change.org
"You will bury yourselves. "
William, change.org
"Google taking this next step seriously shows to me as a person that they only care truly about money, and do not value their community. I know we were never to expect more from this company, but it is an offense to try and censor what we're allowed to do on our own phones. I do not own a Google phone, I own an android phone, and I was proud to say that, but not anymore. Half the apps on the Play Store are junky, and ad-filled apps that are competing, and suck. If you have ever searched for piano tiles or voice recorder you know what I mean. F-droid, Zapstore, Github store - They are all REAL stores, and I feel safer on them realistically. This decision is not improving the life of consumers for safety, or for developers that wish to remain anonymous. I remember when Google was a liked company (at least for their products), but now it feels like all everyone is trying to do is dodge their bullets. Google, enough. "
A, change.org
"Google is making Android more similar to iOS, and we cannot remain passive. We need to unite and resist Google's monopoly control. "
Jerry, change.org
"The last thing differentiating Android from iOS was the freedom to be different, to be a power user, to truly own the very device you hold in your hand. Taking that away not only strips Android of its identity, it makes it just like iOS: locked down, useless, and incapable of serving the user. If you want to protect people, teach them how to protect themselves, don't be a helicopter parent to someone else's child. "
Evan, change.org
"This is another blasphemous attempt from Google to assert itself as a complete monopoly and their reasoning to protect users is just a mask for generating massive revenue. Being "open" coupled with the "freedom of choice" are the underlying factors for why Android dominates the market share. Crushing both these fundamental reasons to be a dictator is pure insanity. Developers shouldn't comply and users should stop buying Google infected Android devices. Thankfully, there's other options so no need to convert to iPhone. "
James, change.org
"this is so dumb, and it makes the whole reason i got an android pointless. i might as well go back to ios but ill probably give pinephone a shot "
Spencer, change.org
"Google's attempt to prevent outside app installation on Android is very concerning. Only allowing approved developers will make it so developers will feel less inclined to make new apps. Additionally, this should raise antitrust laws into full affect as there ownership over android and attempted control over the whole market of phones that use the android ecosystem is very wrong. "
Joey, change.org
"Keep android free. "
Jansen, change.org
"These proposed restrictions by Google are a threat to personal digital autonomy and to app development. "
Daniel, change.org
"Google can't do whatever it wants with Android. I paid for Android precisely for the freedom. If I wanted to stay in a closed system, I would have bought an iPhone. '-' "
Sandro, change.org
"The only reason I have a Samsung is because my VTuber software is an open-source APK, and I doubt Google will approve it then the restriction happens. "
Jesse, change.org
"It starts with this. "
Jenna, change.org
"One of the main reasons I use Android is the ability to sideload applications—downloading APKs from trusted third-party developers. Now Google wants to limit that? Please don’t leave Android alone and don't take away the freedom it was built on. "
Suyaib, change.org
"I have been using Android since I was a wee little lad and for the simple fact that it was mine and I had control over what and who I allowed on my devices. Using the iPoor (iPhones) always had the intrinsic "we at Apple know what's best for you" type of user experience and never got behind it. This cannot pass in in any country. "
Moe, change.org
"I just spent $2000 on Samsung devices to break out of the Apple ecosystem because I'm tired of being locked down, and then I hear about this. Incredibly disappointing, I guess if they go through with this then I'll head back to iPhone after this, since nothing will set Android apart anymore. "
Kat, change.org
"I am an android user, for personal usage and Emulation purposes. I would like to still install from who I want if I want or need the apps. Android was always about customization. doing this strips users of that because i'm pretty sure there are apps out there for this purpose. "
Andy, change.org
"Users don't deserve the Google jail cell to shrink and encroach "
Ben, change.org
"The level of control Google is attempting to exert over developers and users is unreal. If I download an app from a source that isn't the play store, I shouldn't need Google's approval. I will seek alternate operating systems from the Android and iOS duopoly if this goes through. "
Alice, change.org
"This ridiculous, anti consumer move from google is going to make me completely stop using their products. it will essentially make android the same as ios, and i specifically bought android phones to have more freedom. i might as well get an iphone now. "
Lewis, change.org
"Please don't let Google screw us over with this now! I hope we win and they don't do this! "
Saul, change.org
"The only reason that I chose to switch to android and off of apple was due to the abillity to sideload apps. Without this feature, I will probably be switching back to apple because of its ecosystem. "
David, change.org
"One of the only reasons I use Android today is because of the openness of the operating system. Without it there is no reason why I would pick an Android phone over an iPhone. Most of the apps I use are not found on the playstore because I like to tinker a lot. I also like to make small applications for myself, my co-workers, and friends. Requiring a fee would completely shut down my ability to create niche apps that I already wouldn't be profiting on. "
LANDON, change.org
"Freedom of expression and choice, without filtering. "
Ralph, change.org
"I've used both an apple and an android, the differences between them are like night and day, one has made it almost impossible to have free applications unless your willing to deal with a bombardment of ads, it also made it near impossible to have true safety, privacy, and freedom . Safety) there are applications that are aiding in the fight against tyrannical countries by making you decide what apps should be acceptable in which country you are harming people. Privacy) There wont be any anonymity with Developers, who now have to pay to make something for others, this doesn't encourage charity and generosity, it only fuels greed Freedom) There wont be a single application no matter how 'offline' the features are that wont be paid or ad-bloated, I don't get to choose any app and deal with the consequences, of those choices. in the words of Ben Franklin "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" "
jack, change.org
"Tudo e todos vamossss "
Renato, change.org