So google now requires Id verification for submitting apps to android, what does it mean for Foss apps, for Foss stores like fdroid and for future development?
So google now requires Id verification for submitting apps to android, what does it mean for Foss apps, for Foss stores like fdroid and for future development?
I hope we can elevate the discourse in the Android world to accept that Android isn’t about FOSS. It is, at its core, about making Google more money by getting Google more of your personal data.
Ad blockers and apps with ad blockers are hurting Google’s revenue and they’re going to go after it.
Honestly it’s not that much better (some argue it’s worse) on my side, being an iPhone user. Like yeah, we can’t sideload, but I’ve never really felt the need to. I think both platforms should have the option though. And screw these Apple guys who say “well you should buy Android if you want that,” doubly so now that it’s not guaranteed in the future.
Android has tons of FOSS software compared to iOS. Probably the only reason I am on it.
In theory or practice? Because there’s nothing stopping any open source project from submitting binaries to either the App Store or the Play Store as long as it meets guidelines, and both stores have them.
I think the confusion may be in the existence of F-Droid, an Android-only repository of open source stuff that builds apps from source as you install from it, ensuring someone hasn’t tampered with it. But nothing stops the developer from releasing on iOS as long as they follow certain rules. It’s just the code is compiled away from you, so you don’t really know what’s gone into the binary the App Store serves up. That said, if you’re a developer, you can compile yourself. You just have to re-sign every 7 days if you’re a free developer, and you’re limited to 3 installed apps at a time. You can remove those restrictions by paying $100 a year, and some people do that, mainly for the sideloading.
There’s also the fact that Android is based on an open source project itself (AOSP), but Android as it exists on Pixels is not itself open source. GrapheneOS and others are based on AOSP, and they may be (I think they are) open source.