Well They going down the same path as the firestick! Think the IPTV apps will be ok but can see they’ll start rejecting these apps in the Google store! Something different will come out where Linux will be mainly the box people will go to..
Google will start blocking unverified sideloaded apps on Android devices
August 27, 2025
In what may be the most significant threat yet to Android’s openness, Google has
announced its plans to “require all apps to be registered by verified developers in order to be installed by users on certified Android devices.” This policy applies even to sideloaded apps that aren’t distributed through the Google Play Store. For an app to be installed by any means on a certified Android device (i.e., one with Google services like the Google Play Store), developers will be required to verify their legal name, phone number, and address, and register their app’s package names and signing keys, among other steps. The move effectively removes anonymity for developers, a core aspect of the modding and tinkering community that has long been part of Android’s appeal.
While Google says these new heavy-handed restrictions are meant to improve security, many see them as a way to tighten its grip on Android more than ever before. The timing is notable, as Google recently lost its appeal in a major antitrust case and was ordered by the court to allow third-party app stores within the Play Store, among other concessions. These alternative app stores, along with all other non-Play distribution methods, rely on sideloading, which makes the new restrictions seem like an effort to undermine the very freedoms the court ruling was intended to protect.
Google will be creating a new
Android Developer Console, separate from its existing Play Store Developer Console, where it will require sideload-only app developers to verify their personal information by uploading various government documents. Once the developer’s identity has been verified by Google, the developer must register every app package name they use, along with the signing keys the developer uses to package each app. For existing package names (i.e., apps that are already in use), developers will need to jump through additional hoops to prove ownership of the app.
Developers will not be required to upload the actual app they want to distribute outside of Google Play. While the Google Play Store requires every app version to be submitted and individually approved by Google, the new Android Developer Console only requires that a package name and its signing keys be linked to a verified identity. Developers may submit dummy/empty apps for the verification process, as long as they use the same package name and keys for the real app they distribute.
Google says it “will be confirming who the developer is, not reviewing the content of their app.” While that may be technically true, the stated goal of the new system is to weed out bad actors, and the only way to identify bad actors is by reviewing the content of their apps. Even if the initial registration process does not involve app reviews, they will still be part of the system and will give Google the ability to block any sideloaded app it considers unwanted based on vague policies.
Google will start implementing these new restrictions on Android sideloading in September 2026. The requirements will first go into effect in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. It says it “will continue to roll out these requirements globally” in 2027 and beyond. Google has not stated if users will be able to bypass these restrictions by disabling or opting out of certain Android settings, like they can do today for apps flagged by Google Play Protect.
While these upcoming restrictions will likely take effect on Android phones first, it is reasonable to assume they will eventually extend to Android TV and Google TV devices as well. Streaming devices that include the Google Play Store, such as those from Onn, Nvidia, and Xiaomi, could one day be restricted in terms of which apps can and cannot be sideloaded. Android-based streaming devices that do not come with the Google Play Store, such as Fire TVs and uncertified generic Android TV boxes, will likely remain unaffected by these changes.
