@nprofile1q... @nprofile1q... @nprofile1q... All of that will continue working fine. If F-Droid doesn't deal with registering each of the apps then each installation and update will show a scary warning. Bypassing it for the first time will require a 24h wait but not afterwards, although you could bypass it immediately without a wait by using ADB. If the apps are developer-signed and they registered them there won't be a warning. F-Droid could register each app they sign if they used a package name prefix.

@nprofile1q... @nprofile1q... @nprofile1q... It brings the lack of privacy and security protections of desktop operating systems to mobile combined with the poor privacy/security patching of a low-end Android OEM. Desktop operating systems don't have anything close to the privacy and security protections of AOSP or iOS. It doesn't have a proper app sandbox, doesn't use strict full system MAC, lacks modern exploit protections, hardly uses memory safe code, doesn't heavily use sandboxing in the OS and much more.

@nprofile1q... @nprofile1q... Here's one of many examples we've seen:

https://bsky.app/profile/thankgoditsfriday.sprk.so/post/3mncyplkng22s

We've also seen multiple open source developers say they plan to discontinue releasing or working on their apps because of it since they think it's a lot worse than it is. Some of those developers likely actually don't want to do the KYC but it doesn't mean their app can't be used on a GMS OS anymore. Some don't realize they could just register the apps on their account.

@nprofile1q... @nprofile1q... Most people who have read about this from that page or elsewhere (mostly elsewhere, including mainstream media and social media) definitely don't understand what's happening and think installing apps from outside the Play Store are being blocked or that there will be a major warning for installing apps outside the Play Store in general which isn't what's happening. The focus isn't on the actual change which is forcing KYC for developers signing apps and warning for not having it.

@nprofile1q... @nprofile1q... The content on that page has been repeatedly edited and isn't what most people read when they saw it. It's better than it used to be. It still portrays it as much worse than it is at the top and doesn't fully get across what's actually happening and how that impacts developers. It presents it as a crisis where people need to stop Google doing it where that's highly unlikely to happen. Informing people about it and how to oppose and work around it would be more useful.

@nprofile1q... For open source apps, anyone can build and sign those with their own package name prefix. That means a verified developer can package and distribute them to avoid the warning even if the upstream developers don't perform verification and register the apps.

If there was an app repository properly building/signing open source apps with a dedicated package name prefix, it could avoid the warning for open source developers who don't want to verify their identity. It doesn't exist though.

@nprofile1q... Developers who release an app on the Play Store can register any apps they distribute outside the Play Store to avoid the warning for those. The impact is on developers who don't have an existing verified Play Console account. People should oppose the actual warning that's going to be shown for apps signed by those developers instead of a campaign largely only playing in Google's hands by convincing developers they shouldn't bother distributing their apps anywhere but the Play Store.

@nprofile1q... People are telling developers they shouldn't be releasing their apps outside of the Play Store anymore. There are developers telling people they'll stop doing it. That's largely what the campaign against this has achieved.

The actual change that's happening is requiring ID verification for developers to avoid a scary warning and one-time 24h wait for toggling on bypassing it (only the first time). Convincing devs to stop releasing apps outside the Play Store is super counterproductive.

@nprofile1q... Most people opposing the changes in September don't understand what's changing which has played into Google hands. People largely wrongly believe there will be a warning for installing apps from outside the Play Store or that it will be blocked which isn't the case. There won't be a warning for installing an alternate app store and apps from it after September. Doing a good job opposing what they're actually doing with developer verification requires would require people to understand it.

@nprofile1q... @nprofile1q... SailfishOS and Ubuntu Touch have drastically worse privacy and security than the Android Open Source Project. AOSP is fully open source while most of the components of SailfishOS specific to it are closed source and that has barely changed at all.

Jolla being brought up in the context of the EU is always interesting since they were close partners with the Russia government from 2015 through 2023. Russia's government are the only ones able to have a fork of SailfishOS (Aurora OS).