Google is Killing Open Source Android Apps (Here's Why)

Here's why:

they are a greedy company

Money is the reason. I don’t need to read the article to know.

Its always the reason. Why is this thing shit? Because money greed.
It's a video...
- Thanks for the heads up, now I know not to open it
- Enjoy your clickbait

I read somewhere that GrapheneOS devs have a strategy which they believe will work -- they strip out something or other about app/device attestation (?) from APK files before installing occurs, or the enforcement code itself from their spin of the OS, so sideloading (ie., user-controlled installation) can still work.

I sure hope so... I think everyone in their respective country needs to scream at their local regulators about this.

Of course, this will only help those whose devices GrapheneOS can run on.

The GrapheneOS team is already in communications with an Android OEM to see if they can make a device that meets their specs, hopefully that bears fruit in a year or two.
- Wdym a device that meets theur specs, as in a replacement for the Pixel? Or straight up a GrapheneOS device, standalone?
Google has already shared how apps' developers will be verified. They're adding another app that will have access to block installing apps or disable them. That won't work on GrapheneOS because 1. the app won't be installed and 2. the app won't have that kind of privileged access.
- ROFL we got redstarOS on mainstream phones before gta6
- I think the issue is new hardware and google starting to close source android, so that Graphene devs don't have the open source to work with. They'll probably get binary blobs
- Soooo we just block that app, right?
And how long is it going to work?
Do we really want to play cat and mouse with Google? I don't.
- The way Google will block apps with unverified developers won't work on GrapheneOS. The change won't be part of AOSP. On the stock OS, the functionality will be handled by another Google app that has privileged access. GrapheneOS won't be affected directly.
- Right... I want to see Linux distros.
I hope so as well. This debacle with RCS not working on GrapheneOS has been a real dick-punch. I really don't want to go back to a stock OS.
- I have accepted no RCS. I miss some of the features, sure, but until I can get more than one person to use something like signal I'll stick with insecure SMS thru a FOSS provider I guess.
- It's my understanding that RCS was fixed for most users after this update: https://grapheneos.org/releases#2025092700. You may need to grant permissions to Google Play Services first, then clear Google Messages' storage, grant permissions to Google Messages, then try setting it up again.
- I thought the RCS thing was also happening on stock Android? Wasn't it more of a carrier thing?
Shouldn't they be keeping bypass strategies a secret right now?
- Shouldn’t they be keeping bypass strategies a secret right now?
  They're up against a company with more money and developers than they know what to do with. This is, at most, a game of cat and mouse. Secrecy will buy them a sprint or so.
  If Google wants to go nuclear, they can do some rolling encryption bullshit or put a million calls all over the OS to check app validity and stop open source altogether.

This will face legal hurdles, especially in the EU and China. It reminds me of the time Microsoft played shell games with Chrome and Firefox and then lost eventually. That being said, it will kickstart a new mobile OS arms race, not necessarily to beat Android but for choices.

This will definitely not be challenged in the EU. It's the whole basis that makes chat control possible on a technical level.
- The markets authority and antitrust offices are different people than the chat control people, they aren't a unified organisation, they will probably argue about it.
Android can be forked at any time
- Above all, the organisation behind it must be or become sufficiently robust, like GNU/Linux, in order to take up the torch, but that requires a lot of financial backing.
  It's not impossible, but in my opinion it won't happen right away and is likely to take time to implement. Once that's done, the only issue left will be installation (for users, that is).
- ... except for the binary os blobs, that'll need to be reverse engineered to run it on... well... any real hardware /s
would love it if some viable linux based alternatives came out of this.
- Erm akhshually, android is linux /s
HarmonyOS already exists in China as a fork of android, I wonder if something similar may spawn from the EU
- I'm surprises at how SailfishOS has a limited presence. This could be that moment. HarmonyOS is sick. I've seen it in action and it is on another league.

sigh and here I was looking forward to switching back to Android since I missed being able to install APKS...

This comes with trump and its another shot at us. Class warfare!

Couldn't f droid in theory request their own key?

This is a terrible situation, but surviving for a few more years isn't a bad idea

The f-droid team spoke to that in a recent post. They can't do that for legal reasons. The post basically said that if that change isn't stopped on a government level there's no way for them to continue working. They didn't mention roms.
Edit for the link: https://f-droid.org/en/2025/09/29/google-developer-registration-decree.html
- Here's the relevant quote:
  The F-Droid project cannot require that developers register their apps through Google, but at the same time, we cannot “take over” the application identifiers for the open-source apps we distribute, as that would effectively seize exclusive distribution rights to those applications.
  I think that last sentence is saying that it would work, if developers decided to exclusively distribute to F-Droid and effectively gave up control over the app to the F-Droid team.
  I'm thinking there might be a possibility to register the same app under two different identifiers, one controlled by F-Droid, the other by developer.
  But yeah, this makes some things more complex and might be deemed malicious behaviour by Google.

Timestamp 07:00-18:30