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In the new blog post, Google’s Matthew Forsythe confirms that the developer verification system is slated to come online on September 30 of this year. The initial deployment will be limited to countries with a high level of app scams: Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand.
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Google released its new developer console back in March, inviting external developers the opportunity to pay $25 and verify their identities early. Developers who don’t register will find that their apps cannot be sideloaded on Google-certified Android devices once verification has rolled out. Google says that almost every app in the Play Store is now ready for the change, and a “large majority” of apps outside Google Play have completed verification.
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Google says it will verify the apps in the following stores when it begins enforcing the new restrictions.
Google (Google Play)
Honor (HONOR App Market)
OPlus (OPPO App Market)
Samsung (Galaxy Store)
Transsion (Palm Store)
vivo (V-Appstore)
Xiaomi (GetApps)
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The next step toward verifying apps will come this month as Google deploys a new system service on most certified devices. The package (com.google.android.verifier) will appear on phones and tablets running Android 8 or higher, allowing Google to block the installation of unverified apps. It will remain dormant until verification is activated in your specific region.
In July, Google plans to roll out the new developer APIs and begin testing for “limited distribution” accounts. This is Google’s solution for hobbyists who want to make their own apps and share them with a small group. Limited accounts won’t require a fee or government ID verification, but you can install these apps on up to 20 devices.
In August, the advanced flow will become available globally ahead of verification becoming mandatory in the first markets. As detailed a few months ago, the advanced flow will allow users to bypass verification, but the process isn’t easy. You’ll have to navigate to a buried menu, confirm you understand the risks multiple times, and wait a whole day before completing the process.
And that brings us to September, when Android devices in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand will begin checking verification status before installing apps. However, things get murky after that. Google will undoubtedly monitor how verification works as millions of users are suddenly limited to verified apps, which could affect how it moves forward. Google says it intends to expand developer verification in 2027, eventually making it a global device policy.
The bar for entry for contributing to these projects is too high. Can we instead do work to lower the bar? I don’t want to accept that there’s nothing we can do beside open our wallets. Not that I’m against donating, it’s just that money isn’t my strongest asset.
I can talk about my experience, i tried to port pmos mainline for my galaxy a40 for a while, until the phone died :( it was not easy of course, but ppl on their supoort channels have always been helpful , and tried to help and even if i didn't finished the port because my phone died, i did my luttle contributions to the wiki adding missing infos, improve some of the steps, adding deatils, etc. I think that every little contribution will help them.
Also now there is a started port of a40 if anyone is interested to continue it, and also the code for uniloader to boot (kr if u have a spare a40 to donate :) )
So even if not technical, helps with visibility, donations, documentation upgrade, installation attempts i think will be all welcome.
About the bar level. Big problem is the lack j of standardization of those devices, and all the different and various lock they put around, so for this one I think the main issue is there should be more standardization or more regulations among various devicee producers , like is with pcs (i. e. Bios, uefi) . Where there aren't locked bootloader, or for installing alternatives u need to go through a satanic rite and sacrifice your youngest relative to unlock the bootloader. And tbh i think they are making a big effort in making all the process at least doable. Maybe if they will get enough attention, or a consortium of producers will try to co e with a standard, thjngs could be better
You could perhaps contribute to their documentation if you can't contribute code. Or simply help spread awareness (where appropriate) that it is our best long-term alternative.