Bientôt votre téléphone ne vous appartiendra plus.
À partir de 2027*, une mise à jour silencieuse et imposée sans consentement par Google bloquera toutes les applications Android dont le développeur ne s'est pas enregistré auprès de Google, n'a pas signé son contrat, n'a pas payé et n'a pas fourni de pièce d'identité officielle.
Toutes les applis, tous les appareils, partout. Aucune possibilité de refus.
↓Ce que Google prépare
En août 2025, Google a annoncé une nouvelle exigence: à partir de 2027, tout développeur d'applications Android devra s'inscrire auprès de Google avant que son logiciel ne puisse être installé sur un appareil. Pas uniquement les applications du Play Store : toutes les applications. Cela inclut les applications partagées entre amis, distribuées via F-Droid, ou encore celles créées par des amateurs pour un usage personnel. Les développeurs indépendants, les groupes religieux et les associations, ainsi que les amateurs, seront toutes et tous empêchés de développer et de distribuer leurs logiciels.
L'inscription exige :
- Payer des frais à Google
- Accepter les conditions générales de Google
- Fournir une pièce d'identité officielle
- Fournir une preuve de votre clé de signature privée
- Lister tous les identifiants d'applications actuels et futurs
Si un développeur ne se plie pas à cette exigence, ses applications seront silencieusement bloquées sur tous les appareils Android de par le monde.
Qui est touché
Vous
Vous avez acheté un téléphone Android parce que Google vous avait dit qu'il était ouvert. Vous pouviez installer ce que vous vouliez, c'était le marché.
Google modifie désormais cet accord, rétroactivement, sur les appareils que vous possédez déjà. Après la mise à jour, vous ne pourrez utiliser que les applications préalablement approuvées par Google. Sur votre téléphone : votre appareil, que vous avez acheté.
Les développeurs indépendants
Qu'il s'agisse de la première application d'un adolescent, un outil de protection de la vie privée d'un bénévole ou version bêta interne confidentielle d'une entreprise : peu importe. En 2027, aucune de ces applications ne pourra être installée sans l'autorisation de Google.
F-Droid, qui héberge des milliers d'applications Android libres et open source, a qualifié cette menace d'« existentielle ». Cory Doctorow l'appelle "Darth Android".
Les gouvernements et la société civile
Google a un historique bien documenté de sa capacité à se conformer aux exigences de retrait d'applications formulées par des régimes autoritaires. Avec ce programme, le logiciel qui fait fonctionner les institutions de votre pays sera à la merci d'une seule et unique multinationale étrangère, qui ne rend de compte à personne.
L’EFF qualifie le contrôle d’accès aux applications de « voie toujours plus large vers la censure d’Internet ».
La « sortie de secours » de Google est un piège.
Google prétend que les « utilisateurs avancés » peuvent « toujours installer » des applications non vérifiées. Voici à quoi cela ressemble concrètement :
- Plonger dans les paramètres système et trouver les options pour les développeurs.
- Appuyer sept fois sur le numéro de build pour activer le mode développeur.
- Ignorer les écrans alarmistes concernant la contrainte
- Saisir votre code PIN
- Redémarrer l'appareil
- Attendre 24 heures
- Revenir, ignorer des écrans alarmistes supplémentaires
- Choisir « autoriser temporairement » (7 jours) ou « autoriser définitivement »
- Confirmer, de nouveau, que vous comprenez « les risques »
Neuf étapes. Un délai de réflexion obligatoire de 24 heures. Pour installer un logiciel sur un appareil qui vous appartient.
Pire encore : ce processus passe entièrement par les services Google Play, et non par le système d’exploitation Android. Google peut le modifier, le restreindre ou le supprimer à tout moment, sans avoir besoin de mettre à jour du système d’exploitation ou du moindre consentement.
Ça dépasse Android
Si Google peut rétroactivement verrouiller des milliards d'appareils initialement vendus comme plateformes ouvertes, tous les fabricants de matériel de la planète ont les yeux rivés sur eux.
Le principe qu'ils tentent d'imposer est le suivant : c'est le fabricant de votre appareil qui décide quels logiciels vous pouvez utiliser, après l'achat de votre appareil. Dans le domaine du logiciel, on parle d'une « arnaque éclair » qui vous coupe l'herbe sous le pied; mais au moins, vous pouvez toujours installer des logiciels concurrents. Dans le domaine du matériel, c'est un fait accompli qui vous prive de toute liberté de choix et vous rend impuissant face aux caprices d'un intermédiaire unique, une entreprise qui ne rend de compte à personne et est un monopoliste condamné.
L'ouverture d'Android n'a jamais été une simple fonctionnalité. C'était la promesse qui le distinguait de l'iPhone. Des millions de personnes ont choisi Android précisément pour cette raison. Google revient aujourd'hui unilatéralement sur cette promesse, sur des appareils déjà dans les poches de tout un chacun, car l'entreprise estime que sa position dominante sur le marché et son emprise sur la réglementation lui permettent d'agir ainsi en toute impunité.
Ars Technica: "Google's Apple envy threatens to dismantle Android's open legacy."
Mais c'est pas…
« …juste une question de sécurité ? »
L'argument de sécurité invoqué n'est qu'un leurre. Google Play Protect analyse déjà les applications à la recherche de logiciels malveillants indépendamment de l'identité du développeur. Exiger une pièce d'identité officielle ne fait rien pour rendre le code plus sûr. Cela permet d'identifier et de contrôler les développeurs. Les auteurs de logiciels malveillants peuvent s'enregistrer. Les développeurs indépendants et les dissidents, souvent, ne le peuvent pas. L'EFF est catégorique : le contrôle d'accès basé sur l'identité est un outil de censure et non de sécurité.
« …toujours du "sideloading" si l'on utilise un processus avancé ? »
24 heures d'attente, neuf étapes, enfouies dans les options pour développeurs, dépeendant d'un service propriétaire que Google peut révoquer à tout moment. Il ne s'agit pas d'une procédure d'installation d'applications. C'est un mécanisme de dissuasion conçu pour s'assurer que presque personne ne l'utilise. Et comme il passe par les services Google Play et non par le système d'exploitation, Google peut le restreindre ou le supprimer discrètement.
« …un problème seulement si l'on a quelque chose à cacher ? »
Les lanceurs d'alerte, les journalistes et les militants sous les régimes autoritaires seront les premières victimes. Les personnes victimes de violences conjugales viendront ensuite. Tous ces groupes ont des raisons légitimes de distribuer ou d'utiliser des logiciels sans que leur identité légale soit enregistrée dans la base de données de Google. La contribution anonyme aux logiciels libres est une tradition antérieure à Google lui-même. Cette politique y met fin sur Android.
« …la même politique qu'Apple ? »
Depuis sa création, Apple a toujours été un écosystème fermé. Les utilisateurs ont choisi Android parce qu'il était différent. Affirmer "qu'Apple fait pareil" relève d'une course au moins-disant et d'un argument fallacieux. Sous la pression réglementaire (notamment la directive européenne sur les marchés numériques), même Apple est contrainte de s'ouvrir. Google, quant à lui, prend le contrepied de cette tendance : il cherche à consolider son monopole.
« …seulement 25 $ et un peu de paperasse ? »
Peut-être, si vous êtes un développeur aux États-Unis avec une carte de crédit et un permis de conduire. Imaginez être étudiant en Afrique subsaharienne, dissident au Myanmar ou bénévole gérant une application de santé communautaire. Le coût n'est pas seulement financier : vous devez fournir une pièce d'identité officielle et des justificatifs et une preuve de vos clés de signature cryptographiques à une entreprise qui se plie systématiquement aux exigences gouvernementales de suppression d'applications et de dénonciation des développeurs.
Agissez
Tout le monde
- Installez F-Droid sur tous vos appareils Android. Les magasins alternatifs ne survivent que si les gens les utilisent.
- Contactez vos autorités de régulation. Les organismes de régulation du monde entier sont véritablement préoccupés par les monopoles et la centralisation du pouvoir dans le secteur technologique, et souhaitent entendre directement les personnes concernées.
- Partagez cette page. Lien vers keepandroidopen.org partout.
- Résistez aux manipulations de l'opinion publique. Les partisans du « oui mais en fait… » sont nombreux. Ne les laissez pas dicter le récit.
- Signez la pétition sur change.org et rejoignez les plus de 100 000 signataires qui ont fait entendre leur voix.
- Lisez et partagez notre lettre ouverte
- Dites à Google ce que vous pensez via leur propre sondage sur la vérification des développeurs (pour tout le bien que cela fera).
Développeurs
Ne vous enregistrez pas. Ne rejoignez pas le programme en vous inscrivant à la console développeur Android et en acceptant leurs conditions générales irrévocables. Ne vérifiez pas votre identité. Ne jouez pas le jeu.
Le plan de Google ne fonctionne que si les développeurs s'y conforment. Ne le faites pas.
- Parlez avec d'autres développeurs et organisations pour les convaincre de ne pas s'inscrire.
- Ajouter la FreeDroidWarn librairie à vos applications pour avertir les utilisateurs.
- Vous gérez un site web ? Ajoutez la bannière de compte à rebours.
Vous travaillez chez Google ?
Si vous avez des informations sur la mise en œuvre technique du programme ou sur sa justification interne, contactez tips@keepandroidopen.org à partir d'une machine personnelle et d'un compte non-Gmail. Confidentialité absolue garantie.
Ils et elles sont contre…
71 organisations de 23 pays différents ont signé la lettre ouverte
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) eff.org
La Quadrature du Net laquadrature.net
Fundación Karisma karisma.org.co
ARTICLE 19 article19.org
Brave brave.com
FACiL facil.qc.ca
GNOME Foundation gnome.org
The Calyx Institute calyx.org
Nextcloud nextcloud.com
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) fsf.org
European Digital Rights (EDRi) edri.org
FOSDEM fosdem.org
Digital Rights Watch digitalrightswatch.org.au
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) beuc.eu
The Digital Rights Foundation digitalrightsfoundation.pk
OpenMedia openmedia.org
The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) ccc.de
Italian Linux Society ils.org
Software Liberty Association of Taiwan slat.org.tw
Technopolice Bruxelles technopolice.be
Rocky Linux rockylinux.org
GitHub Store github-store.org
GNU/Linux València gnulinuxvalencia.org
iodé iode.tech
Vivaldi Technologies AS vivaldi.com
Proton AG proton.me
UnifiedPush unifiedpush.org
Open Rights Group (ORG) openrightsgroup.org
Digitale Gesellschaft digitale-gesellschaft.ch
CryptPad cryptpad.org
MetaBrainz Foundation metabrainz.org
Rossmann Group rossmanngroup.com
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) fsfe.org
Data Rights datarights.ngo
FULU Foundation fulu.org
Techlore techlore.tech
April april.org
Software Freedom Conservancy sfconservancy.org
FUTO futo.org
Fedimedia fedimedia.it
epicenter.works – for digital rights epicenter.works
F-Droid f-droid.org
The Center for Digital Progress (D64) d-64.org
Associação Nacional para o Software Livre (ANSOL) ansol.org
/e/ Foundation e.foundation
Forbrukerrådet forbrukerradet.no
Cryptee crypt.ee Ce qu'ils en disent
Presse informatique et scientifique
"Over 67 groups urge the company to drop ID checks for apps distributed outside Play"
The Register
"Google's Apple envy threatens to dismantle Android's open legacy"
Ars Technica
"Google will require developer verification to install Android apps, including sideloading"
9to5Google
"Keep Android Open"
Linux Magazine
"Google's Attack on Sideloading Will Rob Android of One of Its Best Features"
How-To Geek
"F-Droid says Google's new sideloading restrictions will kill the project"
Ars Technica
"Google kneecaps indie Android devs, forces them to register"
The Register
"Google's new ID requirements could destroy independent app stores"
TechSpot
"Google is restricting one of Android's most important features, and users are outraged"
SlashGear
"Google will verify Android developers distributing apps outside the Play store"
The Verge
"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
"This will wipe out Android as an actual alternative to Apple's mobile OS offerings."
Hackaday
"Google says it's making Android sideloading 'high-friction' to better warn users about potential risks"
XDA Developers
"F-Droid Says Google Is Lying About the Future of Sideloading on Android"
How-To Geek
"Google's new developer rules could threaten sideloading and F-Droid's future"
Gizmochina
"Google Clamps down On Android's Openness"
Internet Freedom Foundation (India)
"Google's Android developer verification program draws pushback"
InfoWorld
"Sideloading is dead for all intents and purposes. The Android you know and love is slowly disappearing."
Android Police
"F-Droid Slams Google for Misleading Users About Android's App Verification"
Android Headlines
"Google's Requirement For All Android Developers To Register And Be Verified Threatens To Close Down Open Source App Store F-Droid"
Techdirt
"Google's developer registration 'decree' means the end for alternative app stores"
Cybernews
"Google's Attack on Sideloading Will Rob Android of One of Its Best Features"
How-To Geek
"Google plans to block side-loading like Apple, declaring war on Android freedom"
Tuta Blog
"Android, Epic, and What's Really Behind Google's 'Existential' Threat to F-Droid"
Slashdot
"F-Droid Says Google Is Lying About the Future of Sideloading on Android"
How-To Geek
"We all know that's a load of bullshit. Adding a goddamn 24-hour waiting period is batshit insanity."
Thom Holwerda, OSnews
"Android Security or Vendor Lock-In? Google's New Sideloading Rules Smell Fishy"
It's FOSS News
"An 'existential' threat to alternative app stores"
The New Stack
"I've been an Android user for almost 15 years -- and Google's sideloading changes are pushing me back to iPhone"
Tom's Guide
"Open-Source Android Apps at Risk Under Google's New Decree"
TechRepublic
"Google's New Developer ID Rule Could Harm F-Droid"
Reclaim The Net
"Android app store provider Aptoide hits Google with fresh lawsuit alleging monopoly and anticompetitive chokehold"
Benzinga
"Google will require developer verification for Android apps outside the Play Store"
TechCrunch
"Open-Source Android Apps Threatened by Google's New Policy"
Datamation
"Open letter warns mandatory registration 'threatens innovation, competition, privacy and user freedom'"
Infosecurity Magazine
"Google will make you wait 24 hours to sideload Android apps"
How-To Geek
"F-Droid project threatened by Google's new dev registration rules"
Bleeping Computer
"Android's sideloading limits are its most anti-consumer move yet"
MakeUseOf
"Sideloading on Android? Soon It'll Be Like a TSA Check for Apps"
Android Headlines
"Resistance to Google's Android verification grows among developers"
Techzine EU
"Google's dev registration plan 'will end the F-Droid project'"
The Register
"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 Rules Threaten to End the F-Droid Open-Source App Store"
How-To Geek
"'Keep Android Open' Movement Challenges Google's Developer Verification Rule"
Open Source For U
"Keep Android Open – Abwehr gegen Verbot anonymer Apps von Google"
heise online
Éditoriaux & analyses
"Google's story that this move is motivated by security is obviously bullshit. The idea that Google can improve Android's safety by certifying developers, rather than code, is obvious bullshit."
Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
"Google has not removed Android's openness, but it is turning openness from a default right into a conditional, attributable, and tiered capability."
MerchMindAI
"This could turn Google into the effective gatekeeper for all apps on certified Android devices."
It's FOSS News
"This is a form of malicious compliance with the court orders stemming from its losses to Epic Games."
Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
"Although Google's claim is that this is for 'security', it does not prevent the regular practice of scammers buying up existing verified developer accounts."
Maya Posch, Hackaday
"Destroying F-Droid isn't some 'oops.' It's the mission. It's Google finally cutting the last remaining escape route and locking every single user inside their store."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"Android wasn't supposed to be 'safe.' It was supposed to be free."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"Android does not just warn anymore. It enforces."
Youssef Mabrouk, Ostorlab
"Google has announced that they are altering the deal. And telling us that we should pray that they don't alter it further. Block this policy change now before they wrap their cold metal hands around our necks."
Jesse Wilson, PublicObject.com
"Developers from sanctioned countries or those without Google Play access cannot verify themselves. This creates systemic discrimination against developers based on birthplace rather than conduct."
agnostic-apollo (Termux developer), GitHub
"Centralizing the registration of all applications worldwide gives Google newfound powers to completely disable any app it wants."
Mikhail Korotaev, Nextcloud Blog
"This is not a developer account sign-up. This is comprehensive surveillance of the software development ecosystem."
PixelUnion
"Google is turning sideloading from a right into a permission slip, and the open-source community has until September to convince it otherwise."
Reclaim The Net
"Sideloading, a longstanding pillar of Android's openness, is now being marginalized, placing the Android platform closer to the walled-garden approach of Apple's iOS."
Purism
"Innovation may be the biggest casualty in all of this. This new rule erodes your right to make informed decisions about your own devices."
MakeUseOf
"Google has announced what can only be described as a death blow to the open ecosystem that made Android. Under the guise of 'security,' Google is implementing draconian developer verification requirements."
AndroidSage
"Android is no longer the scrappy rebel. It's just another empire tightening the drawbridge."
Newsfangled
"Google isn't certifying apps, they're certifying developers. This implies that the company can somehow predict whether a developer will do something malicious in the future."
Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
"What student is going to upload their passport to a trillion-dollar surveillance corporation just to share their weekend project?"
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"The requirement extends Google's gatekeeping authority from its own Play Store to every alternative distribution channel on Android."
LLM Advocates
"The phone you bought and paid for is no longer really yours. Google decides which apps are allowed to be loaded on Android and which are not."
Tuta Blog
"Freedom of choice is being reframed as a 'security risk.'"
Newsfangled
"Google's move is not credibly about 'security,' but actually about consolidating power and tightening control over a formerly open ecosystem."
Techdirt
"There is also the very real possibility that Google will leak your identity with the result that any apps with political implications could result in persecution and worse."
I-Programmer
"Once there is no such thing as 'sideloading', there's virtually no difference between iOS and Android. I see no reason to buy Android over iOS at this point."
Thom Holwerda, OSnews
"Google's attempts to make Android 'more secure' are, in fact, increasing the risk for Android users. The more friction you introduce in the name of security, the more likely users will attempt to bypass security completely."
Ken Buckler, Enterprise Management Associates
"The $25 isn't the real cost. The chilling effect is. Submitting government ID to Google is a non-starter for pseudonymous contributors and privacy researchers."
Arafat Alim, DEV Community
"The proposed Android Developer Verification program isn't a security update; it's a kill switch for the open ecosystem."
Hillary Keverenge, Tech-ish Kenya
"Every additional bureaucratic hurdle reduces diversity in the software ecosystem and concentrates power in large established players."
Mikhail Korotaev, Nextcloud Blog
"Android is not open anymore. It's not an alternative. It's not even trying. It's iOS with ads and spyware bolted on."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
"One US corporation is placing itself between every Android developer and every Android user on earth."
PixelUnion
"This policy represents a dramatic departure from Android's decades-old tradition of openness, in which developers could build and share apps freely without first submitting to a centralized authority."
Biometric Update
"This is not about protecting users. This is about control. This is about Google cutting out the last remaining artery of independence in Android."
fireborn, mataroa.blog
Organisations & lettres ouvertes
"Your Smartphone, Their Rules: How App Stores Enable Corporate-Government Censorship."
ACLU
"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
"Centralised, intransparent security architectures certainly help secure monetization and the market by locking out competitors."
Nextcloud
"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
"Ultimately, Google's plan will stop you from owning your Android phone."
Tuta
"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
"We unequivocally advise against signing up for this program, now or ever."
F-Droid Open Letter
"We are running out of time until Google becomes the gate-keeper of all users devices."
F-Droid
"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
"Nearly 50 organizations published an open letter opposing what they characterize as a 'kill switch for the open ecosystem.'"
Tech-ish Kenya
"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
"Android's biggest strength has always been its openness. That's what attracted developers and users in the first place."
AdGuard
"Independent software distribution on Android will now require Google's explicit permission."
AdGuard
"Remember: It's your phone, your data, your freedom. Don't let Google take it away."
Tuta
"The European Pirate Party called for proportionate and transparent measures that ensure security without restricting innovation, limiting anonymity, or distorting competition."
European Pirate Party
"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
"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
"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
"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
"While Android used to be praised for its freedom and independence, it will become a closed shop just like Apple."
Tuta
"MEP Christel Schaldemose formally questioned whether Google's mandatory central registration is compatible with the Digital Markets Act."
European Parliament
"Unilaterally consolidating power to approve software into the hands of a single unaccountable corporation is a threat to digital sovereignty everywhere."
Nextcloud
"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
"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
"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
"Google is turning Android into a walled garden monopoly. We must prevent it."
Osservatorio Nessuno
"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
"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
"Google Play itself has repeatedly hosted malware, proving that corporate gatekeeping doesn't guarantee user protection."
F-Droid
"Verification just confirms who's behind the app, it doesn't guarantee clean code or rule out malicious behavior."
AdGuard
"Forcing software creators into a centralized registration scheme is as egregious as forcing writers and artists to register with a central authority."
F-Droid
YouTubers & créateurs
"Android has become what they set out to destroy."
Linus Sebastian, LMG Clips – 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
"If I'm going to be trapped in a walled garden anyway, I'll take the one that's built properly."
fireborn – Blog
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"Google is removing the one key advantage Android has over iOS."
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – 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
"That's not openness. That is control."
ChiefGyk3D – YouTube
"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
"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
"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
"When you download applications, you've simply installed an application. I don't want to use words like 'sideload.'"
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – 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
"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
"Developers of privacy-focused tools and emulators will have to dox themselves, making them vulnerable to government agencies or legal action."
SomeOrdinaryGamers (Mutahar) – YouTube
"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
"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
"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 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
"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
"Your device, their rules. The phone you bought and paid for is no longer really yours."
Tuta Blog – Blog
"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
Développeurs & communauté
"Google's plan to require developer verification would give Google and governments the ability to ban any app."
Zak, Hacker News
"The phrase 'sideload' is psychological propaganda we are all best off rejecting."
WaffleMonster, Slashdot
"The open Android I knew and loved is long gone."
girvo, Hacker News
"The war on General Purpose Computing is the death of innovation and a direct attack on digital freedom."
layfellow, Hacker News
"We are talking about something categorically worse than vendor lock-in: Collective vendor lock-in."
anordal, Lobsters
"Give me liberty or give me Symbian."
masterofn001, Lemmy
"Android was never actually open and now they are abandoning even the thin pretense."
Tiraon, Tildes
"Some time in the future, we will look back to this era and ask ourselves what went wrong."
BenjaminRi, Lobsters
"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
"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
"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
"They're boiling the frog -- slowly removing features until all choice is gone."
hn92726819, Hacker News
"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
"Google wants the authority of a gatekeeper without the overhead of human accountability."
afferi300rina, 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
"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
"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
"'Sideload' is like 'jaywalking'; seeks to stigmatize humans being human."
tejtm, Hacker News
"Play store is full of scam apps, F-Droid isn't, but Play Store is considered secure. It's all theatre."
gcupc, 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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"They have stolen a free product and are now actively locking out the people who built it."
TheTearMiser, Lemmy
"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
"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
"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
"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
"Once deployed, there's a near 100% chance of such a mechanism being used for evil."
Zak, Lemmy
"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
"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
"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
"Social engineering is destroyed with education, not with restriction and control. Trading freedom for safety eliminates both."
survirtual, Hacker News
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"For 'security' -- always security with these assholes. They're just building the walls of the walled garden higher."
lynxy, Tildes
"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
"It's not cyclic. It's a ratchet and it gets tighter and tighter."
BenjaminRi, Lobsters
"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
"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
"Google seems to actively hate people who develop for their platforms."
hbn, Hacker News
"Google now has a flag on my phone they can control remotely to keep me from accessing the apps I want."
vala, Lemmy
"Signal, VPNs -- they'll have a list of everyone opting out of government-mandated backdoors."
Max-P, Lemmy
"Android is for everyone, provided they submit to Google exclusively."
gumby271, Hacker News
"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
Les voix de la pétition
"I'm old enough to remember when Google's company montto was "Don't be evil". "
Ryan, change.org
"I wanted to switch to android because I liked the ability to still have acess to older apps and software when it no longer works. I currently have an Iphone and can no longer use older versions due to the age of my phone. Hearing this news will definitely lead me to proabably buy an Iphone over android. I will no longer have the right to download cool apps like emulators or download apps that no longer work properly on the version of the phone and software I have. I believe Google needs to reverse it decision on banning sideloading. It is a free ecosystem and users understand the risks if they do it. It is unfair for all android phones to be affected because most phones use Android and I belive this monopoly on technology needs to stop. "
Kalista, change.org
"If Google goes through with this, I will stop using Google products and services. This isn't about "safety". It NEVER is. Developer verification is yet another attempt at censoring and controlling everything. "
Elizabeth, change.org
"You okay Google? Isolation is never the answer. Hope you feel better soon! "
Robert, change.org
"For longer than I can remember, I have cherished Android's openness, the ability to side-load APKs, access to F-Droid and related means of acquiring open-source and ad-free apps. But now, here we go again with another Big Tech bait-and-switch: Android's appeal has always been it's open nature; Google captures it, promising it will not violate the fundamental openness of Android's operating system; next thing we know, Google announces it will indeed violate everything Android developers, users, and community members hold dear. Google: We are all so tired of paying to have our freedoms restricted on top of being the objects of mass surveillance. We are sick of purchasing over $1000 devices, only to have our fundamental rights to our own bought property be curtailed and our privacy interests betrayed. We will not continue to fund this behavior. Google must make a public, righteous, and inviolable commitment to keep Android devices *at least as open as they are now*. If it does not, it will be Google that feels the pinch of being locked out. "
Brian, change.org
"The openness of Android is the *only* reason many of us care. We understand Google is trying desperately to make as much money as possible, but locking down the developer ecosystem will result in the exact opposite effect. Short term thinking for short term gain. "
Avery, change.org
"Hopefully this movement is successful for the custom developmental purposes and devotion from the developers themselves. "
Jerrod, change.org
"Keep Android an open platform, avoid a massive class action lawsuit. I along many others bought an android phone precisely because of the open ecosystem, you change that, you get sued and lose customers "
Joseph, change.org
"Personal freedom and technology literacy are two things that allowed me to become so interested in technology in the first place around 4 years ago, and neither of those things are possible without the ability to realize what your phone is doing when installing an app, as well as the ability to look at the code of an open-source app to see how it works. It is allegedly about security, but that is a very insignificant byproduct compared to the real reason you were compelled to introduce this change that applies retroactively, server-side, and to everyone with no manual override, and you have abandoned all pretense of even saying "we're just checking for malware in more places". You aren't even lying to us anymore! You already scan all apps for malware and force all users to go through a series of checkboxes to be able to install apps from alternate sources, which is more than enough guardrails for the hypothetical person you want to protect, who is so smart to not just download but install an APK, but so dumb they install malware and don't realize. For what? So 99% of people will notice nothing different about their device while 1% of people will lose everything that they care about? No, it's not about that. You know that you are turning a perfectly guarded town into a police state. There might be less unpunished crime by the citizens, but that comes at the cost of more state-sanctioned crime from power-tripping assholes wanting to do the king's bidding. But we are waking up to this fact. And even besides these dictatorial changes made due to unregulated business practices, these people in power wanting you to censor their opponents will soon be kicked out, and you will face accountability for these actions you have taken to support the worst of the worst when you had the power to do the opposite. Reverse this proposition, and we'll turn the crosshairs to someone else for now. Actively fight against the enshitification of technology itself, either by example or encouragement, and we will welcome you, because our side is correct and improves the human condition, so it will win. "
Cameron, change.org
"Android livre já "
Alan, change.org
"Android libre. "
Fernando, change.org
"Android has always been about freedom on mobile, unlike iOS, and must remain so permanently. Developer identity verification on Android will not stop fraud and other malicious activities by fraudsters and scammers. They can use the browser, calls, or SMS to continue their malicious activities with impunity. This intrusive developer verification method will push both users and developers to use dangerous workarounds to run their preferred APKs outside the Play Store on Android. Furthermore, it will expose each APK developer's identity to data leaks, facilitate identity theft, and endanger everyone's privacy not to mention that it restricts the freedom of expression of developers. "
Samuel, change.org
"Invasion of privacy in the name of security "
Sadegh, change.org
"I refuse to be locked into only the play store. I need to be able to use f-droid and or install my own apk files as I will. It's my comptuer! "
Tom, change.org
"People originally went to Android way back in 2008 because of the open source nature of Android. It's what still attracts so many people to use Android. It's what keeps people on Android. Google owes so much to the open source community, from app developers to OS developers like the CyanogenMod/LineageOS teams, the CalyxOS team, and the DivestOS team among others all the way to the people who have used XDA's forums since the days of the HTC Dream. I realize Google wants to go into the 3rd stage of "Embrace, Enhance, Extinguish" but that will drive more people to Linux phones. "
Draken, change.org
"I have contributed to FOSS apps that were published to Google play and F-Droid + similar stores, as well as written multiple apps for myself and family members. Android has long been an open platform that actually gives the user(s) freedom to do what they want with the device they own. However, that free and open model is coming under threat more and more in the name of "security" all while collecting and monetizing our user data. We do not need another walled garden Apple experience. Android users use Android BECAUSE of choice and freedom, not in spite of it. "
Christopher, change.org
"let's go, ! Keep Android alive! "
jorge, change.org
"I don't want some mega corporation to tell me what code I can and cannot run on my own phone. The AI BS they're pushing is bad enough, this is even worse. "
Jackie, change.org
"my friend told me to sign it so i did "
Ethan, change.org
"For the freedom of an open and universal system for all! "
Zaphyru's, change.org
"Turning Android into Google is pathetic "
Scott, change.org
"Open means Open Google. You are a Liar Google. Pass this and watch the revolt. There are other options than Google, Google. "
Paul, change.org
"Don't be like Apple "
Tom, change.org
"The only reason I have a Samsung is because my VTuber software is an open-source APK, and I doubt Google will approve it then the restriction happens. "
Jesse, change.org
"In the eyes of serious digital Android users & developers this is an another blatant attempt by Google to monopolize & obtain total centralized control over our application space. Shockingly this mirrors a similar path seen within despotic nations, nations who are our adversaries. History has already proven this is a slippery slope. These actions will take away many jobs from from the countless Android developers & truly harm the intended purpose of Android in America. We must pick, freedom for the common people or tyranny to help a mega corporation in this new digital age. "
Phillip, change.org
"I am one of many developers who rely on Android devices as a primary development environment. Using tools such as AndroidIDE and CodeOnTheGo, I build, test, and experiment with Android applications directly on mobile hardware. However, these workflows are already heavily restricted — particularly due to changes introduced after SDK API 28, where dynamic loading of certain native libraries became limited. As a result, many development-oriented applications are now restricted to sideloading only. In addition, the current Google Play requirement of targeting a minimum SDK level of 31 further limits independent and experimental development workflows. While I understand the importance of platform security and modernization, these changes unintentionally create barriers for developers who build, test, and innovate directly on-device. I also use Termux extensively to set up full Linux-based environments on Android — including complete distributions with XFCE4 and tools such as code-server or code-oss. This allows me to work with compilers, package managers, scripting languages, and development stacks without requiring a separate desktop Linux machine. For many developers, this mobile-first workflow is not a novelty; it is a practical and accessible development setup. Recent platform restrictions risk limiting not only convenience, but also the broader ecosystem of open-source innovation on Android. Numerous open-source contributors have invested significant time and effort into building portable Linux environments, developer tooling, and educational setups that run entirely on mobile devices. These projects lower the barrier to entry for students, independent programmers, and developers who may not have access to traditional computing hardware. If such updates continue to narrow these possibilities, they could effectively undermine years of community-driven work that has enabled Android devices to function as capable, flexible development platforms. Maintaining a balance between security requirements and developer freedom is crucial. Android’s openness has historically been one of its greatest strengths, and preserving that spirit is important for fostering innovation and supporting the global developer community. "
Vkrm, change.org
"Google does not deserve more money than they have right now, this is greedy. "
Parker, change.org
"I am ashamed of Google for wanting to be a crappy replica of IOS you will kill Android by doing this but it will not kill open source operating systems that will take its place. If you continue down this path enjoy Androids funeral as there will always be coders out there who will fight for freedom of knowledge. "
Mark, change.org
"Android has always stood out because it respects the user’s right to choose. Imposing limits on sideloading or labeling people as “unapproved developers” turns that freedom into a cage. I don’t want someone else dictating how I use my own device. Restricting these choices doesn’t make anyone safer—it just centralizes power and stifles creativity. Android’s strength comes from openness, flexibility, and experimentation. Losing that feels less like protection and more like control. Users, not corporations, should decide how they interact with their devices. "
Ada, change.org
"Google doing this would not only reduce consumer rights but also create a monopoly. I do not approve of this. "
Alexis, change.org
"Android has benefited greatly from being open. It is what sperated Android from iOS. If Android is going to just be iOS, might as well just buy into the Apple ecosystem which is much more robust than Android. "
Chris, change.org
"The whole reason I keep going with Android phones is the ability to side load whatever apps I want to make the experience exactly what I want it it be. I have been using pixel phones for years because of the clean boat free experience out of the box but without the ability to download third party apk's the core thing that keeps me coming back to Android instead of iOS with be gone "
Boris, change.org
"This will affect corporate privacy for those that rely on FOSS. Personal and Business privacy will be even more at risk if these changes are applied. From the Conglomerate owner to the DIY hobbyist, we will all be affected only negatively by this. So much of the world relies and depends of FOSS, and with the already dying privacy, many people are going to be literally put at risk of injury or cessation of life because of these changes. No this isn't an overstatement, I'm serious. The amount of NDIS and NDIA workers that use FOSS to protect their clients and their information is staggering. And this will effectively cause them to provide a lower quality service. "
Tobias, change.org
"Dear Google. You have paid games. Players are trying to get the modded apk. You slap them with an "unsafe" warning. Not all modded apks can be unsafe, some are. If you want free robux, steal some. Sincerely, Yaoi Ulshade "
Yaoi, change.org
"Android has always been the more free-range mobile OS. Had this not been the case, I would have switched to Apple long ago. Open-source, third-party software has driven the Android ecosystem and app development. It's no coincidence this is coming at a time when surveillance and squashing opposition is rising parallel with fascism. "
Kahina, change.org
"Locking down android will create incredible friction to open source and 3rd party application stores. Imagine if you could only install PC programs from Microsoft Store. "
Andres, change.org
"I'll be switching to iPhone if they pass the verification requirements, what's the point of using a locked down os if a better one is around the corner. "
Edwin, change.org
"The whole reason I have used Android over iOS is because of the increased freedom to control the device I OWN. My phone is mine and I should be able to use it as I see fit. Companies like Google need to be forced to stop this anti comsumer behavior. "
Mark, change.org
"The Android system should be kept open and free for end users and developers to use as they see fit. Google's decision to close the system is just one more step, of many already taken, toward the evil that they once promised not to be. Hopefully, enough people will realize that Google is not a trustworthy partner in software and OS ecosystems and a new, truly open system will be developed. "
E J, change.org
"Make the open source free for a sideloading app for downloading APKs. I need to download the APK for ReVanced patches and F-Droid. "
David, change.org
"I have been an android user for as long as I can remember, do not change that now Google. I have just started to develop android apps, because I find the alternatives not so friendly and bothersome. Android has been my driving flag and I would not want that to change for any reason. "
Nijel, 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
"Google is about to further close down Android, which isn't good at all. If anything, it's going to hurt everyone, and furthermore, what if others start to copy them and lock down their ecosystems in a similar manner? For example, what if Microsoft starts locking down Windows app dev like Google is locking down Android app dev, and starts restricting sideloading exes? "
Joshua, change.org
"The only reason that I chose to switch to android and off of apple was due to the abillity to sideload apps. Without this feature, I will probably be switching back to apple because of its ecosystem. "
David, change.org
"Keep Android open to any app. I continue to use and develop for Android because it's the only mobile OS that allows me to install and use the software that I decide to use. I frequently develop software for me and my close friends. We need Android to stay open! "
Oleksandr, change.org
"I have been a supporter of Android since release in 2008 precisely because it is an open market. What I choose to put on hardware I own should be my decision, not a big brother acting like a babysitter. This action by Google is simply eroding my good will for them. We need to be able to do what we please with our devices. "
Anthony, change.org
"Open Android was a promise to devs and users. Now Google tries to turn Android into a closed shop. That is disapointing. "
Marc, change.org
"Google is long overdue to be broken up like AT&T was and this blatantly anti consumer decision to lock down Android proves this. "
Kris, change.org
"I don't have much to say other than that this is immensely foolish of Google to do. "
Jaden, change.org
"Being open sourced and allowing users to have control over their own devices is what makes android beautiful. If you continue with this then you'll be no better than Apple. Allow devs, techies, power users and curious kids and adults to write their own programs and use them. Our phones! Our choice! You're going to damage yourself because it'll just let operating systems like Graphene explode and become more than what they are now "
Sean, 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
"To block sideload in all newer Android devices, not only for Pixel phones that Google own, is not going to enhance user's safety. It makes life more difficult for developers and you are taking away one of the only things that made Android better than Apple. If Google really wanted to enhance users' safety, they would verify better apps on their Play Store or implement a better antivirus that could scan apks and check for malware. I bought my phone and my tablet with my hardwork and money, I am not a child to not know what I should or shouldn't install inside my phone. Imagine if I couldn't install a necessary software in my computer or test my code just because Microsoft didn't approve of it? That would be absurd. It is my responsibility to know what I can or cannot install in my device, that is not up to a multi-billion company to decide. By blocking sideload, Google is breaking the trust they had from thousands of developers and millions of users of this OS. "
Bianca, change.org
"This is literally why I switched to android. The literal only reason. "
Ari Siobhan, change.org
"This errodes competition by giving Google more control over what content is easily allowed. Fundamentally, this is anti-competition and a way for Google to cement their ability as the "taste maker" for Android devices. "
David, change.org
"Android is designed to be free. We own OUR devices. This is not up for discussion "
Brandon, change.org
"Sick and tired of Google's garbage. "
Gabriel, change.org
"google, queremos continuar livres! "
Vitor, change.org
"The people will ask if they feel they need to be represented. "
Catherine, change.org
"I do not support Google moving android in a totalitarian direction where freedom is removed and central authority is enforced. Keep Android Free! "
Phillip, change.org
"This will cause the only mainstream alternative to be apple. even worse. fight to keep android a safe privacy alternative! if they still go through with it just use Graphene. "
Charlie, change.org
"I bought this device. Keep your ransomware/malware away from MY device, Google. "
Zach, change.org
"If this update is released, I will switch to iPhone. "
Miguel, change.org
"Most of the apps I use are not on the play store! "
Samuel, change.org
"My phone, my apps Let me do what I want or else an iPhone will be my phone "
Aaron, change.org
"I should be able to use any app I want on my phone "
Alejandro, change.org
"Hey Google. You are a silent cancer. You've engulfed everything in your path for decades: true innovation, billions of unsuspecting people's data, healthy competition, and choice. You've been sued, repeatedly fined, and ordered to break up your monopoly (you haven't), yet you keep metastasizing. I could cite historical, philosophical, religious, even SciFi metaphors of what you are, but "plague" is sufficient. For the love of humanity, if in fact there's anyone left at Plague HQ who still identifies as human, keep your metastatic tentacles off the Android Developer Platform. You've done enough harm already. Signed, The last cancer-free organ you have yet to destroy "
Andromeda, change.org
"There is always the "security" claim, they got so many security tools already, built in the official app distribution, if the user want to experiment on the device they own they must have the freedom to do so, this is how tech should work, freedom is how tech progress "
Roberto, change.org
"Without the ability to make my own choices on it I have no reason to use android. I am already tired of and furious about censorship if this goes through I will never use android again. "
Orrin, change.org
"The only thing that set Android apart from Apple (and frankly made it objectively better than Apple) is the freedom of control you have over a device you actually own. Removing that ability makes Android no better than Apple, might as well say you don't really own that phone or tablet when you take away such freedoms. "
George, change.org
"Don't take away my ability to do what I want with my stuff. I payed for my device and it's mine to do what I want with. It's my responsibility to not damage my property. "
Peter, change.org
"Don't be Apple! "
Wenshan, change.org
"I want Android to remain an open operating system and platform. "
Eric, change.org
"My Grandfather never used a phone. After I lost my grandmother we bought him a smartphone. He couldn't use it so I wrote an app for him which made it simpler for him. With these changes, my grandfather won't be able to use my app unless I give Google my data and Google approves me. Who is Google that it should have the right to position itself between me and my grandfather? And no using adb isn't even an option my computer which I use to code and the phone of my grandfather are separate as they don't belong into the same place. As an user I'm also using open source apps on my device which I paid for. Google has no right to decide what I install on my device which I paid for and what I don't install on my device which I paid for. My device does not belong Google. I don't belong Google. I am not the slave of Google. I bought an Android device because it doesn't treat me like a slave. The developers of these apps don't want to give Google their data and I approve that. I don't need approval from Google. I can decide on my own what I install on my pocket computer. Google can make suggestions, but Google doesn't have the right to decide for me. I'm a free person. "
Yunus, change.org
"Lets keep android open or change to linux phone. Together we can. "
Sin, change.org
"Android has always been the superior product because it has allowed it's users the ability to customize their phones and download what they want. To take that away would make you no better than Apple "
Mike, change.org
"We want Android as it was intended and created to be, free and for everyone, not a cheap reskin of iOS. "
TARS-, change.org
"The freedom that Android offered was its defining feature. Without that freedom, it is no different than iOS. So when I go to buy my next phone, at least Apple hasn't pulled the rug out from under me, just saying... "
Daniel, change.org
"Many of the apps I use daily are FOSS. I would lose a very large portion of the functionality of my phone without them. Some have alternatives available in the Play Store, and some do not. Even for the ones that do have available alternatives, they are measurably worse - crowded with advertisements that make them unusable until you pay (usually a subscription) for the "Pro" version. Then, when the developer stops making enough money, the app breaks and/or disappears from the store. Many of the FOSS apps I use also do exactly what I need, where their alternatives require workarounds or focus on some additional "feature" that I couldn't care less about. There are also several apps that I acquired outside the Play Store that legitimately don't have alternatives, either because they have to violate the rules of the Play Store to function properly, or because the developer believes, as I do, that good software doesn't rely on the existence of a market to function. "
Zachery, change.org
"Don't let Google shut down Android, let your voice be heard! "
Gustavo, change.org
"Many of the apps I use for managing Type 1 diabetes require sideloading. If the hobbyist plan has any restrictions (which it most likely will), it could impact my personal health. We need full transparency about how this will work, or for this to be cancelled. "
1712, change.org
"The ability to download external APKs which give my phone some really neat functionality is what prevents me (for the most part) from switching to IOS. Google, please don't take that away from us. At least tell us why you wish to restrict Android. "
D, change.org
"Stop Google censorship "
André, change.org
"The reason I use Andoid is because of its openess, I would not be using a Samsung or Google device if it didn't mean I could download and boot my own OS or developp my own apps for fun without having to jump through hoops. I also use APKs on the regular because they allow better backwards compatibility with older versions of Android and ease of installation. FOSS for the win. "
Nico, change.org
"As a power user, Android is my go-to option for mobile OS. Even if they retain a method for users like me to install unverified apps, these projects will suffer from the non techy users being blocked from using these apps. "
Brendan, change.org
"If you buy a computer, you rightly expect to be able any software, developed by anyone, one that device. Why should phones be any different? This is a shameless power grab by google, and a huge step backwards for user's rights "
Christopher, change.org
"Google is stupid and annoying and I hate them let me do what I want with my phone or imma just use grapheneOS "
David, change.org
"My money goes to the people with a specific contract implicitly in mind. I own the device, and the manufacturer cedes control to me in totality. If google wishes to contiunue with this course of action, the monetary value of any android phone as a product drops to zero - I cannot own one in totality. I cannot purchase one in truth. I'm only thankful that Linux-based phones are now (more than ever) becoming a viable, if still niche choice. "
Benjamin, change.org
"Google, if you want to destroy freedom of choice while you are in a country that have mottos like 'Give me liberty or give me death', you are self destructing your company because people will abandon your operating systema and use other ones/new ones instead. Where we get our apps is none of your business. If you are dead set obsessed about tr king people, you shold have chosen another job instead of an internet company/email/OS, like the N.S, Hay. instead, would have saved you from self destructing your company. "
S., change.org
"After dithering for ages, I finally did what I've always wanted to do, I installed a de-googled android it's, E/Os. Its great! If google persist in this, I'm sure more non technical users will too! I also wrote to my mp & to the UK monopoly commission. Search E/Os murena see if you can too! "
ed, change.org
"I use open source apps from F Droid in place of stock apps because they require less permissions, use less resources and offer better theming and customization. The whole point of Android was supposed to be that you can do whatever you want on it as apposed to iOS. Sure, not everyone installs custom or third party apps, but why take the option away from people who do? "
Cory, change.org
"Android has always been a symbol of freedom, a system that allowed us to use our devices our own way, without chains or limitations imposed by corporations. Now Google wants to take that away from Android users, to control every detail as if we weren’t capable of deciding what’s best for ourselves. I don’t agree, and I will never agree, with this absurd, authoritarian, and completely insane decision. They are killing the very essence of Android, the open spirit that made millions of people choose this platform. We, users and developers, have always stood for the power of choice. If Google thinks it can simply impose restrictions and hide behind a false narrative of security, it’s deeply mistaken. Android wasn’t born to be a digital prison. It was born to be free. And if Google keeps going down this path, make no mistake: the community will not stay silent. Freedom will always find a way to fight back. "
Ronaldo, change.org
"The freedom and flexibility was literally the reason I never owned an iPhone. It's like Google wants me to use Ubuntu Touch or something... "
Katrina, change.org
"Removing the ability to side load apps is taking away owners right to their own devices. As one of the best phones I've owned this is disheartening. I might as well buy an iPhone "
Kamau, change.org
"Google can't do whatever it wants with Android. I paid for Android precisely for the freedom. If I wanted to stay in a closed system, I would have bought an iPhone. '-' "
Sandro, change.org
"The advantage of Android is precisely its freedom to choose what to do with your system and applications, just as developers have the freedom to choose where to distribute. Please do not limit the installation of APKs. There is already a warning and optional block for “unknown” apps where we currently have choices. Do not trade freedom for a false sense of security! "
Matheus, change.org
"There's a reason we chose Android over iOS. If this change happens there is zero reason for me to ever purchase another android device ever again. Might as well have better device hardware at that point. "
Daniel, change.org
"Android for me has always been the freedom to choose. The right to find alternatives that won't actively gather my information. I want to keep my freedom. I trust my open source small developers more than I trust corporations who put profit over my rights. "
Yeshua, change.org
"I bought an android phone specifically so I wouldn't be chained to the play store like on iOS. If there's no choice in the matter, I might as well get an iPhone again. "
Audrey, change.org
"Creators of all kinds of developers, whether good or bad put so much of their free time into making something that users on an "Open" device that you decide enough is enough just cause of a few bad eggs. By doing this, you are not only combating them but all the developers who are of innocence and crush their dreams just so you can lose to Apple. "
david, change.org
"Android has always been shown as an open platform, made for the users to freely develop and share software for it. This change however, goes completely against this picture shown to us and also goes against the freedom and privacy of any developer that still wishes to continue having their work running on the platform; This change isn't safe for anyone but for those that want control of what we do and what we think. "
Jazmin, change.org
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