Google will soon be requiring android app developers to pay $25 to register their governments ids to make apps outside of the play store.
The package (com.google.android.verifier) will be introduced on devices running Android 8 or higher, granting Google the ability to block the installation of unverified apps.
Complete your migration plans before Google puts up the barbed wire making it much harder to leave.
The alternatives are Graphene, Calyx, Sailfish, FuriOS, Ubuntu Touch and Postmarket OS.
95 days: 30 September 2026: Indonesia, Brazil, Thailand and Singapore.
188 days: 2027: Globally.
I’ve heard they sell refurbished consumer devices with /e/.
They basically tried to recreate G-services (voluntary for users of course) in addition to providing the OS which is built from AOSP.
It worked well enough for me, like LTS LineageOS basically but I didn’t care for the design so much.
But all my info is many years old.