More and more locked down devices, Android source releases only being published once a year, device drivers for reference devices disappearing, and now, verification of all your software for your "security". The war on general computing is well and truly on.
What the absolute fuck.
They've been chipping away at this over the years. Safetynet was the first offense, but if they start restricting app installation from sources of my choice (I hate the term "sideloading"), there's not much advantage left.
rep_wex•1h ago
jajuuka•29m ago
ohdeargodno•22m ago
> Verify your identity
> * You will need to provide and verify your personal details, like your legal name, address, email address, and phone number. > * If you're registering as an organization, you'll also need to provide a D-U-N-S number and verify your organization's website. > * You may also need to upload official government ID.
Only one of those three applies to organizations.
>A note for student and hobbyist developers: we know your needs are different from commercial developers, so we’re creating a separate type of Android Developer Console account for you.
Nothing about it says anything about having lighter requirements, just not going through a Play Console link. Even if the requirements end up being "lighter", the minimum will always be at least "link a Google account", which is already a massive privacy breach.
> It also doesn't prevent you from side loading.
It absolutely does. Quoting from Google:
>Starting next year, Android will require all apps to be registered by verified developers in order to be installed by users on certified Android devices.
certified Android devices being... 99.9% of all Android devices in existence.
https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/elevating-...