Google has revealed the complete timeline for its controversial Android developer verification system.
The company confirmed that it will start restricting app sideloading in select countries from September 30.
This program, which was first revealed last year, makes it mandatory for developers working outside the Google Play Store to verify their identities, similar to those who publish apps on Google’s app store, with the aim of preventing fraud and malware attacks against Android users.
According to the latest blog post by Matthew Forsythe of Google, the program will be introduced in four countries with high rates of app fraud: Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.
Google said: “Nearly all installs on Google Play and a large majority of installs outside of Google Play” are now confirmed.
The company further detailed the third-party app stores that will participate in the verification process; these include Samsung’s Galaxy Store, Xiaomi’s GetApps, OPPO’s App Market, vivo’s V-Appstore, Honors App Market and Transsion’s Palm Store.
Starting this month, Google will automatically install a new system service called Android Developer Verifier on Android 8 and newer devices. This service will be inactive until it is turned on in each region.
In July, the company plans to launch the Android Developer ID status API and begin early access to limited distribution accounts.
August will see a worldwide release of the newly introduced “advanced flow”, which lets users skip verification via a hidden menu, risk confirmations and an enforced 24-hour wait. Unverified applications can also be installed by the user via the Android Debug Bridge (ADB).
