More info:
https://developer.android.com/developer-verification
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answ...
Personally...we all know the Play Store is chock full of malicious garbage, so the verification requirements there don't do jack to protect users. The way I see it, this is nothing but a power grab, a way for Google to kill apps like Revanced for good. They'll just find some bullshit reason to suspend your developer account if you do something they don't like.
Every time I hear mentions of "safety" from the folks at Google, I'm reminded that there's a hidden Internet permission on Android that can neuter 95% of malicious apps. But it's hidden, apparently because keeping users from using it to block ads on apps is of greater concern to Google than keeping people safe.
> we will be confirming who the developer is, not reviewing the content of their app or where it came from
This is such an odd statement. I mean, surely they have to be willing to review the contents of apps at some point (if only to suspend the accounts of developers who are actually producing malware), or else this whole affair does nothing but introduce friction.
TFA had me believing that bypassing the restriction might've been possible by disabling Play Protect, but that doesn't seem to be the case since there aren't any mentions of it in the official info we've been given.
On the flip side, that's one less platform I care about supporting with my projects. We're down to just Linux and Windows if you're not willing to sell your soul (no, I will not be making a Google account) just for the right to develop for a certain platform.
The internet permission has nothing to do with ads? It's a hidden permission because:
1) Internet connection is so ubiquitous as to just be noise if displayed
2) It's not robust, apps without Internet permission can still exfiltrate data relatively easily by bouncing off of other apps using Intents and similar
I just tend to give Google little benefit of the doubt here, considering where their revenue comes from. Same as when they introduced manifest v3, ostensibly for security but just conveniently happening to neuter adblocking. Disabling access to the internet permission for apps aligns with their profit motive.
So rather than just dismissing the argument via insulting language, can you provide a reasonable alternative explanation for why this setting isn't exposed to the user?
And I did provide 2 reasons why that's the case for Internet specifically, neither of which were even attempted to be refuted in this comment chain
I pretty solidly refuted your first reason (internet connection is ubiquitious, apps don't need it). I pointed out that there are whole categories of apps that don't need a network connection. You never bothered to refute my argument and are now claiming that I didn't address that point. You claim it is a 'ubiquitous' permission, but haven't said why a level sensor app that just reads the MEMS gyro sensor would need a network connection at all. So that's point 1 sorted, which I already addressed and you are pretending wasn't refuted.
Point 2 was "2) It's not robust, apps without Internet permission can still exfiltrate data relatively easily by bouncing off of other apps using Intents and similar"
I never addressed this, because it seemed extraneous to the discussion. This data exfiltration is purely a hypothetical at this point, since apps can always rely on a network connection. Sure, if the network setting was exposed to the user and was able to be toggled, there might be ways to bypass that. But that is hypothetical, and relies on hypothetical security loopholes. No apps are currently doing this, since apps can't have their network permissions toggled. The possibility of potentially bypassing the system network permission toggle doesn't seem germane, since it's a hypothetical. To use your words, it's a 'whack-ass conspiracy theory' and not a germane concern.
You've resorted to ad-hominem by insinuating that my viewpoint as a conspiracy theory and haven't even attempted to address my point that there are whole categories of apps that don't need network connections. You also are trying to claim that I haven't addressed points you made, while ignoring my argument that rebutted those claims. I'm sorry, but since you want to engage in this way,why are you so addicted to the taste of Google boot leather? Why are you trying to say that Google doesn't want to protect its ad network? Android apps using Google adsense to serve ads to users clearly benefits them, I don't even see why this is controversial.