당신의 스마트폰이 당신의 손에서 벗어나려 합니다.

137 폐쇄까지 남은 일수

2026년 9월부터 Google이 강제로 시행하는 자동 업데이트를 통해, 개발자가 Google에 등록하지 않고 계약에 서명하거나 비용을 지불하지 않은 모든 Android 앱이 차단될 예정입니다.

전 세계 모든 앱과 모든 기기에 적용되며, 거부권은 없습니다.

Google이 하려는 일

2025년 8월, Google은 새로운 요구사항을 발표했습니다 ↗. 2026년 9월부터 모든 Android 앱은...

등록에 필요한 사항:

개발자가 이를 따르지 않을 경우, 해당 앱은 전 세계 모든 Android 기기에서 소리 없이 차단됩니다.

피해를 입는 사람들

사용자

당신은 Android가 개방형 플랫폼이라는 Google의 말을 믿고 기기를 구매했습니다. 원하는 앱을 직접 설치할 수 있다는 것이 그 계약 조건이었습니다.

이제 Google은 이미 소유하고 있는 하드웨어에 대해 소급 적용하여 그 계약을 수정하려 합니다. 업데이트 이후에는 Google이 사전 승인한 소프트웨어만 실행할 수 있습니다. 당신의 자산인 스마트폰에서 말입니다.

인디 개발자

10대 소년이 처음 만든 앱, 자원봉사자의 개인정보 보호 도구, 기업의 기밀 내부 베타 버전 등 무엇이든 상관없습니다. 2026년 9월 이후에는 Google의 축복 없이는 그 어떤 것도 설치할 수 없습니다.

수천 개의 자유 소프트웨어 및 오픈 소스 Android 앱의 본거지인 F-Droid ↗는 이를 존립에 대한 위협이라고 정의했습니다.

정부 및 시민 사회

Google은 권위주의 정권이 앱 삭제를 요구할 때 이에 순응해 온 기록 ↗이 있습니다.

EFF ↗는 이러한 앱 게이트키핑을 "끊임없이 확장되는 인터넷 검열의 경로"라고 부릅니다.

Google의 '비상구'는 함정입니다

Google은 '파워 유저'가 미인증 앱을 "여전히 설치"할 수 있다고 말합니다. 하지만 그 과정은 이렇습니다.

  1. 시스템 설정 깊숙이 들어가 '개발자 옵션'을 찾습니다.
  2. 빌드 번호를 일곱 번 탭하여 개발자 모드를 활성화합니다.
  3. 강압적 활성화에 대한 경고 화면을 무시합니다.
  4. PIN 번호를 입력합니다.
  5. 기기를 재부팅합니다.
  6. 24시간 동안 기다립니다.
  7. 다시 돌아와 더 많은 경고 화면을 무시합니다.
  8. '일시적 허용'(7일) 또는 '무기한 허용'을 선택합니다.
  9. '위험'을 이해했다는 사실을 다시 한번 확인합니다.

9단계의 절차, 강제적인 24시간의 대기 기간이 있습니다. 본인 소유의 기기에 소프트웨어를 설치하는 데 필요한 절차입니다.

더 심각한 점은, 이 과정이 Android OS가 아닌 Google Play 서비스를 통해 실행된다는 것입니다. Google은 OS 업데이트 없이도 사용자 동의 없이 언제든 이 과정을 변경, 강화 또는 삭제할 수 있습니다.

Android만의 문제가 아닙니다

Google이 개방형 플랫폼으로 판매된 수십억 대의 기기를 소급하여 폐쇄할 수 있다면, 지구상의 모든 하드웨어 제조사가 이를 지켜보게 될 것입니다.

확립되고 있는 원칙은 이렇습니다. '당신이 기기를 구매한 후에도 당신이 실행할 수 있는 소프트웨어를 제조사가 제한할 수 있다'는 것입니다. 소프트웨어 업계에서는 이를 '러그 풀(Rug pull)'이라고 부릅니다.

Android의 개방성은 단순한 기능이 아니라, iPhone과 차별화되는 약속이었습니다. 수백만 명이 바로 그 이유로 Android를 선택했습니다. Google은 이제 그 약속을 일방적으로 파기하려 합니다.

Ars Technica ↗: "Google의 Apple 따라하기가 Android의 개방적 유산을 해체하려 한다"

잠시만요, 이건...

"...결국 보안을 위한 것 아닌가요?"

보안 명분은 연막에 불과합니다. Google Play Protect는 개발자 신원과 관계없이 이미 악성코드를 검사하고 있습니다. 정부 ID 제출이 코드를 더 안전하게 만들지는 않습니다. 대신 개발자를 추적 가능하게 만들 뿐입니다.

"...고급 설정을 쓰면 여전히 사이드로딩이 가능하지 않나요?"

9단계의 절차, 24시간의 대기 시간, 개발자 옵션 깊숙이 숨겨진 설정, 그리고 Google이 원할 때 취소할 수 있는 독점 서비스를 통하는 것은 사이드로딩이 아닙니다. 그것은 억제 장치입니다.

"...숨길 게 있는 사람들에게만 문제 아닌가요?"

권위주의 정부 하의 내부 고발자, 저널리스트, 활동가들이 첫 번째 희생자가 될 것입니다. 가정 폭력 상황에 처한 사람들도 마찬가지입니다. 이들은 모두 Google과 정부의 신원 확인을 불신할 정당한 이유가 있습니다.

"...Apple도 똑같이 하고 있지 않나요?"

Apple은 처음부터 폐쇄적인 환경이었습니다. 사람들은 Android가 다르기 때문에 선택했습니다. "Apple도 하니까"라는 말은 하향 평준화를 정당화하는 논리일 뿐입니다.

"...겨우 25달러와 서류 몇 장 아닌가요?"

신용카드와 운전면허증이 있는 미국 개발자에게는 그럴지도 모릅니다. 하지만 사하라 이남 아프리카의 학생이나, 미얀마의 반체제 인사, 또는 지역 사회 보건 도구를 관리하는 자원봉사자에게는 불가능한 장벽이 될 수 있습니다.

함께 싸워주세요

모두를 위한 행동

개발자를 위한 행동

등록하지 마세요. Android 개발자 콘솔에 가입하거나 철회 불가능한 약관에 동의하지 마세요.

Google의 계획은 개발자들이 따를 때만 성공합니다. 거부해 주세요.

Google 직원들에게

이 프로그램의 기술적 구현이나 내부적인 부분에 대해 알고 계신다면, 비업무용 장치 및 Gmail이 아닌 계정으로 tips@keepandroidopen.org에 제보해 주세요. 모든 정보는 철저히 비밀로 유지됩니다.

인증에 반대하는 단체들

21개국의 66개 단체가 다음에 서명했습니다: 공개 서한

The Digital Rights Foundation digitalrightsfoundation.pk IzzyOnDroid izzyondroid.org Codeberg e.V. codeberg.org The Tor Project torproject.org The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) beuc.eu Forbrukerrådet forbrukerradet.no Aurora Store auroraoss.com FUTO futo.org Proton AG proton.me Vivaldi Technologies AS vivaldi.com Molly molly.im MetaBrainz Foundation metabrainz.org FULU Foundation fulu.org The Guardian Project guardianproject.info LineageOS lineageos.org La Quadrature du Net laquadrature.net Unified Push unifiedpush.org The App Fair Project appfair.org KDE e.V. kde.org Fastmail fastmail.com Nextcloud nextcloud.com Technopolice Bruxelles technopolice.be Software Freedom Conservancy sfconservancy.org The OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF) osmfoundation.org JMP.chat jmp.chat Tuta Mail tuta.com Software Liberty Association of Taiwan slat.org.tw microG microg.org FOSDEM fosdem.org ARTICLE 19 article19.org The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) ccc.de European Digital Rights (EDRi) edri.org Osservatorio Nessuno OdV osservatorionessuno.org OW2 ow2.org Fundación Karisma karisma.org.co Fedimedia fedimedia.it The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) eff.org AdGuard adguard.com Obtainium obtainium.imranr.dev OpenMedia openmedia.org The Free Software Foundation (FSF) fsf.org Open Web Advocacy open-web-advocacy.org Rossmann Group rossmanngroup.com F-Droid f-droid.org Associação Nacional para o Software Livre (ANSOL) ansol.org Privacy Guides privacyguides.org CryptPad cryptpad.org Data Rights datarights.ngo Open Rights Group (ORG) openrightsgroup.org epicenter.works – for digital rights epicenter.works VideoLAN videolan.org The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) fsfe.org /e/ Foundation e.foundation Rocky Linux rockylinux.org Cryptee crypt.ee April april.org Italian Linux Society ils.org Digitale Gesellschaft digitale-gesellschaft.ch GrapheneOS Foundation grapheneos.org Brave brave.com Digital Rights Watch digitalrightswatch.org.au The Center for Digital Progress (D64) d-64.org Ghostery ghostery.com GNOME Foundation gnome.org Techlore techlore.tech The Calyx Institute calyx.org

공개 서한 전문 읽기 및 서명한 단체 확인하기 →

사람들의 목소리

테크 전문 미디어

"Google's Requirement For All Android Developers To Register And Be Verified Threatens To Close Down Open Source App Store F-Droid"

Techdirt ↗

"Google Clamps down On Android's Openness"

Internet Freedom Foundation (India) ↗

"Google is restricting one of Android's most important features, and users are outraged"

SlashGear ↗

"Google says it's making Android sideloading 'high-friction' to better warn users about potential risks"

XDA Developers ↗

"Google's Android developer verification program draws pushback"

InfoWorld ↗

"Open letter warns mandatory registration 'threatens innovation, competition, privacy and user freedom'"

Infosecurity Magazine ↗

"Resistance to Google's Android verification grows among developers"

Techzine EU ↗

"'Keep Android Open' Movement Challenges Google's Developer Verification Rule"

Open Source For U ↗

"Google will verify Android developers distributing apps outside the Play store"

The Verge ↗

"We all know that's a load of bullshit. Adding a goddamn 24-hour waiting period is batshit insanity."

Thom Holwerda, OSnews ↗

"Google's Attack on Sideloading Will Rob Android of One of Its Best Features"

How-To Geek ↗

"Keep Android Open – Abwehr gegen Verbot anonymer Apps von Google"

heise online ↗

"This will wipe out Android as an actual alternative to Apple's mobile OS offerings."

Hackaday ↗

"Google's new ID requirements could destroy independent app stores"

TechSpot ↗

"Open-Source Android Apps at Risk Under Google's New Decree"

TechRepublic ↗

"Android's sideloading limits are its most anti-consumer move yet"

MakeUseOf ↗

"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 ↗

"Sideloading on Android? Soon It'll Be Like a TSA Check for Apps"

Android Headlines ↗

"It effectively makes the Play Store a monopoly without actually mandating that it is a monopoly."

I-Programmer ↗

"Android app store provider Aptoide hits Google with fresh lawsuit alleging monopoly and anticompetitive chokehold"

Benzinga ↗

"Open-Source Android Apps Threatened by Google's New Policy"

Datamation ↗

"Google's new developer rules could threaten sideloading and F-Droid's future"

Gizmochina ↗

"Google's New Developer Rules Threaten to End the F-Droid Open-Source App Store"

How-To Geek ↗

"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's dev registration plan 'will end the F-Droid project'"

The Register ↗

"Google's Attack on Sideloading Will Rob Android of One of Its Best Features"

How-To Geek ↗

"Keep Android Open"

Linux Magazine ↗

"F-Droid Says Google Is Lying About the Future of Sideloading on Android"

How-To Geek ↗

"Google plans to block side-loading like Apple, declaring war on Android freedom"

Tuta Blog ↗

"F-Droid says Google's new sideloading restrictions will kill the project"

Ars Technica ↗

"An 'existential' threat to alternative app stores"

The New Stack ↗

"Google's developer registration 'decree' means the end for alternative app stores"

Cybernews ↗

"F-Droid project threatened by Google's new dev registration rules"

Bleeping Computer ↗

"Sideloading on Android? Soon It'll Be Like a TSA Check for Apps"

Android Headlines ↗

"Android Security or Vendor Lock-In? Google's New Sideloading Rules Smell Fishy"

It's FOSS News ↗

"F-Droid Slams Google for Misleading Users About Android's App Verification"

Android Headlines ↗

"Google will require developer verification to install Android apps, including sideloading"

9to5Google ↗

"Google will make you wait 24 hours to sideload Android apps"

How-To Geek ↗

"Google will require developer verification for Android apps outside the Play Store"

TechCrunch ↗

"F-Droid Says Google Is Lying About the Future of Sideloading on Android"

How-To Geek ↗

"Google's Apple envy threatens to dismantle Android's open legacy"

Ars Technica ↗

"I've been an Android user for almost 15 years -- and Google's sideloading changes are pushing me back to iPhone"

Tom's Guide ↗

"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 New Developer ID Rule Could Harm F-Droid"

Reclaim The Net ↗

사설 및 분석

단체 및 공개 서한

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"Independent software distribution on Android will now require Google's explicit permission."

AdGuard ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"MEP Christel Schaldemose formally questioned whether Google's mandatory central registration is compatible with the Digital Markets Act."

European Parliament ↗

"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 ↗

"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 is turning Android into a walled garden monopoly. We must prevent it."

Osservatorio Nessuno ↗

"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 ↗

"Nearly 50 organizations published an open letter opposing what they characterize as a 'kill switch for the open ecosystem.'"

Tech-ish Kenya ↗

"Your Smartphone, Their Rules: How App Stores Enable Corporate-Government Censorship."

ACLU ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"Forcing software creators into a centralized registration scheme is as egregious as forcing writers and artists to register with a central authority."

F-Droid ↗

"We are running out of time until Google becomes the gate-keeper of all users devices."

F-Droid ↗

"The European Pirate Party called for proportionate and transparent measures that ensure security without restricting innovation, limiting anonymity, or distorting competition."

European Pirate Party ↗

"While Android used to be praised for its freedom and independence, it will become a closed shop just like Apple."

Tuta ↗

"Google Play itself has repeatedly hosted malware, proving that corporate gatekeeping doesn't guarantee user protection."

F-Droid ↗

"We unequivocally advise against signing up for this program, now or ever."

F-Droid Open Letter ↗

"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 ↗

"Unilaterally consolidating power to approve software into the hands of a single unaccountable corporation is a threat to digital sovereignty everywhere."

Nextcloud ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"Centralised, intransparent security architectures certainly help secure monetization and the market by locking out competitors."

Nextcloud ↗

"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 ↗

"Verification just confirms who's behind the app, it doesn't guarantee clean code or rule out malicious behavior."

AdGuard ↗

유튜버 및 크리에이터

"Your device, their rules. The phone you bought and paid for is no longer really yours."

Tuta Blog – Blog ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"That's not openness. That is control."

ChiefGyk3D – YouTube ↗

"Android has become what they set out to destroy."

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 ↗

"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 doing to Android what Microsoft once tried to do to the web. Embrace, extend, extinguish. Just wrapped in a shinier open-source package."

ChiefGyk3D – YouTube ↗

"This has obvious problems for non-Google operating systems like iodeOS, LineageOS, or BraxOS. Google Android will 'check in' with Google to verify the identity of the app and to validate the operating system."

Rob Braxman Tech – Locals ↗

"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 ↗

"Google is removing the one key advantage Android has over iOS."

SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – YouTube ↗

"F-Droid is basically saying that the new Google developer registration process will likely kill the open-source app store entirely."

The Linux Experiment – YouTube ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 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 ↗

"Developers of privacy-focused tools and emulators will have to dox themselves, making them vulnerable to government agencies or legal action."

SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – YouTube ↗

"When you download applications, you've simply installed an application. I don't want to use words like 'sideload.'"

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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"If I'm going to be trapped in a walled garden anyway, I'll take the one that's built properly."

fireborn – Blog ↗

"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 ↗

개발자 및 커뮤니티

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"Give me liberty or give me Symbian."

masterofn001, Lemmy ↗

"Once deployed, there's a near 100% chance of such a mechanism being used for evil."

Zak, Lemmy ↗

"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 ↗

"They have stolen a free product and are now actively locking out the people who built it."

TheTearMiser, Lemmy ↗

"Google now has a flag on my phone they can control remotely to keep me from accessing the apps I want."

vala, Lemmy ↗

"Android was never actually open and now they are abandoning even the thin pretense."

Tiraon, 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 ↗

"The phrase 'sideload' is psychological propaganda we are all best off rejecting."

WaffleMonster, Slashdot ↗

"Google seems to actively hate people who develop for their platforms."

hbn, 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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"Google wants the authority of a gatekeeper without the overhead of human accountability."

afferi300rina, 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 ↗

"It took them 17 years to finally pull the cage all the way shut."

Apocryphon, 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 ↗

"Play store is full of scam apps, F-Droid isn't, but Play Store is considered secure. It's all theatre."

gcupc, Lobsters ↗

"Some time in the future, we will look back to this era and ask ourselves what went wrong."

BenjaminRi, 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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"The war on General Purpose Computing is the death of innovation and a direct attack on digital freedom."

layfellow, 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 ↗

"Google's plan to require developer verification would give Google and governments the ability to ban any app."

Zak, 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 ↗

"Android is for everyone, provided they submit to Google exclusively."

gumby271, 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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"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 ↗

"Brazil government app refuses to operate with developer mode on."

flykespice (developer in Brazil), Hacker News ↗

"I hate this so much. More and more I get the feeling I have no control over the devices I own. My fear is that Windows will eventually follow. For security reasons of course. It's the path we're on now."

cheesyvoetjes, Reddit ↗

"We are talking about something categorically worse than vendor lock-in: Collective vendor lock-in."

anordal, Lobsters ↗

"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 ↗

"All the banking and payment apps in India refuse to open if you have developer mode on."

nibbleyou (developer in India), Hacker News ↗

"'Sideload' is like 'jaywalking'; seeks to stigmatize humans being human."

tejtm, Hacker News ↗

"Social engineering is destroyed with education, not with restriction and control. Trading freedom for safety eliminates both."

survirtual, Hacker News ↗

"You are essentially a child to them. The difference is society has decided not to step in to protect you from your abusive parents."

globular-toast, Hacker News ↗

"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 ↗

"Modern life practically forces you to put all your eggs into a phone controlled by one of two profit-seeking companies."

koala, 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 ↗

"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 ↗

"You have no right telling me what I can and cannot run on my own devices."

MrZander, Hacker News ↗

"For 'security' -- always security with these assholes. They're just building the walls of the walled garden higher."

lynxy, Tildes ↗

"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 ↗

"The open Android I knew and loved is long gone."

girvo, Hacker News ↗

"It's not cyclic. It's a ratchet and it gets tighter and tighter."

BenjaminRi, Lobsters ↗

"They're boiling the frog -- slowly removing features until all choice is gone."

hn92726819, Hacker News ↗

청원 참여자들의 목소리

"I rely on open source software on all my devices, including my phone. F#ck google and their authoritarian-friendly, privacy destroying policies. I'm scared of the future of software. I don't wanna have to give my government ID just to use a f#cking "

Tyler, 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've been using APKs ever since I got my first phone, and now, it's an indispensable part of my life. Things I downloaded, games that I played that would be lost to time because the very people who made them forgot about them, things I watched, all those experiences... How can one take it away from us? We want our freedom. So what if we may be downloading viruses and having our data stolen? It's our choice, and it's nothing to be worried about by other people. And in my experience, there aren't as many viruses in the internet as people think. I know that I never got one. If APKs are gone, my main sources of entertainment — the things that kept me alive all this time by brightening up my days — they will be gone too. So, this cannot happen. This can't go on. I need my APKs. And I will not stop fighting for their existence, because they are a valuable part of my existence. - The Meteor "

João Pedro, change.org ↗

"Open source exploration is too important to add any additional barriers to entrance. I expect it's bad for all of us, including alphabet and Google, the aosp... a new open model may rise from a push such as this. Really though, don't be evil, please "

Eric, change.org ↗

"Google doesn't realise that for many Android users, the ability to install .apk files from unverified developers is the sole reason we don't flock to IOS or another mobile OS. Let's make sure they know. "

Marshall, change.org ↗

"I use android phones and coordinate my digital life using the Google ecosystem. I chose Android/Google because although I loved the iPhone and iOS, I didn't want to use a closed digital environment. I don't "sideload" apps on my phone, just like I don't "sideload" programs on my laptop. I install apps myself, outside of the Google Play Store. I've rooted many of my phones too, for many different reasons. There's nothing illegal going on, I simply want things on my phone to look and function a certain way. When Google takes away my ability to install apps myself in September, it will eliminate it's primary advantage over Apple. When my current phone contract ends I'll buy an iPhone instead of a Samsung or other Android OS phone. There are millions of other people, like myself, that will do the exact same thing. "

John, change.org ↗

"What's the joke about Android being another iOS? Sure, you can find whatever you want on the Play Store as long as it's there, but there are junk apps and paid apps that ask you to doxx yourself and tell them where you live and everything else. No, where's the freedom in that that Android always had? .... Another iOS? No. "

mike, change.org ↗

"we pay for these devices and maintain them. we should be able to do anything we want with them. Locking us out is just greed. Like buying a car. then having to pay ever month to use the heated seats that are already in the car. if anything, let us put a different system on the phone. "

David, change.org ↗

"What Google is doing seems awful to me; taking away the user's freedom to install any APK app they want is like forcing users to install whatever Google wants. It's deplorable. "

Pedro, change.org ↗

"This change would defeat the core purpose at the heart of what the Android platform is. Remember when Google used to use the slogan "Don't be Evil"? Well this is about as evil as it gets. "

Justin, change.org ↗

"One reason people buy android devices is for the freedom it offers. As it stands, should I buy a phone in the future, I'll probably just pick a Linux phone instead to avoid Google. "

Timothy, change.org ↗

"https://c.org/ztGgdyG2f4 "

Rosita, change.org ↗

"Time to summon Nokia to make Google show some respect bruh "

Rafael, change.org ↗

"Ces é paia mano "

Solalalule, change.org ↗

"Don't trust billionare companies, they want to take away our choice! "

Hugo, change.org ↗

"I originally chose android so I can learn and make things with apk packages, modify my phone and practice security and privacy. Also to break away from the apple cult. If google goes through with it, that'll betray myself and so many others who feel the same. "

Christopher, change.org ↗

"As a kid, I used to think iPhone, and iOS as a whole, was great. As I thought "people don't need alot of things, they have everything they want." Until I had a Google Pixel 6 Pro for Christmas. It became my tinkering device, and allowed me to access things, I never knew I wanted. And it allowed me to have access things that usually would've costed my family a pretty penny. By forcing verification "

Josue, change.org ↗

"Removing the feature that set android apart, the very feature that drove countless users to choose Android, is not something we will sit idly by and accept. These are our devices. We own them. Not the corporations. They do not get to tell us how we can and can't use our devices. You are not protecting us. You are attempting to control us, to build a monopoly and line your pockets more than you already have. "

Jorja, change.org ↗

"FOSS IS WHAT BUILT ANDROID. THIS WILL HURT FOSS. "

Noah, change.org ↗

"Because if Google prevents unverified apk installation it will interfere with downloading open source apps and self-signed apps "

error, change.org ↗

"Apple's censorship of the App Store is why I have an Android phone. This is not the way to freedom. "

Cameron, change.org ↗

"Boydan girmek lazım "

Said, change.org ↗

"Isn't the whole purpose of Android yo be open source? Where's that going to Google? Get your s**t together "

Jarred, change.org ↗

"First they monopolize the internet, then they banned adblocks, and now they are coming after one of the last truly open platforms people still have. This is not just about Android, it is about the direction the entire digital world is heading. If we do not push back now, there may soon be no open platforms left. "

Maxim, change.org ↗

"Locking down the Android OS does not benefit developers, or users. It gives more control for Google, to eventually extract more from their users. Android has not been the epitome privacy and FOSS, for a while now; but it has at least kept some of those options open for users. Limiting sideloading is ruining my last reason to use Android. Time to switch. "

Steven, change.org ↗

"Google, as a US based company, is trying to seize control over who can and who cannot create applications for Android. If you purchase a phone, you should be able to use it however you see fit. But now, if you want to develop a simple app for your daily use or for a small project that doesn't strictly align with Google or the US government's agenda, you could be denied the right to install it and even persecuted or doxxed. "

Ivan, change.org ↗

"The whole reason Android is popular is because it's open source. By locking away sideloading and forcing developers to verify themselves, what difference is there between this and iOS, which is starting to allow sideloading of apps? "

Ruben, change.org ↗

"We can't back down "

Victor Vitienzo, change.org ↗

"I should be allowed to make my own decisions about what I want to install on my device, smartphones nowadays are basically pocket computers and the ability to install apps from any source is by far the biggest reason I chose Android over iOS. Only being able to install apps from verified developers also gives power to Google to censor apps they don't like. "

Ryan, change.org ↗

"Hello, I have been using Android my whole life, and I have always disliked iOS because of how locked down its operating system is. Recently, I have heard that Google may want to lock down Android and restrict third-party creators, and that is very concerning. Android’s openness is one of its biggest strengths. Not everyone can afford the cost and requirements to publish apps on the Google Play Store, and many independent developers rely on the ability to distribute apps outside of it. Android is also the largest operating system worldwide, and many devices such as the Meta Quest depend on Android and their own app stores. Locking down Android could create major problems for these platforms and users. As someone who plans to create and upload Android applications in the near future, this kind of change would be very limiting and would hurt creativity and development. Please keep Android open, and do not turn it into a system like iOS. Thank you for your time. "

charlie, change.org ↗

"I've always installed software from whatever source I chose. I don't think locking things down on Android any more than they already are helps anyone. It just adds fuel to suspicions we already have about Google vision due the Android ecosystem. "

Jason, change.org ↗

"Sick and tired of Google's garbage. "

Gabriel, change.org ↗

"My property. My rules. "

Steven, change.org ↗

"We need independent devs and apps to maintain a viberant ecosystem in the face of modern stagnation. Plus people have the right to choose products that align with their own values and needs. "

m, 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 ↗

"Trying to avoid strangleholds and controlling policies like this is literally the exact reason i use Android over Apple products, this is a massive step backwards for Android that sets a major precedent for censorship and monopolization that i absolutely loathe, this WILL make me significantly more likely to avoid Android and use other brands in the future if gone through with. This isn't protecting anyone, it's just a sickening bid for even more power and control. "

Grace, change.org ↗

"The reason people have Android is not only because it's cheap ,but because of the freedom The OS has... taking away this freedom ,is like taking away someone's heart "

Ayrton, change.org ↗

"Android has always been about freedom. "

ben, change.org ↗

"User Freedom is the Android standard, what the user chooses to do with his Android device is done under his own accountability. This is an attempt to monopolize and monetize the users "choice" by removing all avenues aside from google's approved path. Sideloading is not a risk that google is trying to protect their users from, it is a risk to their revenue that would come from selling you a tool made of easily copyable code, since all purchases made from apps installed through "normal means" give 30% of that revenue to google. What google wants is money, and they get money by placing their own guiding rails on your attention. they give you a free app that sustains itself with either some "full version purchase/subscription" or google's own ad platform. Their ads are another form of revenue to google, as well as app developers, though they have the downside of attempting to guide your attention away from what you're doing at the time and stimulate you into spending on whatever is being sponsored to be shown to you. There are thousands of apps on the play store, there are thousands more on other sources, and the very ones on the play store are subject to a policy of "update your app within x years or it will be removed from the play store;" this is a death sentence to any developer that simply wants to create a tool to help others by having to constantly update, then having to have some way to make it sustainable by some form of monetization since it's going to have an upkeep. It's either this, or being "doomed to obscurity outside the play store." In every step of the ladder of usage, google wants to have more money, search for an app, sponsored results first, then actual search query response, start downloading an app, the layout changes to show multiple carousels of sponsored apps "tailored to you," open an app, ads, wherever they can be, chosen by years of usage tracking and market control research, making money to google because companies will pay to have their names spread to gather attention, pay for services, subscriptions, and tools, giving 30% of it to google. A company like google measures its success by how much money they make, while the creators of tools, services, and games read through their mail, appreciating good reviews and crying about bad ones because passion is what led them to create. Take GitHub for example, a site comprised entirely to sharing code, entire project libraries free and open-source for anyone to use. Take StackExchange, multiple forums where questions and answers between experts of hundreds of subjects ranging from pure mathematics to writing to Dungeons & Dragons. Take Anna's Archive, a long-standing attempt to preserve literature media and providing methods to acces, preserve, and add to over 63 million books and 95 million papers, all for free. The average person is not me, but the average person includes large numbers of people younger than me that will accept whatever comes to their hands at the end of the day, it includes large numbers of people older than me that will be glad of an oversimplified process that won't take from their time. We need to be lucid enough to not waste time, the old will have too little time to care how they're being led, and the young will be raised into being led and believe it's natural. We need to show that our time is a value to each of us, and be strong enough to not sell our time to the well-oiled machine made to line a distant someone's pockets. "

Carlos, change.org ↗

"I switched for freedom - not this. "

Harrison, change.org ↗

"This would be removing a key benefit of android over apple. Having control over what is on your device should be a given to owning it as your personal property, and Google shouldn't have a say in what is and isn't allowed on your phone in any circumstance "

Ethan, change.org ↗

"When I purchased my Android product, it was with the understanding that I could use it how I pleased. This doesn't make anything better, they are doing this in a bid to control what their consumers are able to access. It is predatory and they must be held accountable. "

Phillip, change.org ↗

"The entier reason I left apple is because of Googles open source and user controlled devices, allowing for sideloading APKs as well as giving you ultimate say on if somthing is safe for you. Add in the new OneUI 8 that has more or less stopped users from rooting devices and we might as well just call it the "Apple Google phone" and just shut down google. Let Steve Jobs win as Google/Samsung seem to prefer. "

Jaylin, change.org ↗

"Does google not understand that the reaso ehy I refused to use iphones is that I cannot use my prefered apps on it. If google loses that, google loses me as well. "

bruno, change.org ↗

"APK or go away "

Joshua, change.org ↗

"The device that you bought that you own should not have any restrictions added after the purchase of what you can or cannot download onto said device. What (Google) is trying to do is going directly against that. "

Emilie, 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 ↗

"Google's monopolistic power over what we can and cannot download/do/say is already too strong. This cannot continue. "

Briar, change.org ↗

"Freedom to choose... With this new move by Google, that freedom is ripped away. Moves like this are things monopolies do, and Google has now proven it wants to be a monopoly. Android has been the staple of choice and open source since it's inception and taking that away is a slap in the face to every person who chooses to customize their phone, and create an experience unique and exclusive to them. Google, stop this foolishness by not forcing users and developers hands. They should have the freedom to choose what they want, or how they develop. "

Kevin, change.org ↗

"This would destroy a lot of unknown developers and other people who make great apps. "

Aidan, change.org ↗

"This will be removing the rights of citizens and adding authoritarian restraint via our private communication devices whilst calling it a feature. I do not use Google. I use Android. Soon I will be forced to use neither. "

Ryan, change.org ↗

"This is some dirty anti competitive google practice. One of the main reason why people choose android is it's freedom. I'd use a custom rom if my phone supported it(it's a galaxy a04e). Man, i like AOSP, and i really think way mkre people should be using android custom roms for privacy and freedom, because of companies like this, who want to create a monopoly. Android is a good OS, but the company who owns is garbage tbh. So, what i meant is, dont let them continue with those anti competitive practices, havent we had enough of google and big techs dirty practices? "

QByte, change.org ↗

"Developer verification can improve security, but requiring centralized registration for all apps on certified devices risks creating new barriers to competition and innovation. Security shouldn’t come at the cost of openness and choice. "

Caleb, change.org ↗

"Freedom to install apps not verified by Google is one the main reasons to choose android over IOS. And claims that it's for security is BS. There are plenty of malicious apps on the playstore anyways, and this is going to lead to people who don't necessarily know what they're doing doing things like rooting their device, unaware of the risks. Besides, why is it any of Google's business what apps I install on a device I purchased? "

Cliff, change.org ↗

"This new policy is absurd and should never go into effect. Android's "openness" has always been a big selling point, and now they are trying to take that from everyone. "

Leonardo, change.org ↗

"I've spent my entire youth and adult life trying my very best to curate tech that puts me in charge rather than some unaccountable corporation. Unfortunately not everyone has the luxury I do, and even my position is somewhat precarious. As a user of GrapheneOS, theoretically this change will not affect me directly, but that doesn't mean the ripples will not reach me. App developers are being hamstrung in such a way that I have no confidence whatsoever that these proposed changes to the Android ecosystem won't wind up killing useful and important apps that I use. Just using an unverified device is not enough, these changes must not go through. "

Ben, change.org ↗

"The biggest reason I use Android is that I'm free of the lockdown and monitoring imposed by Apple. If Google locks out developers then the system I love will perish. "

Samuel, change.org ↗

"I chose to use Android devices specifically due to the control that I, as an end user, have over my files and the programs I chose to install on them. Even if a program comes from an independent programmer, even from other countries stores (like RuStore), even if it an open source app (like the ones from F-Droid), or just choosing to use Telegram from the first and most reliable source ever- the developer's website itself. I once had an iOS device and I totally detested how locked up it was, it was almost as if I were digitally "high jacked", depending on authorisation to do anything! Please don't remove us our freedom of doing to our devices our own experiments, finding and developing emulators for our old games and apps that suit our needs even if they're not economically viable. Plus: Don't take away the one tool many persecuted Christians around the world have to download Bibles to their phones. That's cruel and inhumane. "

Barbara, change.org ↗

"The whole entire point of an Android phone is that you have freedom and a choice in matters like this. Taking away that choice is basically taking away the entire point of buying an Android over any other phone. We deserve the choice. "

Madison, 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 ↗

"As I'm planning on purchasing a new device soon, this announcement is making me reconsider choosing android at all. If it is moving towards controlling user freedoms, Android becomes less compelling, as that has been the major draw for me. "

Taryn, change.org ↗

"Continue to keep our rights to open-source applications a reality for all Android users on every device and keep the option for everyone to create & install the apps they choose. Allow us to make the choice for ourselves and respect the integrity and freedom of the developers & users that love the Android. "

Mitch, change.org ↗

"The whole reason Android is superior to other os is because its an open platform. If you change what makes it great....then its no longer great. Its a copy cat IOS falling in line with everyone else and no longer blazing its own path. "

Michael, change.org ↗

"Open source is people power "

Nathan, change.org ↗

"Keep Android from being like Apple controlling every aspect of what can be installed or not, that's why i don't own iPhones never will. If android is going in the same direction ill get a flip phone I don't need big brother telling me what i can do or can't on my phone, i worked hard to pay for! in the name of safety always same bullshit excuse when they want to violate people's rights... "

melvyn, change.org ↗

"Sim ao Android "

Cristina, 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 ↗

"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 ↗

"Android phones letting me control my apps in my way is why I love and stick with Android. I can't support upstart developers without our current APK framework. A future without one of the lead reasons I own an Android phone, is a future where I just stop owning a phone. "

Kyle, change.org ↗

"Removing Android's freedom of sideloading is bad. People use Android because they have freedom, no matter the brand—Samsung, Google, etc. But now they want to get rid of our freedom; that is horrible. People who are developers who don't want to pay to publish their app on the store could, but with this going through, changes EVERYTHING. Sign this petition, Android can't go down like this. "

Elias, change.org ↗

"Don't let Google shut down Android, let your voice be heard! "

Gustavo, change.org ↗

"Android was once the pinacle of freedom, not letting that stay in the past "

Juan, change.org ↗

"This change would kill the biggest reason I use Android, because I have the freedom to sideload useful apps that aren't available in the official store. I have never once bought an iPhone, but Apple's comparative respect for user privacy seems preferable now, so I'll most likely make the switch. "

Raymond, 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 ↗

"I, as an Android user for 17 years, believe in, and chose Android for, device openness and the freedom of choice. To choose my device, the services I use, from where I download my applications, and to choose FOSS apps that don't require developer registration or sacrificing personal privacy by accepting trackers and/or unnecessary permissions being tied to my app usage. Choice and freedom is what built Android and differentiated it from other platforms, like iOS, Windows Mobile, and other early smartphone operating systems. The trend of destroying user choice through the inability to unlock bootloader and easily root devices, the effective and increasing destruction of the custom ROM community and options, and now the elimination of third party app stores that offer incredible FOSS apps with greater focus on user privacy is one more step Google and Android are taking towards an undesirable ecosystem for many of us who still choose Android for its few remaining, and quickly disappearing, advantages. The argument that Google is requiring developer registration and restricting the ability of alternative app stores, like F-Droid, to continue to thrive as legitimate and worthwhile options is anti-consumer and isn't to protect users. Rather, it's to give users and consumers less control over their devices and data and, in my opinion, that is unacceptable. "

Roger, change.org ↗

"This is the main reason I am a android user. If I have to choice between 2 closed systems then I will go to OS "

Victor Daniel, change.org ↗

"I should be able to use any app I want on my phone "

Alejandro, change.org ↗

"If you break android in this way, we will go elsewhere, and more code will be written, more avenues gone down and new ways to sidestep your control and ditch your software will emerge. You can't win, but you can lose. "

Daniel, 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 ↗

"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 ↗

"Google detente. "

Angel Gabriel, change.org ↗

"I have been avoiding iPhone and using Android specifically for this reason. Why would Google change something that is working for them? Why ruin something good? Short sighted and stupid move. "

Will, change.org ↗

"Google, which has long positioned itself as a defender of freedom on the internet, now seems to be taking worrying steps by trying to limit the installation of apps outside of the Google Play Store. This move not only restricts users' freedom of choice, but also centralizes even more power in the hands of a single corporation, creating a closed and controlled environment. By forcing developers to comply with its rules and fees, Google eliminates the possibility of cheaper or even free alternatives, making the Android ecosystem more restricted and expensive. Moreover, this decision goes against the very essence of Android, which has always been based on freedom of customization and access. It's a setback for users who seek greater control over their devices and privacy. Limiting app installations outside the Play Store is not just a matter of convenience, but a matter of respecting user autonomy. "

Júnior, change.org ↗

"APK ARE IMPORTANT,IT'S SOME GAMES THAT ARE NOT ON PLAYSTORE "

Paulo, change.org ↗

"I think the freedom to have a choice on this matter is important, not just because there is a case to make regarding unsupported products let alone possible monopoly concerns, but also because there is a major issue regarding the freedom of choice on this matter that I think should not be taken away as an option for consumers. "

Ronald, change.org ↗

"Welp if APK files limited then there is no need for us to use android from now on. "

Emir, change.org ↗

"I switched to Android to escape Apple's aggressively anti-consumer walled garden. My S20 Ultra (that I paid over $1600 for, after tax) is finally starting to show it's age, but now I have no incentive to get another android device for my next smartphone if you follow through with these changes. I've been a vocal supporter of Android for years, but if you don't scrap this change, I will boycott Alphabet products altogether and do my best to ensure as many others as possible are well-informed on why they should do the same. "

Jacob, change.org ↗

"The spirit of open source is one of the basis of the Internet.Please do not reverse the course of history. "

Roberto, change.org ↗

"Every time you centralise something, you are adding a point of failure that used to not exist. And you can not trust those who care only for money to care for anything else. "

Andrew, 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 ↗

"I use software that is not in the google play store. I want the freedom to use my phones. tablets, and other devices how I want them. "

Doug, change.org ↗

"What is an android without weird apps installed from a weird website... I'm just kidding but that is what make better android you can make anything that you want. but if you can't install apps from outside of the play store you are going to lose so much content and I don't talk English so well but for this cause I'm did learn... An android without free apps not is an real android. And I'm not talking about like all apps need to don't cost I'm talking of being free of install any thing that you need. That's all thanks for read and remember being free is better than being dreaming. "

Elias, change.org ↗

"Perhaps Google shares the same ideals as that damned communist country of China; they want to take away our freedom. "

Henrique Kelvin Alves da, change.org ↗

"This won't make Android surpass Apple - it'll just speed up its demise "

ching, 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 ↗

"Save Android !! Without it being open-source and freely usable, there *is* no good alternative to iOS, simply a mere copy of Apple's notoriously awful anti-consumer model. Personally, I won't stand for this blatantly money-focused and privacy-inhibiting change, and you shouldn't either! "

Brandon, change.org ↗

"I am Japanese and using translation. I am deeply disappointed about this matter. There is no need to restrict the great features of Android. If only a limited number of people can develop, it will only lead to the decline of content. Please stop making things worse. "

成田, change.org ↗

"I can explain why I use Android, and therefore Google services, by the fact that Google used to care about its users, their rights, and their freedom. Although not as much as we would like. After what Google has presented, my phone will soon be no different from an iPhone. I'm not happy about this; I want freedom. I want the freedom to install the apps and APK files I choose, not just the ones I am "allowed" to download. "

Sviatoslav, change.org ↗

"Being an "approved developer" is such a stupid word. Android was known for the freedom of developers and now we are being silenced. "

Kash, change.org ↗

"The idea that you don't get to decide what software runs on your computer is so toxic and terrible. I don't want google to have the ability to limit what I can do with my devices, nor do I want them to censor developers that don't meet their requirements. It's my device, I want to decide who I trust to write my software. "

Bruce, change.org ↗

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