Google will block side loading apk at 2026

incendio

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Hi guys,

I heard on Sept 2026, Google will block apk installation outside of playstore.

Is this true?
 

JohnC

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TL;DR:
No, Google isn’t blocking all APK installs outside the Play Store.

What’s changing is that starting September 2026, developers must register with Google (ID verification) and register their apps (signing keys + package names) so that users will be able to sideload your apps onto their "google certified" devices (devices that have google play services on them).

The exception: APKs can still be installed via ADB without registration, but that won’t be practical for most end users.
 
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incendio

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Does it mean developer must have a developer account?
 

JohnC

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incendio said:
Does it mean developer must have a developer account?
Click to expand...
In the near future Google will open a special registration portal (separate from play store) for non-play store developers to register their apps.
 
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LWGShane

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Erel said:
Depending on the actual details, it might affect B4A-Bridge. USB debug mode is using ADB under the hood.
Click to expand...

Would it be possible for B4A to transition to using ADB's wireless debugging feature?
 

JohnC

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incendio said:
Will this effect all android version or just new version?
Click to expand...
It’s very likely that this “registration check” will be tied to a Google Play Services update. That means it won’t technically depend on your Android version, but rather whether your device still receives Play Services updates. If your device gets the update, the new policy could apply regardless of the Android release it’s running.

That said, there are still some big unknowns:
  1. Existing apps – If you already have an unregistered app installed, will it be allowed to remain on the device, or could it be blocked/disabled after the policy goes live?
  2. When the check happens – Will the registration check run only during installation, or continuously in the background? If it’s at install time, is it a local lookup against a database updated through Play Services, or will it always need a live connection to Google’s servers?
Until Google publishes more implementation details, we can only speculate.
 
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E

emexes

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Any chance of Basic4Browsers? eg Javascript seems to have access to GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, and BLE, so that's everything I ever use. No wait, I use Classic Bluetooth for serial link to OBD2 interfaces too. Then again, I vaguely remember that iOS is super-restrictive about Bluetooth SPP, so perhaps everybody's moved to serial-over-BLE by now.

Where my thinking was headed is that maybe this clamping down on native apps might end up backfiring on our don't-be-evil friends by driving developers and users towards solutions that are less straight-jacketed.
 
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virpalacios

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Hi, good morning, afternoon or nights
Some year ago I did a small test development in a framework called Ionic, it is like an embeded web browers and pages, pages are like webpage (you have code these pages using several web languages like javascript , angular, react, etc). It was very limited about using device hardware at that time (serial, bluetooth, gps) and you have to master several programing techniques. However because app run in browser you dont have a real apk to register. Maybe this method could be an alternative for google mess up.
After this experience I conclude B4X suite is the best, fast to learn, fast to code and fast to mantain code.

Best Regards
 

Computersmith64

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JohnC said:
In the near future Google will open a special registration portal (separate from play store) for non-play store developers to register their apps.
Click to expand...
My understanding from the information I received is that even if you distribute apps outside of Play Store, you'll need to create an Android Developer Console account:

https://developer.android.com/developer-verification/guides/android-developer-console

I also suspect that there will still be a way for users to side load unregistered apps, otherwise there would be a significant backlash. My guess is that it will be something along the lines of the current "unknown source" blocking that can be bypassed by the user.
 

virpalacios

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I already write to google support forum, many user are concern about small sample test apps, they said you can still load these apps using ADB, however discussion is open on that forum.
 

Xfood

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I think a Basic4Browsers , that would be really great, to complete the B4X suite
 

yo3ggx

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LWGShane said:
Would it be possible for B4A to transition to using ADB's wireless debugging feature?
Click to expand...
Not sure if this is what you need, but I'm currently using wireless debugging with B4A. I start the adb connection from the PC to the Android device and then everything works in the IDE like when the device is directly connected over USB. For me is a must as I cannot connect the Android device to the PC over USB and use some USB interfaces in the same time. B4A-Bridge has some limitations (ask for permission each time I install the app, is slower and Take Screenshot does not work for me).
 

LWGShane

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I never thought about this and I just tried this out and my mind is blown. No more Google Play Protect nagging
 

vecino

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Hello, so if I create a test program, a 'hello world', or a kid who is learning creates several programs as he learns and looks at code from forums, etc.
Will they have to register themselves and their test and learning programs?
I hope not, because that's a restriction and a very serious problem.
 
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