Developer verification will soon block the installation of apps from unverified developers on any Android device running ...

Google has moved to give Android app developers a way to know roughly how old their users are without asking those users to ...

As we careen toward a future in which Google has final say over what apps you can run, the company has sought to assuage the community’s fears with a blog post and a casual “backstage” video. Google ...

Android’s open nature set it apart from the iPhone as the era of touchscreen smartphones began nearly two decades ago. Little by little, Google has traded some of that openness for security, and its ...

F-Droid is warning that the project could reach an end due to Google’s new requirements for all Android developers to verify their identity. The third-party app store argues that Google falsely frames ...

Chris Thomas was a reporter at Android Police from 2022 until 2025. Google is tightening the rules around sideloaded apps. Starting in 2026, Android will require all ...

Google has started the rollout of a new Android developer verification system designed to reduce malicious apps and improve platform security, with global enforcement planned in the coming years. The ...

Currently, developers who create “sideloaded” Android apps are exempt from Google’s verification requirements. Google will soon require all Android app developers to verify their identities, even if ...

The AI coding boom is now coming directly for Android app development. On Tuesday at Google IO 2026, the company announced new native Android app creation capabilities in its web-based Google AI ...

Free apps are the lifeblood of Android. Unfortunately, unruly advertising is ruining them — and Google isn't helping at all.