In August 2025, Google announced that starting next year, it will no longer be possible to develop apps for the Android platform without first registering centrally with Google. This registration will involve:
-
Paying a fee to Google
-
Agreeing to Google’s Terms and Conditions
-
Providing government identification
-
Uploading evidence of the developer’s private signing key
-
Listing all current and future application identifiers
-
The link is https://keepandroidopen.org/
I want a gnu/linux phone, fuck android.
Waydroid will likely be a big part of that in the near term, though I’d image its use will largely circumvent Google’s recent impositions anyway.
I’m curious about how projects like calyx and graphene are affected by this, if at all.
Calyx is on pause due to other reasons, but hope they’ll be back soon!
Source for the curious: https://calyxos.org/news/2025/08/01/a-letter-to-our-community/
yeah, sad to see both nick and chirayu step away at the same time.
Yeah i’m running Ubuntu Touch with Waydroid on pixel 3a xl. Would love better options.
I’m glad you’ve been able to move off, that’s a pretty big feat. How is waydroid these days?
Seems to work great, but i’m not a big android app user. I use Aurora Store from FDroid, but besides a couple government apps, FF and Thunderbird, i don’t really use my phone much. Now if my Steam Deck could make calls i’d never own another “phone”.
deleted by creator
Somebody explain to me how this affects something like lineage OS? It’s based on aosp, it has nothing to do with Google.
Then if you add something like microG on it, how is that impacted by this decision?
I suppose they could detect and reject anything from microg. In which case, Google has just eliminated a customer base. Of course, we the enlightened who even care about security and privacy are few and far between and maybe they’ve made that calculation.
Personally, I’m in a tough spot since I’ve been using Google Voice for literally a decade and a half.
Now, I can use lineage OS for microG successfully with Google Voice. However if they decide to block that I will be left with basically two options. 1. Give in and just do whatever Google wants, or 2. ditch Google entirely and use lineage and only side loaded applications like those on F-Droid.
However, I saw an announcement that this move by Google effectively kills F-Droid. If their change does end up killing AOSP, then it really isn’t open source and uncontrolled by Google, is it?
Because if google kills side loading on all non custom os devices, that removes the incentive for open source developers to make software if there is no way to distribute it. So even custom OS’s will feel this unfortunately. We might still have viable options, but nothing like we see today.
i want to keep android open in the meantime while we don’t have gnu/linux phones as a usable option.
Me too
I hope custom rom devs will be able to disable this
Same I use grapheneos onto to my pixel 9a
I mean surely, they have direct access to the AOSP code, I’m sure they can just remove the anti freedom parts.
… If the source keeps being published.
They literally have to by law, it’s GPL software that’s how the license works.
Arent they already sitting on the sources of Android 16 QPR1? Im not familiar with the legal implications of these licenses, but i wouldnt be surprised of they decided to fight in the courts to keep the android sources for themselves somehow.
I hope so
I agree with the cause, but why tf is my antivirus detecting multiple threats from that link at the end?
