The news
Since 30 September 2026, Android phones in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand install apps from Google Play and six other app stores only if the developer has verified their identity and registered the app with Google. The other stores are Samsung Galaxy Store, Xiaomi GetApps, HONOR App Market, OPPO App Market, vivo V-Appstore and Transsion's Palm Store. The rule covers certified Android devices running Android 7 or later.
Google says it will extend the checks to all apps on certified Android devices worldwide in 2027, wherever they are downloaded from. Until then, apps installed from other sources, such as a file from a website, are not affected, even in the four countries. After the change, people will still be able to install apps from unregistered developers, but only through an advanced setting that shows warnings and has a one-time 24-hour wait, or with developer tools.
On Google Play, Google says it registered 99% of apps automatically, including those that use Play App Signing, and developers had until 30 September to register the rest in Play Console. Developers who publish only outside Google Play register in the new Android Developer Console, where a full account costs $25. Apps a company installs on its own managed phones through its organisation's app store do not need the check, although Google recommends registering them too.
What it means for you
- If your Android app is on Google Play, it is most likely registered already, and Play Console shows whether anything is missing.
- If you give staff, drivers or customers an Android app as a file or through your own website, it will need a registered developer from 2027, or each person installing it will face warnings and a 24-hour wait.
- An app is registered to the account that publishes it. If a former supplier published your app under their own account, that is whose identity Google checks.
What to do now
- Open Play Console, check the developer verification status of each app and register any that are missing.
- List every Android app your business shares outside Google Play and plan to register it in the Android Developer Console before 2027.
- Make sure your apps are published under your company's own developer account.
- While in Play Console, check each app's target API level. New apps and updates must target Android 16 (API level 36), and extensions run only to 1 November 2026.
How Didset can help
We build Android apps, and we can move yours to your company's own developer account and register it, whether it is on Google Play or shared another way.
Talk to us about it
