Android developer verification: Building a safer ecosystem together

Posted by Matthew Forsythe, Director Product Management, Android App Safety July 15, 2026: Updated Play Console requirements for Play developers To meet Android developer verification and updated Play Console Requirements , Play developers must register their Play apps in Play Console. While 99% of apps on Play have been registered automatically, you should check your Play Console Home page to register any remaining apps by September 30, 2026 to avoid global removal from Google Play and ensure a seamless user installation experience. You can also use Play Console to register apps you distribute outside of Google Play to ensure they can be installed on certified Android devices.

Last year, we introduced Android developer verification to strengthen ecosystem security and stop malicious actors from hiding behind anonymity to release harmful apps. Millions of apps have been registered since the verification launched in March, covering nearly all installs on Google Play and a large majority of installs from outside of Google Play. We appreciate the feedback and partnership from industry leaders, developers, and Android communities that helped us design this experience and drive strong adoption.

Initial launch across seven stores and four countries These new developer verification protections will take effect on September 30, 2026, starting with users in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. This rollout is an industry-wide effort to create a safer ecosystem . We will begin by verifying app installations from the following stores: Google (Google Play) Honor (HONOR App Market) OPlus (OPPO App Market) Samsung (Galaxy Store) Transsion (Palm Store) vivo (V-Appstore) Xiaomi (GetApps) Following this initial phase with our partners, we will expand these protections globally for all apps on certified Android devices in 2027.

Automate your workflow with new APIs To further streamline app registration, we are launching a suite of developer-requested APIs to help you register apps in bulk or directly through your continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) pipelines. The Android Developer ID Status API will let you check if a package name has already been registered, and the Android Developer Console API will let you register and manage package names directly within your development environment. Both APIs also support OAuth delegation, allowing third-party platforms, like Android app stores, to perform these operations natively on your behalf.

We'll launch these APIs over the next few months. What’s next June 2026: Starting this month, we are rolling out a new system service that will be automatically installed on most Android devices. This service will be used later this year to verify developer registration.