Google has revealed the complete timeline for its controversial Android developer verification system.
The company confirmed that it will start restricting app sideloading in selected countries starting September 30.
This program, first unveiled last year, makes it mandatory for developers who work outside the Google Play Store to verify their identities, similar to those publishing apps on Google’s app store, with the aim of preventing scams and malware attacks against Android users.
According to the latest blog post by Matthew Forsythe of Google, the program will be introduced in four countries with high rates of app scams: Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand.
Google said: “Nearly all installs on Google Play and a large majority of installs from outside of Google Play” are now verified.
The company further detailed the third-party app stores that will join the verification process; these include Samsung’s Galaxy Store, Xiaomi’s GetApps, OPPO’s App Market, vivo’s V-Appstore, Honour’s App Market, and Transsion’s Palm Store.
From this month, Google will automatically install a new system service named the Android Developer Verifier on Android 8 and above devices. This service will be inactive until it is turned on in each region.
For July, the company has planned to launch the Android Developer ID status API and begin early access for limited distribution accounts.
In August, there will be a worldwide release of the recently introduced “advanced flow,” which lets users skip verification via a hidden menu, risk confirmations, and an enforced 24-hour wait time. Unverified applications may also be installed by the user via Android Debug Bridge (ADB).
