OK you're allowed to just not do that.

The rest of us who are willing to put some effort in will likely not notice your absence.

asking a little much of users to start direct dowloading apks or whatever to get their leftist shitposting app

I mean, if you're serious about ideology, you probably won't mind taking a few extra steps for it. If the status quo pisses you off, why not do something that's ultimately still free and only takes a little more time?

but it's asking a little much of users to start direct dowloading apks or whatever

you don't need to be manually downloading apks. get a proper app store, like f-droid, and install jerboa that way.

I don't get it though. uploading apps to the play store has already required devs to prove their identity for quite a long time.