Android: Google bans anonymous apps

Google will make sideloading, the direct installation of software on Android devices, impossible in 2026 if the publisher has not registered with Google.

Google is restricting the free use of certified Android devices. From fall 2026, only applications whose publisher has previously registered with Google and then signed the respective application can be installed. This has already applied to installations via the Google Play Store since 2023; anonymity will now also be abolished for sideloading, i.e. for programs installed directly on the device without using the Play Store.

Google explicitly does not check the content of the software, for example for malicious code. Nevertheless, Google is presenting the step announced on Monday as a security measure. It will be implemented through a new, mandatory Android Developer Console specifically for sideloading. Critics suspect a connection with efforts by authorities in several countries to force the opening of Android for alternative app stores. By making registration mandatory, Google is also securing its influence on these data harvests.

From October 2025, selected app developers will be allowed to test the new procedure for Google, and everyone will be able to join in March 2026. In September 2026, sideloading of anonymous apps will become impossible in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. The rest of the world will gradually follow from 2027.

Upload photo ID and invoices

As part of the verification process, software publishers must provide proof of personal data such as name, address, email address and telephone number, for example by uploading copies of invoices, and in many countries also upload a photo ID. For people living in German-speaking countries, Google also stipulates that the photo ID must be issued by an authority in the EEA or Switzerland. Anyone who does not have this is excluded.

Legal entities must also obtain a so-called DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). This can be done free of charge, but takes up to 30 days. In some countries, express processing is possible for a fee, which can still take several working days.

Consequences

The registration requirement increases the costs for malware distributors and similar criminals; they will have to buy certificates for the Android Developer Console on the black market. At the same time, registration makes it easier for authorities to prosecute politically undesirable programmers and makes private dabbling less attractive.

There is no mention of an exception for self-written software. The only exceptions are non-certified Android devices, of which there are very few outside the People's Republics of China and North Korea. As soon as any Google service is pre-installed, it is a certified device.

Found on https://www.heise.de/news/Android-Google-verbietet-anonyme-Apps-10617479.html