Google restricts Android freedom gradually
, Google
will prevent the installation of anonymous apps from outside the store to enhance security

Developers must register and confirm their identities to allow Google to install their

apps This step will start to be implemented in September 2026

Remember when we were in elementary school looking for a way to download Minecraft on the phone for free or how to get infinite resources in Clash of Clans? This was often our beginning to know the extent of the capabilities and freedoms that the Android system holds, as one of the most prominent features that distinguishes it from its competitor IOS is that it is an open-source system, which allows more freedom for the user to customize and edit, and one of the most prominent strengths is the ability to download applications from outside the official Google Play App Store.

The beginning of the restriction of freedoms in Android

In recent years, Google has taken steps against the manifestations of freedom in its system to enhance the privacy and security of users, which has worried many because they fear that the system is gradually approaching the iOS system. This started with Android 11, when Google restricted apps from accessing system files and modifying other app files.

The strange irony is that IOS is gradually getting closer to the Android system, as the system has become more open in recent years, and the possibility of customization in the system has increased, and it has even become compatible with downloading applications from external sources other than the App Store in the European Union, starting with iOS 17.4.

Google's new move: Verify the identity

of developers Google has fired another bullet at Android's freedom, as it will prevent apps from being downloaded from outside the App Store starting next year without meeting certain conditions.

These conditions include developers providing information such as legal name, phone number, address, email to register their identities on the Android Developer Console platform, paying a registration fee of $25, and providing proof that the developer owns his application in order to allow it to be uploaded to the system.

Because Google knows that this move may cause anger to many amateur developers and students who do not want to disclose their identities and will not use their accounts for commercial purposes, it has made the option to register another account on the platform for this category with lower proof of identity requirements, and without the need to pay registration fees.