Thanks. The xheet and this article are almost identical.
protective waiting period
triggers me. It only protects their business interests, because that’s the biggest of the multiple hurdles that are all designed to disincentivize people from doing that.
I wouldn’t go quite that far. It doesn’t only protect their business interest; it definitely does achieve the goals they claim—like helping non-tech-literate users to avoid getting scammed with malware—it’s just they’re only doing it this way because it also aligns with their business interest.
To that end I’d contest the “Security Theater” label. All security measures are ultimately implemented in a way that defends the interests of the owners. It’s just that people have forgotten or aren’t aware that Proprietary Software means they’re not the owners.
Of course if it was just about users’ safety, the most effective way to help people avoid getting scammed is to educate them, but that would make people less dependent on Google and less susceptible to vendor lock-in, and people may even start having dangerous thoughts like “it sure is weird how many identifying traits of a scam are also just standard business practices for large corporations like Google.”
https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2026/03/android-developer-verification.html
Thanks. The xheet and this article are almost identical.
triggers me. It only protects their business interests, because that’s the biggest of the multiple hurdles that are all designed to disincentivize people from doing that.
Also read: security theater
I wouldn’t go quite that far. It doesn’t only protect their business interest; it definitely does achieve the goals they claim—like helping non-tech-literate users to avoid getting scammed with malware—it’s just they’re only doing it this way because it also aligns with their business interest.
To that end I’d contest the “Security Theater” label. All security measures are ultimately implemented in a way that defends the interests of the owners. It’s just that people have forgotten or aren’t aware that Proprietary Software means they’re not the owners.
Of course if it was just about users’ safety, the most effective way to help people avoid getting scammed is to educate them, but that would make people less dependent on Google and less susceptible to vendor lock-in, and people may even start having dangerous thoughts like “it sure is weird how many identifying traits of a scam are also just standard business practices for large corporations like Google.”