Miguel Afonso Caetano<p>"Years ago, you could publish actual exploits in the official store to gain root access on phones, but now there are multiple reviews and detection mechanisms to reduce the prevalence of malware and banned content. While the Play Store is still not perfect, Google claims apps sideloaded from outside its store are 50 times more likely to contain malware.</p><p>This, we are led to believe, is the impetus for Google's new developer verification system. The company describes it like an "ID check at the airport." Since requiring all Google Play app developers to verify their identities in 2023, it has seen a precipitous drop in malware and fraud. Bad actors in Google Play leveraged anonymity to distribute malicious apps, so it stands to reason that verifying app developers outside of Google Play could also enhance security.</p><p>However, making that happen outside of its app store will require Google to take a page from Apple's playbook and flex its muscle in a way many Android users and developers could find intrusive. Google plans to create a streamlined Android Developer Console, which devs will use if they plan to distribute apps outside of the Play Store. After verifying their identities, developers will have to register the package name and signing keys of their apps. Google won't check the content or functionality of the apps, though."</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/08/google-will-block-sideloading-of-unverified-android-apps-starting-next-year/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/0</span><span class="invisible">8/google-will-block-sideloading-of-unverified-android-apps-starting-next-year/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Google" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Google</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Android" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Android</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Sideloading" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Sideloading</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/CyberSecurity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CyberSecurity</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Monopolies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Monopolies</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Competition" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Competition</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/BigTech" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BigTech</span></a></p>