Accrescent and Android Developer Verification

Google recently announced that starting next year, Android will require all apps to be registered by verified developers for users to install them on their devices, i.e., all apps must be registered by a developer who has performed identity verification with Google or else they won’t be installable on certified Android devices. While users have asked us about this new requirement (specifically about how it affects Accrescent), we have been waiting to provide an official response until more information became available. Now, although we are still waiting on Google to provide more details on how the program will work in the context of third-party app stores, we have enough information to explain how it will affect Accrescent and how we are responding to the change.

What is Android developer verification?

Android developer verification is a new policy that will require Android app developers to provide their identity information to Google and register their apps under their account. It is planned to go into effect in September of 2026 starting in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. Once implemented, unregistered apps will no longer be installable in those regions. Global rollout is planned to follow. The policy effectively requires every Android app to be linked to an official government identity, which Google argues will deter bad actors from spreading malware.

Google later amended this policy to say that they are adding a new flow that allows experienced users to install unregistered apps.

Impact on Accrescent

The direct impact of this policy on Accrescent is, in short, small. Because we designed Accrescent to accept apps signed by their developers from the start, Android developer verification causes no conflict with the way we distribute apps and should not pose significant issues to Accrescent going forward. We will continue to support Android, AOSP, and certain AOSP-based operating systems such as GrapheneOS as first-tier targets. We also plan to continue allowing developers to submit apps to Accrescent without registering their apps through Android developer verification. However, we do need to make some changes to prepare for the policy’s implementation, namely:

1. We need to do some work to ensure Accrescent continues to work seamlessly on certified Android devices after September 2026.
2. We need to make changes to our app submission policy to ensure it is compatible with Android developer verification.

How we are doing this is explained below.

How we are responding

We have registered for and obtained early access to the Android developer verification program. We are using this access in two ways. First, we are using our early access privileges to provide feedback directly to the Android team through official mechanisms to ensure Android developer verification causes a minimal amount of friction for third-party app stores. We want to ensure that the program considers the needs of Accrescent as well as other Android app stores and provides the features we need to continue operating smoothly. Second, we have registered Accrescent in the Android developer verification program so that it continues to work on certified Android devices in September 2026 and beyond without any additional installation warnings.

We will also need to make some slight changes to our app submission policy so that it is compatible with Android developer verification. While the details are yet to be determined, we plan to prevent conflicts with apps registered in the program while continuing to allow developers to submit unregistered apps to preserve our commitment to developer privacy. We hope to provide further updates as Google provides more details in the coming months.

Conclusion

The direct impact of Android developer verification on Accrescent is currently minimal. Some details of how the program affects third-party app stores are still unresolved; however, we are providing feedback to Google through official early access channels to attempt to shape the program to work smoothly with Accrescent and other third-party app stores.

For both Accrescent users and developers, not much changes — we continue to support the same platforms and offer the same user privacy as we always have. But Android developer verification is still new, and we expect things to change and more information to come over the next 9 months. As it does, you can expect that we will provide updates on how it affects Accrescent, and in the meantime, we will be working in the background to make sure the voices of alternative app stores are heard and that the program takes their needs into account.