Google will require ID checks for Android developers who distribute outside Play. F-Droid answers with its biggest update in a decade.

If you've ever installed an Android app from somewhere other than Google Play, pay attention. The Register reports that developers who want their apps broadly distributed outside the Play Store will need to register with Google and verify their identities: a one-time $25 fee, a copy of a government-issued ID, and agreement to Google's terms. A free Limited Distribution option skips the ID but caps an app at 20 authorized devices. Users can still install apps from unverified developers, but the workaround Google described in March means confirming no one is forcing you, enabling developer mode, rebooting, sitting through a 24-hour waiting period and clicking past more warning screens. The rules start at the end of this month in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand and reach the rest of the world in 2027. Into that headwind, F-Droid, the free and open-source app store that runs without user accounts so it doesn't have to track anyone, announced version 2.0 Thursday, its largest upgrade in a decade, rolling out in the coming weeks. The team promises "a modern interface, better app discovery, improved search," and automatic updates by default. Board member Marc Prud'hommeaux warned last year that Google's plan would "end the F-Droid project" as people know it. Think of a county fair where the landowner starts checking every vendor's driver's license at the gate, even the folks selling off their own tailgates. My take: if you only use Google Play, you won't notice much. If you rely on independent apps, keep an eye on those deadlines.