Android Developer Verification

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On August 25th 2025, Google has announced an upcoming application installation restriction on Google-certified Android devices, unless the developer is registered and verified through their Developer Verification program, which in some cases requires a legal identity document verification as well as a flat fee.

Background

On the Android mobile operating system, the user can, currently, freely install applications developed by anyone, with no kinds of penalty as to their origin, feature set or purpose. The only requirements is that the application follows the technical guidelines, that ensure that the application will be functional on the device, and is signed with any kind of certificate, which is required to maintain a chain of trust during application updates.

Introduction of Developer Verification

On August 25th 2025, Google has released a roadmap of a new requirement for application installations called the Developer Verification, which will require developers to register on the Android Developer Console, if they want their applications to be installable after the roll out of this system. When registering, the developers are offered a choice between "Limited" and "Full" distribution types. The "Limited" distribution type is considered by Google to be best for "students, hobbyists, and other personal use", and is free to register, unlike the "Full" distribution type, which is considered to be suited for "organizations and professional developers with wide distribution". The "Limited" type is stated to have a "capped number of apps and installs", unlike the "Full" type. It is currently unclear whether or not the "Limited" type requires any kind of identity verification, as opposed to "Full", which requires full identity verification, as stated by Google.