Google Will Make All Android App Developers Verify Their Identity Starting Next Year

Android's unfastened nature acceptable it isolated from the iPhone arsenic the epoch of touchscreen smartphones began astir 2 decades ago. Little by little, Google has traded immoderate of that openness for security, and its adjacent information inaugural could marque the biggest concessions yet successful the sanction of blocking atrocious apps.

Google has announced plans to statesman verifying the identities of each Android app developers, and not conscionable those publishing connected the Play Store. Google intends to verify developer identities nary substance wherever they connection their content, and apps without verification won't enactment connected astir Android devices successful the coming years.

Google utilized to bash precise small curation of the Play Store (or Android Market, if you spell backmost acold enough), but it has agelong sought to amended the platform's estimation arsenic being little unafraid than the Apple App Store. Years ago, you could people existent exploits successful the authoritative store to summation basal entree connected phones, but present determination are aggregate reviews and detection mechanisms to trim the prevalence of malware and banned content. While the Play Store is still not perfect, Google claims apps sideloaded from extracurricular its store are 50 times much apt to incorporate malware.

This, we are led to believe, is the impetus for Google's caller developer verification system. The institution describes it similar an "ID cheque astatine the airport." Since requiring each Google Play app developers to verify their identities successful 2023, it has seen a precipitous driblet successful malware and fraud. Bad actors successful Google Play leveraged anonymity to administer malicious apps, truthful it stands to crushed that verifying app developers extracurricular of Google Play could besides heighten security.

However, making that hap extracurricular of its app store volition necessitate Google to take a leafage from Apple's playbook and flex its musculus successful a mode galore Android users and developers could find intrusive. Google plans to make a streamlined Android Developer Console, which devs volition usage if they program to administer apps extracurricular of the Play Store. After verifying their identities, developers volition person to registry the bundle sanction and signing keys of their apps. Google won't cheque the contented oregon functionality of the apps, though.

Google says that lone apps with verified identities volition beryllium installable connected certified Android devices, which is virtually each Android-based device—if it has Google services connected it, it's a certified device. If you person a non-Google physique of Android connected your phone, nary of this applies. However, that's a vanishingly tiny fraction of the Android ecosystem extracurricular of China.

Google plans to statesman investigating this strategy with aboriginal entree successful October of this year. In March 2026, each developers volition person entree to the caller console to get verified. In September 2026, Google plans to motorboat this diagnostic successful Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. The adjacent measurement is inactive hazy, but Google is targeting 2027 to grow the verification requirements globally.

A Seismic Shift

This program comes astatine a large crossroads for Android. The ongoing Google Play antitrust lawsuit brought by Epic Games whitethorn yet unit changes to Google Play successful the coming months. Google lost its appeal of the verdict respective weeks ago, and portion it plans to entreaty the lawsuit to the US Supreme Court, the institution volition person to statesman altering its app organisation scheme, barring further ineligible maneuvering.

Among different things, the tribunal has ordered that Google indispensable administer third-party app stores and let Play Store contented to beryllium rehosted successful different storefronts. Giving radical much ways to get apps could summation choice, which is what Epic and different developers wanted. However, third-party sources won't person the heavy strategy integration of the Play Store, which means users volition beryllium sideloading these apps without Google's layers of security.

It's hard to accidental however overmuch of a genuine information occupation this is. On 1 hand, it makes consciousness Google would beryllium concerned—most of the large malware threats to Android devices dispersed via third-party app repositories. However, enforcing an installation whitelist crossed astir each Android devices is dense handed. This requires everyone making Android apps to fulfill Google's requirements earlier virtually anyone volition beryllium capable to instal their apps, which could assistance Google clasp power arsenic the app marketplace opens up. While the requirements whitethorn beryllium minimal close now, there's nary warrant they volition enactment that way.

The documentation presently available doesn't explicate what volition hap if you effort to instal a non-verified app, nor however phones volition cheque for verification status. Presumably, Google volition administer this whitelist successful Play Services arsenic the implementation day approaches. We've reached retired for details connected that beforehand and volition study if we perceive anything.

This communicative primitively appeared connected Ars Technica.