Phone is about to stop being yours
Your phone is about to stop being yours.
Starting September 2026, a silent update, nonconsensually pushed by Google, will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with Google, signed their contract, paid up, and handed over government ID.
Every app and every device, worldwide, with no opt-out.
In August 2025, Google announced a new requirement: starting September 2026, every Android app developer must register centrally with Google before their software can be installed on any device. Not just Play Store apps: all apps. This includes apps shared between friends, distributed through F-Droid , built by hobbyists for personal use. Independent developers, church and community groups, and hobbyists alike will all be frozen out of being able to develop and distribute their software.
If a developer does not comply, their apps get silently blocked on every Android device worldwide.
You bought an Android phone because Google told you it was open. You could install what you wanted, and that was the deal.