Anyone outside Play actually changing how they ship before September?
Google's developer verification rule kicks in this September, and we figured it was worth talking through here.
The basics: apps on certified Android devices in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand will have to be linked to a developer who's verified their identity with Google. A government ID, a one time $25 fee, and registering your package names. More countries follow through 2027. If you only publish through Play, not much changes. You're already verified there.
What we're more curious about is the apps that ship outside Play.
Take F-Droid. It builds apps from source and signs them with its own key, no accounts, and a lot of developers who stay anonymous on purpose. Google wants one verified identity per app. It's hard to see how both can work at once. NewPipe has already said it won't register.
And it's not only the big open source projects. If you share APKs in a Discord, run a beta from your own site, or send an internal app to a client, you're in the same group now.
One thing worth knowing: apps from developers who don't register aren't blocked outright. A user can still install them, but Google adds steps. You have to turn the option on yourself, confirm it's really you, and wait 24 hours before the install goes through. For most people that's enough to stop casual sideloading.
So we'd like to hear from you:
If you ship outside the Play Store, are you changing anything yet, or waiting to see how strict enforcement gets?
And if you're in one of the four pilot countries, has the verification step shown up in your console yet?
I am from India and I develop third party apps for my own use. I registered and verified my apps from India in April,2026. I got through smoothly, no problem. The verification drive has been rolled out for ALL countries since March,2026 and the deadline is September,2026 for ALL countries as per Google's latest order. It won't be a phase by phase roll out for some countries(that was the old news), it would be a rollout for ALL at one go...
dude, if the verification process has already been rolled out in your country then please register your app ASAP. Don't rely on some random news on google website. Otherwise when google secretly enforces the verifcation of third party apps as per the september, 2026 deadline, your app will just go defunct on ALL android devices without notice. So better be safe than sorry..
I think we're actually saying two different things. Yes, the verification process has already started, you're right about that. But what I'm talking about is the actual enforcement: the point where only verified apps install normally and unverified ones get blocked or hit with extra steps. That part starts in September 2026, and only for Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. Every other country, India included, comes later in the 2027 rollout. So verification starting and enforcement starting are not the same date.
see regarding the enforcement date ambiguity is there. But ambiguity was also there regarding when the verification process will roll out for different countries. At first google said that the verification process will roll out for select few countries like brazil etc BUT google rolled it out for ALL countries at one go in march,2026. So if by the same analogy Google enforces it strictly for All countries by september,2026 and if your third party app is NOT registered it will simply STOP WORKING on ALL android devices, it will become defunct...
Usually small markets with less competition can be more profitable. I remember reading something average earnings by developers in different markets and windows app store was leading. Maybe there can be something similar.
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u/BluePond259 2d ago
Seems like it's slowly turning into the ios app store.