https://keepandroidopen.org/

Google says "power users" can "still install" unverified apps. Here's what that actually looks like:

Delve into System Settings, find About Phone

Tap the build number seven times to enable Developer Mode

Dismiss scare screens about coercion

Enter your PIN

Restart the device

Wait 24 hours

Come back, dismiss more scare screens

Pick "allow temporarily" (7 days) or "allow indefinitely"

Confirm, again, that you understand "the risks"

Nine steps. A mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period. For installing software on a device you own.

Worse: this flow runs entirely through Google Play Services, not the Android OS. Google can change it, tighten it, or kill it at any time, with no OS update required and no consent needed.

Nice. There's just a FOSS alternative for almost everything these days. I get 80% of my apps from F-Droid.

Isn't everybody using Droid-ify anyway?

Been using it since the alpha came out, absolutely love what they've done with the app. The installation flow is much smoother with the instant prompt for confirmation, the more granular categories and improved search make browsing so much better. I tried other stores before, but I couldn't get myself to like any of the actively maintained ones, v2.0 is good for me.

Almost exclusively use F-Droid. Great news!

Can anyone ELI5 for the nontechy how things are going to work once Google rolls out the new bullshit? I'm seeing so many of my apps put out notices that they will no longer work once Google goes through with the verification system. Will I still be able to install shit through f droid?

I've just tried it. The UX is great and the downloads are faster than ever. It's soo much better noww!

When you find an app, F-Droid 2.0 will make the installation process easier. Google has long put up roadblocks for sideloaded apps, citing the security implications. This is also the rationale behind its upcoming developer verification system. For now at least, apps will be easier to install from F-Droid thanks to the use of Google’s pre-approval API.

That answers my question if those smoother installs already account for Google's insistence in making "sideloading" way more annoying. They do not.

I've been on neo store for a couple of years for the apps that have no APIs ready in git repos (for those, Obtainium is just the greatest). I tried the new F-Droid app, and it is way smoother than the last time I tried it, and the UI improvement is amazing. They still show you apps that haven't been maintained for over a year up front, but that's not a deal killer.

F-Droid News: https://f-droid.org/en/2026/09/24/f-droid-2.0-a-new-chapter-for-android-freedom.html

Now it will take them another decade to update apk on their website to the newest version.

I've only started using F-Droid recently, but it's UI is a clusterfuck. I welcome an overhaul.

The new ui is excellent, much more approachable in my opinion

It has indeed gotten better more pleasing to look at.