Google To Start Verifying All Android App Developers

All Android Apps, Not Just Ones On Google Play

Google is going through changes and Android users are going to notice them.  Unlike Apple, Google lost their appeal in the antitrust case brought by Epic Games over the Play Store.  This means that Android apps must be able to be installed from other platforms and that Google must also distribute third-party app stores on Google Play.  The response from Google is to make themselves resemble Apple instead of the somewhat free for all approach to Android apps we’ve always seen before.

Instead of allowing any developer to create and distribute Android apps however they feel like, Google will soon block the installation of any apps which weren’t created by an approved developer.  The requirements aren’t clear yet, nor how the apps will be blocked but it does mean that any and all Android apps will have to meet Google’s new standards for the developer to be whitelisted.  That will certainly add difficulty to the development of random apps.  It will likely mean a reduced ecosystem as some people who just make apps as a hobby won’t want to bother to jump through Google’s new hoops.

This is not all bad, as the majority of malware filled Android apps come from sources other than Google Play.  It would give Google a way to immediately stop the spread of apps created by a developer that is spreading infected Android apps.  It does feel somewhat heavy handed though.

Ars Technica provides more details on Google’s plans here.