Opening my weather app this morning I was greeted by this warning:
Google has announced that, starting in 2026/2027, all apps on certified Android devices will require the developer to submit personal identity details directly to Google. Since the developers of this app do not agree to this requirement, this app will no longer work on certified Android devices after that time.
It’s the first time I hear about this, seems to be about:
Cirrus app: Github
Was this a big thing I somehow missed? I hope more devs will follow suit.
Even apps installed outside the Play Store will need to have a “verified developer”, and this change will affect any devices that use Google Play Services, so it will be a problem even to old devices.
I don’t personally have Google Play Services installed but I can see how devastating this could be to open source on Android.