--- title: Keep Android Open | daily.dev description: An Android developer criticizes Google's new policy requiring developer ID verification and fees to distribute software on Android, arguing it breaks the... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/keep-android-open-x96zwn0j0 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Keep Android Open | daily.dev og:description: An Android developer criticizes Google's new policy requiring developer ID verification and fees to distribute software on Android, arguing it breaks the... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/keep-android-open-x96zwn0j0 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/x96zwn0J0.png og:image:alt: Keep Android Open og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Keep Android Open **[Square](https://daily.dev/sources/publicobject)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary An Android developer criticizes Google's new policy requiring developer ID verification and fees to distribute software on Android, arguing it breaks the platform's founding promise of openness. The post is a call to action urging Canadians to file complaints with Canada's Competition Bureau, warning the policy could let Google block apps under political or commercial pressure, citing hypothetical examples like generic pharmaceutical distributors, satire outlets, or Canadian defense software. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is Google's new Android developer verification requirement that people are protesting? Google is introducing a policy requiring developers to submit government IDs and pay fees in order to distribute software on Android, a platform previously known for allowing open, unrestricted app development and installation. Critics argue this breaks the openness that drew developers and users to Android in the first place, and gives Google technical capacity to block apps it disfavors, including for political or commercial reasons. _Developers tracking platform policy shifts like this follow the fallout on daily.dev before it affects their apps._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Keep Android Open](https://daily.dev/posts/keep-android-open-ykm3bdhxc) · Hacker News · 5 upvotes · 0 comments - [Google’s Android developer verification program draws pushback](https://daily.dev/posts/google-s-android-developer-verification-program-draws-pushback-35hc44ebx) · InfoWorld · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Google Says Developer Verification Makes Android Safer. Critics Say It Just Makes Android More Closed](https://daily.dev/posts/google-says-developer-verification-makes-android-safer-critics-say-it-just-makes-android-more-close-bxw7g06kj) · It's Foss · 4 upvotes · 0 comments - [F-Droid says Google’s Android developer verification plan is an ‘existential’ threat to alternative app stores](https://daily.dev/posts/f-droid-says-google-s-android-developer-verification-plan-is-an-existential-threat-to-alternative--s53kffimo) · The New Stack · 4 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#open-source](https://daily.dev/tags/open-source), [#google](https://daily.dev/tags/google), [#android](https://daily.dev/tags/android) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/keep-android-open-x96zwn0j0) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Keep Android Open","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/keep-android-open-x96zwn0j0","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/keep-android-open-x96zwn0j0"},"datePublished":"2026-08-23T12:21:41.492Z","dateModified":"2026-08-23T12:39:11.374Z","description":"An Android developer criticizes Google's new policy requiring developer ID verification and fees to distribute software on Android, arguing it breaks the...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--ZrL_HSsR--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2006","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--ZrL_HSsR--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2006","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Square","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Square","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--QZPKZNBW--/f_auto,q_auto/v1787487457/logos/publicobject?_a=BAMAMicg0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/publicobject"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/keep-android-open-x96zwn0j0","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"open-source,google,android","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Square","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/publicobject"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Keep Android Open"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/keep-android-open-x96zwn0j0#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is Google's new Android developer verification requirement that people are protesting?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Google is introducing a policy requiring developers to submit government IDs and pay fees in order to distribute software on Android, a platform previously known for allowing open, unrestricted app development and installation. 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