All apps installed on certified Android devices must be registered by verified developers, including apps distributed outside the Google Play Store. The verification requirement aims to increase accountability and reduce the ability of malicious actors to impersonate developers or quickly publish harmful apps. Invitations to enroll will start in October 2025, the program will open to all developers in March 2026, and enforcement begins September 2026 in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. Play Store developers are largely unaffected because they likely already meet verification through the Play Console. A separate account type is planned for students and hobbyists, and the measure complements existing sideloading restrictions in some markets.
"Android will require all apps to be registered by verified developers in order to be installed by users on certified Android devices," the company said. "This creates crucial accountability, making it much harder for malicious actors to quickly distribute another harmful app after we take the first one down." To that end, the tech giant said it intends to start sending out invitations gradually starting October 2025, before opening it up to all developers in March 2026.
"At this point, any app installed on a certified Android device in these regions must be registered by a verified developer," Suzanne Frey, vice president of Product, Trust and Growth for Android, added. It's worth noting that nothing much will change for developers who distribute apps through the Google Play Store, as they are likely to have already met these verification requirements through the existing Play Console process. A separate type of Android Developer Console account is in the works for student and hobbyist developers.
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