zlacker

>>kotaKa+Ba
Google to make sideloading Android apps _harder_ by _force_ verifying developer identity for 25$ and bunch of legal documents.

Also https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/25/google-will-require-develo... (from merged thread)

Official announcement 1: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/elevating-...

Official announcement 2: https://developer.android.com/developer-verification

Play Console Help: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answ...

>>rep_we+(OP)
If you read the article you'd see that this is a separate account type that does not have a submission fee or require legal documents. It also doesn't prevent you from side loading. It's just part of the current scare screen system when it comes to side loading.

>>jajuuk+Ui
The only promises on the announcement are:

> Verify your identity

> * You will need to provide and verify your personal details, like your legal name, address, email address, and phone number. > * If you're registering as an organization, you'll also need to provide a D-U-N-S number and verify your organization's website. > * You may also need to upload official government ID.

Only one of those three applies to organizations.

>A note for student and hobbyist developers: we know your needs are different from commercial developers, so we’re creating a separate type of Android Developer Console account for you.

Nothing about it says anything about having lighter requirements, just not going through a Play Console link. Even if the requirements end up being "lighter", the minimum will always be at least "link a Google account", which is already a massive privacy breach.

> It also doesn't prevent you from side loading.

It absolutely does. Quoting from Google:

>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.

certified Android devices being... 99.9% of all Android devices in existence.

https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/elevating-...