Ваш телефон скоро перестанет быть вашим.
Начиная с 2027* года, тихое обновление от Google будет блокировать каждое Android-приложение, разработчик которого не зарегистрировался в Google, не подписал их контракт, не заплатил, не идентифицировал себя через государственное удостоверение личности.
Каждое приложение и каждое устройство, по всему миру, без возможности отказаться.
↓Что делает Google
В августе 2025 года, Google анонсировал новое требование: начиная с 2027 года, каждый разработчик Android-приложений будет должен зарегистрироваться в Google перед тем, как их ПО будет доступно для установки на любое устройство. Не только приложения из Play Store: все приложения. Это также имеет в виду приложения, которыми делятся среди друзей и которые распространяются через F-Droid, созданные любителями для личного использования. Независимые разработчики, церковные и общественные группы, или просто любители - все они больше не смогут разрабатывать и распространять свое программное обеспечение.
Для регистрации нужно:
- Заплатить комиссию Google
- Согласиться с условиями Google
- Пройти верификацию документом, удостоверяющим личность
- Доказать владение приватным ключом подписи
- Предоставить все текущие и будущие идентификаторы приложений
Если разработчики не соблюдают правила, их приложения будут заблокированы на каждом Android-устройстве по всему миру.
На кого это влияет
На Вас
Вы купили Android-смартфон, потому что Google рассказали вам, что это открытая операционная система. Вы могли устанавливать что хотите, и это было договоренностью.
Google изменяют эту договоренность, на железе, которым вы уже владеете. После того, как обновление установится, вы сможете запускать только те приложения, которые Google предварительно проверили. На вашем смартфоне: ваше имущество, за которые вы заплатили.
На независимых разработчиков
Первое приложение подростка, инструмент обеспечения приватности от волонтеров, или внутренние конфиденциальные бета-версии приложений компаний. Это не имеет значения. В 2027 году ничего из этого не может быть установлено без одобрения Google.
F-Droid, дом для тысяч бесплатных Android-приложений с открытым исходным кодом, назвал это экзистенциальной угрозой. Кори Доктороу называет это "Darth Android".
На правительства и гражданские общества
У Google есть задокументированный опыт удаления приложений по требованию авторитарных режимов. С этой программой ПО, на котором работают государственные институты вашей страны, будет полностью зависеть от воли одной неподотчётной иностранной компании.
EFF называет контроль доступа к приложениям "бесконечно расширяющимся" путем к цензуре интернета.
"Запасной люк" от Google - это ловушка
Google говорит, что продвинутые пользователи смогут устанавливать неподтвержденные приложения. Вот как это выглядит на самом деле:
- Откройте Системные Настройки, найдите Настройки Разработчика
- Нажмите на номер сборки семь раз, чтобы включить Режим Разработчика
- Пропустите устрашающие предупреждения
- Введите PIN-код
- Перезагрузите устройство
- Подождите 24 часа
- Вернитесь и пропустите еще больше устрашающих предупреждений
- Выберите: "разрешить временно" (7 дней) или "разрешить бессрочно"
- Подтвердите еще раз, что вы осознаете все "риски"
9 шагов. Обязательный 24-часовой период ожидания. Для установки приложения на устройство, которым Вы владеете
Хуже: этот процесс происходит полностью через сервисы Google Play, а не Android. Google могут изменять, затягивать или полностью убить его в любое время, без обновления системы и согласия.
Это - больше, чем Android
Если Google задним числом начнет ограничивать миллиарды устройств, которые были проданы как свободные платформы, каждый производитель оборудования будет наблюдать за этим.
Установленный принцип: производитель вашего устройства может решать, какие приложения вам разрешено запускать, после того как вы купили устройство. В сфере разработки ПО это называется "rug pull"; но по крайней мере вы всегда могли устанавливать конкурирующие приложения. В сфере железа, это fait accompli который лишает вас выбора и делает вас бессильными перед желаниями единственного неподотчетного и осужденного монополиста, контролирующего доступ к приложениям.
Открытость Android никогда не была просто особенностью. Это было обещание, которое отличало его от iPhone. Миллионы людей выбрали Android именно по этой причине. Теперь Google отзывает это обещание...
Ars Technica: "Зависть Google к Apple угрожает разрушением наследия открытости Android."
Но подождите, разве это не...
"...о безопасности?"
Основание безопасности - это просто попытка скрыть правду. Google Play Protect уже сканирует вирусы независимо от разработчика. Требование паспорта не делает код безопаснее. Это делает разработчиков идентифицируемыми и контролируемыми. Авторы вирусов тоже могут зарегистрироваться. Инди разработчики или диссиденты - часто не могут. EFF говорит прямо - контроль доступа по личности это инструмент контроля, а не безопасности.
"...все еще доступен sideloading если вы продвинутый пользователь?"
Девять шагов, 24-часовое ожидание, закопанное в настройках разработчика, предоставленное через проприетарный сервис, который Google может отключить когда они хотят. Это не sideloading. Это механизм сдерживания, построенный для того, чтобы убедиться что никто не может пройти его. И когда он работает через сервисы Google Play, а не операционную систему, Google может незаметно затянуть или выключить это.
"...проблема только если у вас есть что скрывать?"
Информаторы, журналисты и активисты в авторитарных правительствах будут первыми жертвами. Люди, оказавшиеся в ситуациях домашнего насилия будут следующими. Все эти группы имеют законные причины использовать или распространять программное обеспечение без отправки их правовой идентичности в базу данных Google. Анонимные вклады в проекты с открытым исходным кодом это традиция, которая старше чем сама Google. Эта политика больше не работает в Android.
"...то же самое, что делает Apple?"
Apple была "ограниченным садом" с первого дня. Люди выбирали Android потому что он отличается. "Apple делает то же самое" - это гонка к низу и слабый аргумент tu quoque. И под давлением регуляций (EU Digital Markets Act), даже Apple заставили открыться. Google двигается в противоположном направлении - попытка еще больше укрепить свой статус контролирующего.
"...только $25 и немного документов?"
Может быть, если вы разработчик из США с кредитной картой и водительским удостоверением. Попробуйте побыть студентом из Африки или диссидентом из Мьянмы, или волонтером обслуживающим приложение для охраны здоровья населения. Цена не только финансовая; вы сдаете свой государственный ID и доказательство ваших ключей подписи в компанию, которая регулярно следует государственным требованиям удалять приложения и раскрывать их разработчиков.
Дадим отпор
Все
- Установите F-Droid на каждое Android-устройство, которым вы владеете. Альт-сторы могут выжить только если ими пользуются.
- Свяжитесь с вашими регулирующими органами. Регуляторы по всему миру действительно обеспокоены о монополистах и их силой централизации в технологическом секторе, и хотят услышать от отдельных лиц, на кого это влияет и кто об этим беспокоится
- Распространите эту страницу. Оставляйте ссылки на keepandroidopen.org везде.
- Давайте отпор их поддержке. Народ "ну, вообще-то" собрался в большом количестве. Не дайте им определять ход событий.
- Подпишите петицию на change.org и присоединяйтесь к более чем 100,000 подписавшим, голоса которых стали услышанными.
- Прочитайте и распространите наше публичное письмо
- Расскажите Google что вы думаете об этом через их собственный опрос по верификации разработчиков (если от этого будет смысл)
Разработчики
Не регистрируйтесь. Не присоединяйтесь к этой программе регистрацией в Android Developer Console и соглашением с их безотзывными условиями. Не подтверждайте свою личность.
План Google работает только если разработчики следуют ему. Не делайте так.
- Отговорите других разработчиков от регистрации.
- Добавьте библиотеку FreeDroidWarn, чтобы предупредить пользователей вашего приложения.
- Владеете веб-сайтом? Добавьте баннер с обратным отсчетом
Сотрудники Google
Если вы знаете что-нибудь о технической реализации или внутренней логике, свяжитесь с нами через tips@keepandroidopen.org не с рабочего компьютера и не с Gmail-аккаунта. Конфиденциальность гарантирована.
Все они против…
71 организаций из 23 стран подписали публичное письмо
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) beuc.eu
ARTICLE 19 article19.org
Cryptee crypt.ee
Italian Linux Society ils.org
Software Freedom Conservancy sfconservancy.org
Vivaldi Technologies AS vivaldi.com
epicenter.works – for digital rights epicenter.works
Fundación Karisma karisma.org.co
Nextcloud nextcloud.com
Fedimedia fedimedia.it
GNOME Foundation gnome.org
Associação Nacional para o Software Livre (ANSOL) ansol.org
MetaBrainz Foundation metabrainz.org
Proton AG proton.me
OpenMedia openmedia.org
Rossmann Group rossmanngroup.com
Digitale Gesellschaft digitale-gesellschaft.ch
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) fsfe.org
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) eff.org
Software Liberty Association of Taiwan slat.org.tw
UnifiedPush unifiedpush.org
GitHub Store github-store.org
GNU/Linux València gnulinuxvalencia.org
European Digital Rights (EDRi) edri.org
The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) ccc.de
Techlore techlore.tech
/e/ Foundation e.foundation
Technopolice Bruxelles technopolice.be
Digital Rights Watch digitalrightswatch.org.au
Data Rights datarights.ngo
The Center for Digital Progress (D64) d-64.org
Rocky Linux rockylinux.org
Open Rights Group (ORG) openrightsgroup.org
Brave brave.com
The Calyx Institute calyx.org
The Digital Rights Foundation digitalrightsfoundation.pk
iodé iode.tech
La Quadrature du Net laquadrature.net
FULU Foundation fulu.org
Forbrukerrådet forbrukerradet.no
FACiL facil.qc.ca
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) fsf.org
FUTO futo.org
April april.org
FOSDEM fosdem.org
CryptPad cryptpad.org
F-Droid f-droid.org Что они говорят
Технологическая пресса
"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
"An 'existential' threat to alternative app stores"
The New Stack
"Google Clamps down On Android's Openness"
Internet Freedom Foundation (India)
"Google plans to block side-loading like Apple, declaring war on Android freedom"
Tuta Blog
"It effectively makes the Play Store a monopoly without actually mandating that it is a monopoly."
I-Programmer
"Google's New Developer Rules Threaten to End the F-Droid Open-Source App Store"
How-To Geek
"Google says it's making Android sideloading 'high-friction' to better warn users about potential risks"
XDA Developers
"Google's new developer rules could threaten sideloading and F-Droid's future"
Gizmochina
"Keep Android Open"
Linux Magazine
"Open-Source Android Apps Threatened by Google's New Policy"
Datamation
"Google's developer registration 'decree' means the end for alternative app stores"
Cybernews
"This will wipe out Android as an actual alternative to Apple's mobile OS offerings."
Hackaday
"F-Droid says Google's new sideloading restrictions will kill the project"
Ars Technica
"Android's sideloading limits are its most anti-consumer move yet"
MakeUseOf
"Google will verify Android developers distributing apps outside the Play store"
The Verge
"Sideloading is dead for all intents and purposes. The Android you know and love is slowly disappearing."
Android Police
"Google's Attack on Sideloading Will Rob Android of One of Its Best Features"
How-To Geek
"We all know that's a load of bullshit. Adding a goddamn 24-hour waiting period is batshit insanity."
Thom Holwerda, OSnews
"Google will require developer verification for Android apps outside the Play Store"
TechCrunch
"Keep Android Open – Abwehr gegen Verbot anonymer Apps von Google"
heise online
"Google will make you wait 24 hours to sideload Android apps"
How-To Geek
"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
"F-Droid project threatened by Google's new dev registration rules"
Bleeping Computer
"Open-Source Android Apps at Risk Under Google's New Decree"
TechRepublic
"Sideloading on Android? Soon It'll Be Like a TSA Check for Apps"
Android Headlines
"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
"F-Droid Slams Google for Misleading Users About Android's App Verification"
Android Headlines
"Google's dev registration plan 'will end the F-Droid project'"
The Register
"Google's Apple envy threatens to dismantle Android's open legacy"
Ars Technica
"Android Security or Vendor Lock-In? Google's New Sideloading Rules Smell Fishy"
It's FOSS News
"Google is restricting one of Android's most important features, and users are outraged"
SlashGear
"Android, Epic, and What's Really Behind Google's 'Existential' Threat to F-Droid"
Slashdot
"Over 67 groups urge the company to drop ID checks for apps distributed outside Play"
The Register
"Google will require developer verification to install Android apps, including sideloading"
9to5Google
"Google kneecaps indie Android devs, forces them to register"
The Register
"F-Droid Says Google Is Lying About the Future of Sideloading on Android"
How-To Geek
"Google's Attack on Sideloading Will Rob Android of One of Its Best Features"
How-To Geek
"I've been an Android user for almost 15 years -- and Google's sideloading changes are pushing me back to iPhone"
Tom's Guide
"Android app store provider Aptoide hits Google with fresh lawsuit alleging monopoly and anticompetitive chokehold"
Benzinga
"Google's New Developer ID Rule Could Harm F-Droid"
Reclaim The Net
"F-Droid Says Google Is Lying About the Future of Sideloading on Android"
How-To Geek
"Google's Android developer verification program draws pushback"
InfoWorld
"'Keep Android Open' Movement Challenges Google's Developer Verification Rule"
Open Source For U
Редакции и аналитика
"This is a form of malicious compliance with the court orders stemming from its losses to Epic Games."
Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
"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
"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
"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
"Freedom of choice is being reframed as a 'security risk.'"
Newsfangled
"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
"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 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
"One US corporation is placing itself between every Android developer and every Android user on earth."
PixelUnion
"This is not a developer account sign-up. This is comprehensive surveillance of the software development ecosystem."
PixelUnion
"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
"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
"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 not removed Android's openness, but it is turning openness from a default right into a conditional, attributable, and tiered capability."
MerchMindAI
"Android is no longer the scrappy rebel. It's just another empire tightening the drawbridge."
Newsfangled
"Google's move is not credibly about 'security,' but actually about consolidating power and tightening control over a formerly open ecosystem."
Techdirt
"What student is going to upload their passport to a trillion-dollar surveillance corporation just to share their weekend project?"
fireborn, mataroa.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
"Every additional bureaucratic hurdle reduces diversity in the software ecosystem and concentrates power in large established players."
Mikhail Korotaev, Nextcloud Blog
"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 could turn Google into the effective gatekeeper for all apps on certified Android devices."
It's FOSS News
"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
"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
"Android wasn't supposed to be 'safe.' It was supposed to be free."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"Centralizing the registration of all applications worldwide gives Google newfound powers to completely disable any app it wants."
Mikhail Korotaev, Nextcloud Blog
"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
"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
"Android does not just warn anymore. It enforces."
Youssef Mabrouk, Ostorlab
"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
"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
"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 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
Организации и открытые обращения
"Verification just confirms who's behind the app, it doesn't guarantee clean code or rule out malicious behavior."
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
"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
"Google is turning Android into a walled garden monopoly. We must prevent it."
Osservatorio Nessuno
"While Android used to be praised for its freedom and independence, it will become a closed shop just like Apple."
Tuta
"Remember: It's your phone, your data, your freedom. Don't let Google take it away."
Tuta
"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
"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
"Ultimately, Google's plan will stop you from owning your Android phone."
Tuta
"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
"Nearly 50 organizations published an open letter opposing what they characterize as a 'kill switch for the open ecosystem.'"
Tech-ish Kenya
"The European Pirate Party called for proportionate and transparent measures that ensure security without restricting innovation, limiting anonymity, or distorting competition."
European Pirate Party
"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'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
"Forcing software creators into a centralized registration scheme is as egregious as forcing writers and artists to register with a central authority."
F-Droid
"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
"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
"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
"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 invasion of privacy of developers is not just an overreach of Google's authority over Android, but also jeopardizes developer safety."
Software Freedom Conservancy
"Your Smartphone, Their Rules: How App Stores Enable Corporate-Government Censorship."
ACLU
"Centralised, intransparent security architectures certainly help secure monetization and the market by locking out competitors."
Nextcloud
"Independent software distribution on Android will now require Google's explicit permission."
AdGuard
"MEP Christel Schaldemose formally questioned whether Google's mandatory central registration is compatible with the Digital Markets Act."
European Parliament
"Google Play itself has repeatedly hosted malware, proving that corporate gatekeeping doesn't guarantee user protection."
F-Droid
"Unilaterally consolidating power to approve software into the hands of a single unaccountable corporation is a threat to digital sovereignty everywhere."
Nextcloud
"We are running out of time until Google becomes the gate-keeper of all users devices."
F-Droid
"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
"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
"Android's biggest strength has always been its openness. That's what attracted developers and users in the first place."
AdGuard
Контент-мейкеры
"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 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
"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 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
"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
"Google is removing the one key advantage Android has over iOS."
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – 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
"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 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
"That's not openness. That is control."
ChiefGyk3D – YouTube
"When you download applications, you've simply installed an application. I don't want to use words like 'sideload.'"
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – 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
"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
"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
"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
"Your device, their rules. The phone you bought and paid for is no longer really yours."
Tuta Blog – Blog
"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
"Google decides what's safe for you, and you don't get a say."
fireborn – Blog
"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 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 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
"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 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
"If I'm going to be trapped in a walled garden anyway, I'll take the one that's built properly."
fireborn – Blog
"Android has become what they set out to destroy."
Linus Sebastian, LMG Clips – YouTube
Разработчики и сообщество
"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
"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
"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 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
"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 wants the authority of a gatekeeper without the overhead of human accountability."
afferi300rina, Hacker News
"Google's plan to require developer verification would give Google and governments the ability to ban any app."
Zak, 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
"Google now has a flag on my phone they can control remotely to keep me from accessing the apps I want."
vala, Lemmy
"It took them 17 years to finally pull the cage all the way shut."
Apocryphon, Hacker News
"We are talking about something categorically worse than vendor lock-in: Collective vendor lock-in."
anordal, Lobsters
"Brazil government app refuses to operate with developer mode on."
flykespice (developer in Brazil), Hacker News
"Modern life practically forces you to put all your eggs into a phone controlled by one of two profit-seeking companies."
koala, Lobsters
"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
"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
"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
"You have no right telling me what I can and cannot run on my own devices."
MrZander, Hacker News
"They're boiling the frog -- slowly removing features until all choice is gone."
hn92726819, 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
"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 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
"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
"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
"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
"Signal, VPNs -- they'll have a list of everyone opting out of government-mandated backdoors."
Max-P, Lemmy
"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
"For 'security' -- always security with these assholes. They're just building the walls of the walled garden higher."
lynxy, Tildes
"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
"Google seems to actively hate people who develop for their platforms."
hbn, Hacker News
"'Sideload' is like 'jaywalking'; seeks to stigmatize humans being human."
tejtm, Hacker News
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"Play store is full of scam apps, F-Droid isn't, but Play Store is considered secure. It's all theatre."
gcupc, Lobsters
"All the banking and payment apps in India refuse to open if you have developer mode on."
nibbleyou (developer in India), Hacker News
"Some time in the future, we will look back to this era and ask ourselves what went wrong."
BenjaminRi, 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
"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
"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
"The phrase 'sideload' is psychological propaganda we are all best off rejecting."
WaffleMonster, Slashdot
"The open Android I knew and loved is long gone."
girvo, Hacker News
"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
"Android is for everyone, provided they submit to Google exclusively."
gumby271, 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
"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
"It's not cyclic. It's a ratchet and it gets tighter and tighter."
BenjaminRi, Lobsters
"They have stolen a free product and are now actively locking out the people who built it."
TheTearMiser, Lemmy
"Android was never actually open and now they are abandoning even the thin pretense."
Tiraon, Tildes
"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
"Give me liberty or give me Symbian."
masterofn001, Lemmy
"The war on General Purpose Computing is the death of innovation and a direct attack on digital freedom."
layfellow, Hacker News
"Once deployed, there's a near 100% chance of such a mechanism being used for evil."
Zak, Lemmy
"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
"Social engineering is destroyed with education, not with restriction and control. Trading freedom for safety eliminates both."
survirtual, 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
"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
Голоса из петиции
"Be better than IOS, this is not the way "
Kai, change.org
"This will eliminate a large number of users from the Android platform, most will leave because they are being restricted, and the others like myself will leave purely on principle. Teaching people to use technology in a smarter way will always be better than restrictions, and all of this will just be the beginning of censorship and control on a global scale, as is already happening with other Google applications. "
Bradley, change.org
"Google, let us keep being able to install whatever we want on our own devices. Otherwise there isn't really a reason to NOT get an iPhone because your platform isn't really open anymore. Don't alienate a large portion of your tech savvy customers and developers. Eliminating the possibility for people to write and distribute their own apps would harm the Android ecosystem. You would kill the pipeline for new developers to work their way up to creating the next big thing and your marketshare would suffer as a result. "
Sam, change.org
"The biggest reason I use Android is because I like the fact that it's open and if I don't like something I can just fix it also I like the ability to have my open source apps which you're trying to kill I guess you're just going to help boost The amount of people that are switching over to a true linux-based phone "
Justin, change.org
"It's serious that Android is doing this to those who make independent games, or stealing our data under the guise of security. I want to speak out because this is unfair. "
Cesar, change.org
"It isn't safe to bottleneck every human user to obey a s>ngle companies whims. This will be fought in court, I'm sure. But in the meantime I will fight this disagreeable motion. This is a freedom of privacy and speech, in the enar future if you have an unsavory opinion, towards Google or other, you will be targeted. "
Kosta, change.org
"keeping it brief. There are MANY apps that people depend on for day to day life and this is going to impact that on a drastic scale. "
Bryan, change.org
"Open Source change my life, and it's really awesome, not just for the Android ecosystem, for the tech industry in general "
abel, change.org
"I download many applications outside the Play Store because it doesn’t offer the variety I’m looking for. Instead, it constantly pushes advertised apps in front of me, which makes it feel like I’m being guided toward what benefits the platform, not what I actually want to explore. Restricting this freedom feels less about protecting users and more about protecting the platform’s own interests - its revenue and its control over what people can access. It’s like forcing me into a cage, but making it legal - where my ability to choose and explore freely is no longer truly my own. "
Dawn Alexis, change.org
"Absolute nonsense from Google, the flexibility of the Android OS has been the only thing differentiating it from Apple products and keeping me in this ecosystem. Each "update" is just another layer of restrictions at this point. With current market prices and the state that Google is developing android, I might as well just buy a laptop instead of a flagship android. "
Pwon, change.org
"With Google aiming to lockdown Android, what makes it any different than Apple? The only reason I and many others opt for Android is because it's openness! "
Christian, change.org
"I use android for one and one singular reason. Freedom. If I download malware, that's my own damn fault! Being "approved" by google just means following their political agenda, never these protective measures mean anything good. We didn't asked for this, no consumer wants this, WE DON'T NEED PROTECTION. WE. AREN'T. CHILDREN! "
Henrique, change.org
"I am very conceded that our government and big technology is building a electronic prison to enslave humanity. Google is working to this end by implementing tactics like requiring their permission to create and use apps that big government and big technology approve. This is evil and must be stopped if we are to have any freedom and privacy. "
Pamela, change.org
"Keep Andriod open! "
Andre, change.org
"Sick and tired of Google's garbage. "
Gabriel, change.org
"This is literally why I switched to android. The literal only reason. "
Ari Siobhan, change.org
"As a regular user of APKs, I think this system is so much important for us, bc we need this. GOOGLE DON'T BAN APK "
Alison, change.org
"Some people live hard lifes, APKs gave us freedom and versatility with our smartphones, that one of the greatest things that made me buy and use android "
João Gabriel, change.org
"I want to be able to load any arbitrary APK onto my own phone. I should not be limited or made so suffer in any way because some bad actors take advantage of naive people who act irresponsibly. It is my choice to install my own software or F-Droid or anything. Taking that choice away means Android has no value to me as a product. "
Seamus, change.org
"This is about Freedom! I want to be in control of what apps I install on my phone! And How I install them! I choose freedom! Do Not block or limit my freedom under the the guise of helping me according to your beliefs! "
Henry, change.org
"I remember when Android was a truly open platform, where the user could do anything they wanted to their phone. Now, it seems that this is at risk. I remember getting an Android phone because, as a developer, I thought I could openly install my own apps. But now that's also at risk. Please, remove this horrible change and implement actual security features. "
Jay, change.org
"Keep the Android Open Source Project... Open Source "
Raymond, change.org
"Android's strength has always been its openness. Closing or limiting this system violates users' trust in the principles that led them (or rather, us) to choose Android as their (our) OS. That's why we urge you to keep Android open and not implement any developer or app registration system. Build bridges and educate your users to venture beyond them, rather than erect walls trying to isolate them. "
Edoardo, change.org
"Im an adult. I paid for a device based on the promise of features. If I wanted someone to hold my hand while im online I'd get an iPhone or hire a state nurse to watch me. Really this is small, but a first step toward total control from big companies, good luck being an independent developer or whatever in the future when no one can download you stuff bc Google said so. And, as a consumer, think of all the good crowd funded and indie games and products that come out and rival if not demolish the big companies. This is how they stop that, dont let them. "
Ryan, change.org
"Monopolies are bad for freedom, business, and innovation. Keep Android the phone os where you have the choice to protect your data. "
Thomas, change.org
"Android users should really be given options for how to use their devices. It's unfair that they want to limit us after having given us so much freedom. While I understand it's to protect users, this measure affects independent developers, and even worse, forcing them to use Face ID exposes their faces to potential hacking and data leaks, since this is nothing new. I really hope this reaches more people and that they sign to try to show the community's discontent. "
León 999, change.org
"Apple is one of the lamest companies in the world. You have no control on an iPhone. That's always been one of the selling points about Android is that you have basically total control over your device. There's literally no reason to change being able to download independent and open source apps from trusted developers. There are higher chances of getting a sketchy app through the play store. Don't break what isn't broken and then say you fixed something. We already lost our SD card slots. If you see this and you haven't signed the petition, please sign it. Also for more info, go here: https://keepandroidopen.org/ "
Dakota, change.org
"We ned open source application PLEASE "
french, change.org
"GOOGLE PLEASE DO NOT ENFORCE DEVELOPER VERIFICATION. THIS WILL STOP PROGRESS. "
Luka, change.org
"I don't want some mega corporation to tell me what code I can and cannot run on my own phone. The AI BS they're pushing is bad enough, this is even worse. "
Jackie, change.org
"To put it simply, the Android user experience has always been about the ability to express yourself, experimentation and creative freedom. Why squash that? What are you actually gaining? You'll lose a massive user base for the sake of what, "control"? "
Phil, change.org
"Companies have been continually chipping away at our rights as owners to use our property as we see fit. From TVs to cars our ability to freely maintain, use, and expand the features of devices we paid for have been pulled slowly out from under us. This is another slowly driven nail in the coffin of our digital freedom! We need to push back and make it known that we will not continue to tolerate this. "
Donovan, change.org
"This is the main appeal of android to me. Having the freedom with my own device that I paid for instead of being limited. "
Joshua, change.org
"The entire reason I chose android over apple was the freedom I had to do what I wanted on the device I paid for. Google enforcing this "lock-down" is just shooting themselves in the foot and giving people more reason to give apple a shot. "
Riley, change.org
"Allow us beginning programmers get comfortable with writing scripts and getting used to a whole new set of rules without needing to have licenses that cost money. "
Wes, change.org
"The act of restricting a user's choice of how or where they get their applications is against the concept of a free market and is a monopolization of how applications are distributed. Forcing developers into the play store is against everyone's freedom of choice. Point blank and center. There is no logic that suggests such a change is good or necessary. The play store can be a place for an average user to download their apps. But the user should have every right to be able to install software on their device which they purchased outside from other sources if they want. There is no good reason for a hardware vendor, OEM, or software company should have the right to limit you on what you can or cannot do with your device. Nor should they have the right to limit developers either. This is an attack on one of the culprit reasons on what made Android great in the first place. Especially compared to the competition (eg. Apple). Such a restriction would lead Android's package and software installation into a direct monopoly with nearly full control of how applications are distributed, rather than letting user's sourcing them from other places if they prefer. When I buy a desktop computer, I fully expect to be able to install my own OS on it, install my own software, and get the installer from their website, or maybe use a command promot/terminal to install it from a package manager. That is freedom of choice. I fully expect the same from any device I purchase for personal use and that is my right because it is a product I paid for. These companies are consistently abusing software and their terms of agreement to essentially change the terms of sale after you bought it. Which is a different issue in itself, yet can tie directly make into these restrictions and practices. It's highly predictable behavior. And frankly no consumer benefits from such change. It'll be argued "for the sake of security and system integrity", yet these companies do not have the spine and integrity to mention the real reasons behind it. Never mind even with such restriction, the Google Play Store is littered with predatory and malicious applications that float around 24/7, yet they intend on restricting apps on the outside that a lot of legitimate developers who put a lot of work into a free and open software platforms they use to give users alternative options of often what is even better software then what is on the Play Store. This is absolutely undoubtedly a severely anti-consumer practice that does not protect you, but monopolizes the delivery of software and restricts access to users and developers. This should never be supported on an "open platform". Such a change fundamentally would turn Android into a predatory, monopolistic and proprietary anti-consumer software. No different from iOS. "
Steve, change.org
"Products should be made to give the consumer control of the product they purchase. They should not be used for the corporation that manufactured the product to control the consumer use of that product or what the consumer has access to. This is a form of controlled speech and is a violation of the first amendment of the United States of America. "
Mitch, change.org
"I should be able to share my android apps with my family and friends. It's easy to do on Windows and Linux. Why do I have to pay for sharing what is mine with friends and family around the world; yes, my actual family and friends are literally everywhere. Google often distributes malware. They allow Verizon to install unwanted apps that were often just malware. Google and Samsung force install apps we never asked for mostly so they can spy for advertising and traing their AIs. Heck, Google even watches what you put on gdrive and will remove things they don't like due to personal issues. How dystopian! "
Matthew, change.org
"My name is Lawrence Wider Jr. I am a huge fan of Android. The ability flawlessly download the individuals files (APKs) of smartphone apps on my smartphone is the reason why I decided to choose Android as my first ever smartphone OS to use over iOS a couple of decades ago. In short, it was Freedom Of Choice that caused me to choose Android over IOS decades ago. If Google decides to go through with their plan to limit APK usage this September, then I will no longer have that awesome choice and I will no longer be able to choose the awesome smartphone OS known as Android as my smartphone os. The ability to flawlessly download the individuals files (APKs) of smartphone apps on my smartphone had also caused Android to be a fun smartphone OS for me to use. Another advantage of the ability for me to download individual files (APKs) of APKs on my Android smartphone has given me is the ability for it to be easier for me to use Android. If Google decides to limit APK file usage this September, then it would cause me to no longer choose Android as my smartphone is to use. Thank you. "
Lawrence, change.org
"I switched to Android for freedom, not being locked down like Apple!!! There's no point in using Android anymore if they start making it exactly like iOS. Please don't limit the usage of APKs google! "
Nathaniel, 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
"In this day and age, most of the rich and powerful are attempting to restrict the choices normal people have, and Google attempting to limit the open-source nature of Android is just one more example of this. What Google is doing is not protecting anyone and only serves to limit what we are allowed to do, and I don't want to idly stand by as the rich become richer. "
Joseph, change.org
"the staple and main "selling" point of android is how open and free it is. Without that it's no different than any other os. This decision is completely asinine on Google's part. "
Thomas, change.org
"The main reason I've always preferred android over apple is the freedom of app development and usage. What's the point of using an android phone when I have to rely on an app store that limits what's available? This decision is gonna affect an already undesirable Google "
Mychal, change.org
"If Android no longer allows me to install what I want, how I want, there is no reason for me to not use Apple products. Your company is already going down the wrong path in so many ways with not properly supporting third-party open source Android variants; do not let this be the final nail in your OS's coffin. "
Peter, change.org
"Yeah let's remove the one thing keeping people on Android 🤨 "
Bobby, change.org
"As a consumer, i have The right to install applications freely without pressure or retaliation,since ona has The right to choose the applications one needs or uses. Furthermore,Android was designed for free use without restriction and with open source code for allá programmer,developers,and users of The device.This restriction would be illogical and would destroy The esence of Android.I oppose the removal of F-Droid and other third party applications. CONSUMERS SHOULD NOT BE FORCED INTO CHANGES THEY NEITHER WANT NOT SUPOORT;BESIDES BEING PROHIBITED,IT IS ILLEGAL TO DECIDE FOR THE USER.ANDROID IS FANTASTIC BECAUSE EVERY USER CAN PERONALIZE THEIR DEVICE.SOMEONE MIGHT HAVE A SPECIFIC BRAND IN MIND,BUT THEIR DEVICE WILL REFLECT THAT PERSONALIZATION,UNLIKE ¡OS, NO TO BLOCKING THIRD PARTY APPS "
Juan Manuel, 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
"I'm getting so sick of governments/ corporations thinking they can just take away our right to privacy online under the guise of "security", and the more they're able to get away with it, the more we'll see it happening. I'm not a developer and I barely use 3rd party apps, but that doesn't mean I won't fight for our ability to use our phones as we see fit "
Danielle, change.org
"Seriously, this can harm game devs/ports (legally) plus every APK is checked if this decision is accepted. "
Leonardo, change.org
"Android is the most popular open phone OS currently. Google is going back on their promise of an open ecosystem in favor of one where they have control and government entities can pressure them to give up our information to them. "
Andrew, change.org
"We want digital sovereignty for democracy! "
Kelly, change.org
"The ability to install APKs are a core feature in Android's open nature. It also helps developers to freely test and debug their apps. Installing APKs should be completely free and allowed. Thanks to everyone who made me see this project. Do you want me to draw this as a support material? Thanks. "
Emir, change.org
"IT'S ABSURD WHAT GOOGLE IS TRYING TO DO ON ANDROID, ANDROID USERS AND ANDROID DEVICES ABOUT LOCKING THE SYSTEM SO WE CAN'T INSTALL APPS DOWNLOADED FROM WEBSITES AND DOWNLOADED FROM ANY OTHER SOURCE. GOOGLE DOES NOT OWN OUR DEVICES AND WE HAVE THE FULL RIGHT TO DO WHAT WE WANT WITH OUR DEVICES BECAUSE WE PAY FOR THEM. "
Wagner, change.org
"Because if Google prevents unverified apk installation it will interfere with downloading open source apps and self-signed apps "
error, change.org
"This is the entire point of many people using Android in the first place, you take this away and something new will come along and replace you. "
Jacob, change.org
"Don't do this, I will never spend more than 100$ on an android or any phone ever again. Google, get smart. "
Jamell, change.org
"Dystopian, unaccountable corporate control and rug pulling. "
Ethan, change.org
"I don’t want a walled garden on android like iOS it sucks "
Caleb, change.org
"Literally the only reason I swapped to android years ago was because it had freedoms that iPhones didn't. I may as well swap back if this is how things are going. "
Robert, change.org
"What software I choose to create or install on my computing devices, no matter whether they fit in a pocket, is my choice alone. Google, Microsoft, Apple, et al. have zero business trying to arbitrate how I use the hardware that I own. Android is quickly becoming the very thing it swore to destroy--an opaque, locked-down, walled garden where the very concept of ownership is drawn into question--and I am already taking steps to distance myself from it should the worst come to pass. "
James, change.org
"Google’s recent changes that block or restrict APK distribution risk cutting off access for millions of users and harming independent developers who rely on alternative distribution channels. For many communities, sideloading and APK backups are essential for app availability, testing, and preserving older versions that still work for people and devices. We ask Google to reconsider any policy or technical change that would outright prevent APK sharing, and to work with developers and users to find safer, less disruptive solutions that protect security and choice!!!!!! "
Kabyt, change.org
"Leave our phones alone. Dont turn Android into Apple "
leavemyphonealone, change.org
"I was really shocked when I heard that such thing is happening. I mean, isn't the point of Android itself to be fully open, especially compared to competitors as iOS? What's so wrong with a person developing apps as their passion/hobby? I don't think it is necessary to have to upload a government ID to a corporation just to make your app be able to be usable. It also impacts me, because I use very many open source apps as alternatives, which fit my usage a lot better, and I like to support those projects, and one more point, many people switching from iOS to Android are looking for the freedom that is sideloading apps without any hurdles. This has to change, or chaos would ensue around the Android world, and especially FOSS communities. "
Arsen, change.org
"To whom it may concern. Recently it was brought to my attention that Google is planning on violating my rights by removing the ability to install applications on devices I OWN without googles permission. This decision places ultimate power with google to suppress any speech and crush any competition which operates against their interests. As a consumer, i should have the right to install any software i choose within the boundaries of the law. The devices which i install software on belong to me, therefore, i should be the ultimate arbiter of what runs on my property. Google should not have that power. Please, i beg of you. If there are any principled people left in the US government, then please do not allow google to continue down this path. Below this point are statements which i believe accurately reflect the situation sourced from https://keepandroidopen.org/ In August 2025, Google announced that as of September 2026, it will no longer be possible to develop apps for the Android platform without first registering centrally with Google. This registration will involve: Paying a fee to Google Agreeing to Google’s Terms and Conditions Providing government identification Uploading evidence of the developer’s private signing key Listing all current and future application identifiers What this means for our rights ➤ You, the consumer, purchased your Android device believing in Google’s promise that it was an open computing platform and that you could run whatever software you choose on it. Instead, as of September 2026, they will be non-consensually pushing an update to your operating system that irrevocably blocks this right and leaves you at the mercy of their judgement over what software you are permitted to trust. ➤ You, the creator, can no longer develop an app and share it directly with your friends, family, and community without first seeking Google’s approval. The promise of Android — and a marketing advantage it has used to distinguish itself against the iPhone — has always been that it is “open”. But Google clearly feels that they have enough of a lock on the Android ecosystem, along with sufficient regulatory capture, that they can now jettison this principle with prejudice and impunity. ➤ You, the state, are ceding the rights of your citizens and your own digital sovereignty to a company with a track record of complying with the extrajudicial demands of authoritarian regimes to remove perfectly legal apps that they happen to dislike. The software that is critical to the running of your businesses and governments will be at the mercy of the opaque whims of a distant and unaccountable corporation. "
Micheal, change.org
"This policy shift is concerning for developers. Android has always stood out because of its openness — the freedom to build and distribute apps without excessive barriers. Requiring mandatory verification and charging fees adds friction that especially impacts independent and small developers. I understand the intention may be to reduce piracy, malware, or improve security. However, raising entry barriers risks weakening the very ecosystem that made Android strong in the first place. Innovation depends on accessibility and low compliance costs. Also, Google Play Store has been historically ineffective regarding security issues on their own marketplace. Restrictive distribution policies can also create unintended consequences. When official channels become too restrictive or expensive, users may turn to unofficial modifications like rooting or other system-level workarounds. That does not improve security — it may actually increase fragmentation and vulnerability. Even Microsoft never needed to impose this level of control on Windows to remain competitive. Decisions like this could accelerate the growth of alternative Linux-based operating systems and, over time, undermine Android’s dominance in the global market. "
João, change.org
"The whole reason I have used Android over iOS is because of the increased freedom to control the device I OWN. My phone is mine and I should be able to use it as I see fit. Companies like Google need to be forced to stop this anti comsumer behavior. "
Mark, change.org
"The one positive thing differentiating Android from iOS has been the ability for Android users to make their own choices about what's installed on their devices. Killing that differentiator is the exact opposite of forward progress. "
Ryan, change.org
"The possibility of one of the only features that could jumpstart and maintain rising developers ambitions and the Android community; being able to install any files into their systems getting smothered is a nightmare for anyone who has been sticking to Android themselves due to its customization (I will protect my self-made Miku UI with my life). Going against the reasons of Android's strengths WILL be a bad idea and would force the people to find lower alternatives, whether they are better or not can't be gauged when this move destroys the baseline of a free and modifiable OS. Please listen to the community that is yelling to not aim at poor Bugdroid's shins... "
Ken, change.org
"This seems important not to let Google be the all powerful mega corp "
Adrian, change.org
"Google should stop killing Android "
Rafael, change.org
"When I buy a device, I own the right to choose how I use the device. I have the right to repair and replace any part of the device, and that includes the software running on it. "
Drew, 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
"Why was Brazil the first country mentioned regarding developer verification for apps??? They want control, for pleasure!??? "
Bruno Eduardo, change.org
"Many apps i use are from alternative stores because they are libre and free. I won't be able to use my phone "
Alexandre, change.org
"It is a based no to monopolization of Android from Google. Stop giving them all the power. Together we can ask for change. "
Claudia, change.org
"We were promised FOSS, keep it that way "
Darius, 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
"As Student and Junior Developer, I find this petition quite concerning on security and privacy for web data, android is not only a platform, it is a framework, a constant transition of metadata across the WEB. Limitating actions on android, even in level 3 is limitating not only user-friendly policy's of privacy, but freedom on networking. I Highly Recommend Sharing this petition! "
Davi Cristopher, change.org
"Mobile devices have become such integral, personalized focal points in our lives over the last few decades, but not everyone uses their devices the same way. Having the choice of what software we choose to use and where to install from has been a key part of Android since its beginning and has been an important keystone of consumer choice. Removing those choices and putting up barriers to entry for development would be a huge blow to consumer rights. "
Scott, change.org
"We want our freedom of speech "
Mohammed, change.org
"I use Android specifically because it is a more open platform. I develop apps for myself and family members and I have no intention of becoming any kind of approved developer just to continue to do that. This is an absolute bait and switch to the most loyal of Android users and is going to drive many of us to seek out alternative operating systems. And sadly makes me want to de-google my life even further. "
greg, change.org
"Removing the freedom that Android provides is not the right way at all. If this is enacted, developers will lose their privacy because they have to give their government ID to a tech giant that also has an ad firm and the OS will not be different than its competition. I got an Android device because of the freedom it gave me, and it's sad to have thoughts about switching to iOS. "
Zach, change.org
"I do not want Google to limit my freedom of speech or right to privacy. Google is a monopoly and must be dismantled. This has to stop. "
Tristan, change.org
"Unnaceptable betrayal of platform standards "
Lukas, change.org
"I have used my own, or other developers' custom APKs in the past, and do not want to be locked into app store(s) only! "
Collin, change.org
"No reason to own a google device if I am limited in what I can do with it. "
Salvatore, change.org
"I use android to *avoid* closed environments and allow for more freedom in what I can do. Don't remove freedom of choice, you damn cowards! "
Douglas, change.org
"The entire reason I chose an android over an apple phone was the control over my device I got. Taking that away is a mistake! "
Gin, change.org
"Android making this is just bullshit, the developer thing is just to make more easy to sue devs, and indie games creators that don't want to get near to google greedy ass. It is better they cease and desist "
Michel, change.org
"I think it goes without saying that I'll never use a legit android OS ever again if this goes through, literally the only reason Android is better then IOS is BECAUSE of the flexibility and freedom. Just like censoring on the internet makes a country no better then China, Android will be no better then IOS. I'll just go to a third party or install a custom firmware if this shows no signs of slowing down. "
Jesse, change.org
"Save privacy and security "
Pepe, change.org
"Government ID verification inches us even closer to a dystopian survallience future without open rights, without freedom of choice, and with orwellian control over our lives. Fight back against this and talk to your family and friends. "
dev, change.org
"Android, since it's existence, has always been about the user. Removing access to apps that millions of people use every day will shatter that foundation and make android indifferent to its competitors. "
Jack, change.org
"My device is my device. "
arianna, change.org
"This won't stop until we put an end to monopolies! "
daniel, change.org
"Google always voiced themselves as the "Open Platform" in direct competition with Apple. With the lockdown happening, there is no more competition. It's either "isolated OS" or "fellow isolated OS". In today's day and age, especially, the people value and are drawn to the ability to make their own choices without the difficulties and frustrations of being restricted and banned from doing something. It's *why* so many people switched to Android/ Google devices, and *why* so many Android/Google users *refuse* to use Apple products. The lockdown is just creating another Apple under a different company. "
Amelia, change.org
"You are now a 0. "
İbrahim, change.org
"This won't make Android surpass Apple - it'll just speed up its demise "
ching, change.org
"Android was once the pinacle of freedom, not letting that stay in the past "
Juan, change.org