Android to Require Developer ID Checks

Date:
Tue, 26 Aug 2025 14:25:09 GMT

Description:
Want to publish Android software? You'll need to let Google verify your identity. Plus: Google commits to supporting Sideloading and Third Party App Stores.

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Google has announced that they will be requiring all Android Apps including sideloaded apps installed outside of the Google Play Store to undergo developer identity verification . Android Developer ID Check

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 , says Google. Think of it like an ID check at the airport, which confirms a traveler's identity but is separate from the security screening of their bags; we will be confirming who the developer is, not reviewing the content of their app or where it came from.

These requirements will go into full effect in September of 2026 (one year from now), but only for developers in four countries: Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Countries which, according to Google, suffer from fraudulent app scams, often from repeat perpetrators.

The idea seems simple enough: If a developer is known to make Android
malware, Google will have the ability to block their software from being installed. Thus preventing the spread of Malware.

We will see how well this system works, in practice, next year.

It also remains to be seen when this Google App Developer Identity Verification requirement will be enforced in other countries (such as the USA). For the moment, Google is simply saying 2027 and beyond so theres
still time left for this policy to be modified.

As part of the process, Google is launching a new Android Developer Console
, specifically for developers to verify their identity and register their applications. The Practical Impact

What does this new ID verification for Android Devs mean in the real world?

Once this change is worldwide:

A developer must be verified before their software can be installed via any mechanism including Sideloaded Apps, and alternative App Stores (such as F-Droid).

Developing and publishing Android software, in an anonymous fashion, will no longer be supported.

Google is also, it appears, committing to continuing to allow sideloading and third party App Stores for the foreseeable future.

In other words: If a user wants to sideload software, or use F-Droid, Google will allow that. But Google is going to know the real-world identity of the developer / publisher of any software that gets installed. The War on Sideloading, Revised

Google and Apple have been at war with the concept of sideloading (aka Installing software the normal way) for several years now. With both companies adding new features to their systems which allow them to block the ability of users to install non-approved software.

In that context, this particular announcement from Google is a bit of a
double edged sword.

From Googles announcement :

To be clear, developers will have the same freedom to distribute their apps directly to users through sideloading or to use any app store they prefer .
We believe this is how an open system should workby preserving choice while enhancing security for everyone.

On the one hand, requiring ID verification for developers is clearly a big step towards increased control over what software is installable on the systems we own.

On the other hand, Google is making it clear they intend to support sideloading & third party App Stores into the future.

Something they have been hesitant about in the past.



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Link to news story: https://lunduke.substack.com/p/android-to-require-developer-id-checks


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