Couldn’t you just download it from outside of an app store?
No intent to sound rude or anything but i doubt a petition would have any impact whatsoever no matter how many signatures it collects.
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In fact Linux has several, spread over a fair few different type of package managers.
Reality is there is nothing stopping someone from hijacking a repository and adding malicious versions of what looks like legitimate software.
And Linux allows you to choose which repositories you want , including not very safe ones. So in reality its no safer, not really.
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And Android is Linux, regular kernel branch
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I suspect the concern is that Google may start removing access to certain software as they in the end they will hold the keys to what is allowed to be installed on a Google device. If it isn’t an ‘authorised’ APK its not getting installed.
For example if you wanted to stop allowing VPN software (which US lawmakers are trying to push right now, and also the UK is starting to talk about it) on devices, then they could technically via the new ‘security requirements’.
Suddenly people can then no longer use VPN software as side-loading only works with ‘authorised’ software and if Google decide to not allow any VPN software by default, and you cant side loaded the old way, then thats it, no way of getting it on the device. (A bit like Apple now).
It makes sense from a security point of view given that Google now has to allow third party app stores on their devices, however it could easily be used by Google to severally restrict the types of apps and content in the future (including games, that they are being told are ‘woke’ for example).
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Although this news suggests it wont be an issue anyway.
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Let me add the X post here as well.
5/6 For power users: We are building an advanced flow that allows experienced users to opt-in to install unverified apps. We’re designing this carefully to prevent coercion by scammers.
On the website they also say that:
For student and hobbyist developers
We’re committed to keeping Android an open platform for you to learn, experiment, and build for fun. We recognize that your needs are different from commercial developers, so we’re working on a separate type of Android Developer Console account for you.
It certainly looks like the process of installing unverified apps is going to be even more painful.
Might help reviving rooting phones as a standard Android thing to do if they make it hard to sideload non verified APKs.
As in custom ROMs (distros) where that feature wouldn’t be present
Cheers !
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My own experience is a perfect example of why this petition matters. I spent a month developing a game, and then another month just to navigate the nightmare of uploading it to the Play Store. I paid the $25 fee, set up payments, and even had to personally call and coordinate with 25 testers to get them to install and run the app.
Finally, the game was live. It was a unique, competitive local 1v1 battle game. But to get any visibility, I had to spend another week optimizing keywords and even pay for Google Ads. I got around 2000 installs, but the analytics showed that a surprisingly small fraction of those users actually launched the game. The return on investment was practically zero.
My honest opinion? For an indie developer, the Google Play ecosystem feels borderline exploitative. It’s like a modern-day mafia with all its fees, complex rules, and I’ve heard horror stories about sanctions and payment issues on top of that.
After this unsuccessful and draining experience, I started publishing on itch.io and my own website. It’s infinitely simpler and faster. No one is trying to trick you or take a cut for nothing. While I’m still not getting massive traffic, I’ve actually made a few sales on itch.io without any initial fees or advertising budgets. It just proves that there should be accessible alternatives. That’s why supporting this petition and breaking Google’s forced distribution is so important.
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