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Just got 'Android Developer Verifier' Silently Installed on my Phone (Aug 25, 2026) (thelemmy.club)
submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by to c/android@lemmy.world
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The app ID is com.google.android.verifier, which I assume will be used for the upcoming developer verification program for installing 3rd party apps.

Starting September 30, developers (signing authors) need to be verified from Google to distribute apps in the following app stores:

  • Google Play Store
  • Honor App Market
  • OPPO App Market
  • Samsung Galaxy Store
  • Transsion Palm Store
  • vivo V-Appstore and
  • Xiaomi GetApps

only in the countries of Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

F-Droid is not included for this time.

It is planned to be rolled out globally across all markets/app stores by January of 2027.

Relevant sources:
https://developer.android.com/developer-verification/guides
https://keepandroidopen.org/

I used App Manager (io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager) for the screenshot; you can use your regular 'Installed Apps'/'Apps' menu to see if it's been rolled out automatically for you as well.

edit: First link was originally a typo, my bad. Fixed it.

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[–] -1 points 3 weeks ago* (7 children)

Yes. It's a company called Pinwheel, they provide phones pre-setup with what is essentially MDM, but geared towards child usage.

I can do the following remotely from the "caregiver portal":

  • Install/uninstall apps from Pinwheel's "curated" app list
  • Enable/disable Google Play store (apps still require approval)
  • See their texts and calls (including actual content - they know we can see this, we don't hide it)
  • Approve/block contacts; or, allow them to manage their own contact list, but blocked contacts cannot be bypassed
  • See their live location and location history
  • Set schedules and modes to enable/disable apps/features at certain times, and after any specific duration if desired
  • Remove the lockscreen passcode

...all remotely.

If your FIL can't handle smartphone stuff, I would absolutely recommend something like this for him.

The catch is that Pinwheel costs about $15/mo per device. Worth it IMO. They also have their own optional MVNO plan, with everything rolled into one price. I forget how much it is - I just put my kids on Mint Mobile.

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  • [–] 7 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

    Spying on every text and call your kids make is wild, I'm glad I didn't grow up in an era where it's normal to have 0 privacy as a kid, y'all crazy parents.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

    The world we grew up with is gone, my dude. Its not spying when they know about it - we do not hide the fact that we can see their texts and calls, they knew this from day 0. They're kids, and kids fuck up a lot. I would know - I have 5 of the little shits.

    Hell, my first cell phone in the early 2000s wasn't even mine, it was the family cell phone. Yet all of my texts with my now-wife were on it. You bet your ass my parents read those texts.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 child)

    I fucked up a lot as a kid and my parents didn't use this as a justification to have an all seeing eye on every single one of my conversations. You're fucking weird.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

    You don't have kids, I can tell. No judgement from me. However, I am raising kids right now. And this is the reality of the world we live in.

    And for what it's worth - we don't read every single text, in fact we don't really read any of their texts unless one of the kids brings up a concern.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 weeks ago (2 children)

    No choice it this age of internet. Child's play on roblox and perv try to go speak to them... What an age. If you don't allow you child to go with their friend on roblox it grow isolated since they the only one not playing... The social pressure is amazing...

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 child)

    Public game servers are cancer. Always have been. Full of griefers and pervs and kids with snotty attitudes.

    I remember years ago in jr high, 8th grade I think, at a LAN party with some friends and playing Red Faction on online multiplayer. We kept getting players popping in, using cheats to kill everyone. Ended up just playing offline for the night.

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