they talk about alternative stores as well but fail to do a great reporting on the issue … a alternative appstore that need’s google approve it’s simply not a real alternative.
From https://keepandroidopen.org/ In August 2025, Google announced ↗ that as of September 2026, it will no longer be possible to develop apps for the Android platform without first registering centrally with Google. This registration will involve:
- Paying a fee to Google
- Agreeing to Google’s Terms and Conditions
- Providing government identification
- Uploading evidence of the developer’s private signing key
- Listing all current and future application identifiers
Good news is GrapheneOS is planned to be available on Motorola phones. Probably time to leave Google and Microsoft behind.
NGL I was excited to hear the news of official GrapheneOS devices coming, hopefully they won’t just be their flagship devices but the whole product stack.
Have they figured out how to fix the banking app issue?
https://privsec.dev/posts/android/banking-applications-compatibility-with-grapheneos
Check compatibility here.
Thanks so much my bank is supported! I just wish my device was too. I’ll probably get one that supports it because I really want to move away from google
Wow not bad, that’s a pretty big list.
Reminder: Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has defended child pornography, saying that stopping it is “gatekeeping”.
All mega corps are shit and run by assholes.
Except Costco. For now at least.
As someone who just tried to sign up for a Costco membership online and couldn’t get past the first page of registration, on multiple devices, Costco is kinda shit too, lol.
Just go into the store. They’ll sign you up.
Planning on it lol. Was just mildly annoyed because I needed a product I have to order through their website anyway and I’ll probably need to get a month supply somewhere else to hold me over until I can get the membership and finally get it shipped.
His position was essentially:
- AI systems sometimes produce harmful or illegal content despite safeguards.
- Governments shouldn’t use that as a reason to pressure platform gatekeepers to remove an entire service.
Important distinctions:
- He said he defends open platforms and free speech.
- He explicitly said he does not defend the harmful content itself.
Thanks, John Google.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but can’t this be used as a precedent for other app makers that are screwed over by google’s monopoly?
So after all that, Epic just got the commission cut by 1/3? Wonder how long it’ll take their savings to equal what they spent on legal fees and the revenue they missed while Fortnite wasn’t on the Play Store.
edit: Ars’ coverage says attorneys’ fees were included in the settlement, so I guess Epic only needs to make up the missed revenue.
Interesting differences in the apple case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Games_v._Apple
