Replying to Avatar Leo Wandersleb

I'm an Android dev since day two (2009) and prefer it over Apple but Google is also going for more wallet garden.

It used to be such that developers signed their apps with a key that never was shared with Google. Then they let developers opt in to sharing that key with them and now I think, to distribute on Google Play, new developers don't get their hands on the signing key.

The consequence is that if you publish on Google Play and with direct downloads from your website, you have to sign with different keys or risk to not be able to provide updates if Google gives you the boot.
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Derek Ross 2y ago

You're 100% correct. I am happy that Google has tightened their grasp a bit for Google Play. This gives users a higher quality and more secure app store. But thankfully the fact still remains that if you want the choice to play outside the Google ecosystem, you can.

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Leo Wandersleb 2y ago

Legacy apps where the devs have the keys certainly have an easier time migrating off Play Store. They "only" have to convince their clients to enable "untrusted" sources and download updates from their websites. Users can then update, knowing the binary was signed by the same devs as before.

New apps essentially have to start from zero and tell their users to install that other app if they loose their Google Developer account. Clients cannot upgrade from the Play Store version to the free version. They have to either delete the Play Store version before installing the free version or the provider has to provide the free version under a completely different app ID.