Google says that only apps with verified identities will be installable on certified Android devices, which is virtually every Android-based device—if it has Google services on it, it’s a certified device. If you have a non-Google build of Android on your phone, none of this applies. However, that’s a vanishingly small fraction of the Android ecosystem outside of China.
Which does suggest that it applies to everyone, as opposed to being something that only applies to Play Protect.
Ah, so people saw a signing requirement, that may or may not only be part of play protect and immediately called it a sideloading ban.
My plan is to wait and see if it even affects me in any way.
Yeah, people are overreacting, but Google taking control here is still a big issue
I don’t have a Google account and i don’t want one. It’s a sideloading ban.
Why would you need a Google account? Are you an app developer?
Yes, that’s why I would need an account.
The article has this to say about it:
Which does suggest that it applies to everyone, as opposed to being something that only applies to Play Protect.