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Just got 'Android Developer Verifier' Silently Installed on my Phone (Aug 25, 2026) (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by onionsinmypores@sh.itjust.works to c/android@lemmy.world

94 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The app ID is com.google.android.verifier, which I assume will be used for the upcoming developer verification program for installing 3rd party apps.

Starting September 30, developers (signing authors) need to be verified from Google to distribute apps in the following app stores:

Google Play Store
Honor App Market
OPPO App Market
Samsung Galaxy Store
Transsion Palm Store
vivo V-Appstore and
Xiaomi GetApps

only in the countries of Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

F-Droid is not included for this time.

It is planned to be rolled out globally across all markets/app stores by January of 2027.

Relevant sources:
https://developer.android.com/developer-verification/guides
https://keepandroidopen.org/

I used App Manager (io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager) for the screenshot; you can use your regular 'Installed Apps'/'Apps' menu to see if it's been rolled out automatically for you as well.

edit: First link was originally a typo, my bad. Fixed it.

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[–] lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com -3 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

Yes. It's a company called Pinwheel, they provide phones pre-setup with what is essentially MDM, but geared towards child usage.

I can do the following remotely from the "caregiver portal":

Install/uninstall apps from Pinwheel's "curated" app list
Enable/disable Google Play store (apps still require approval)
See their texts and calls (including actual content - they know we can see this, we don't hide it)
Approve/block contacts; or, allow them to manage their own contact list, but blocked contacts cannot be bypassed
See their live location and location history
Set schedules and modes to enable/disable apps/features at certain times, and after any specific duration if desired
Remove the lockscreen passcode

...all remotely.

If your FIL can't handle smartphone stuff, I would absolutely recommend something like this for him.

The catch is that Pinwheel costs about $15/mo per device. Worth it IMO. They also have their own optional MVNO plan, with everything rolled into one price. I forget how much it is - I just put my kids on Mint Mobile.

[–] AceOnTrack@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 7 hours ago

Spying on every text and call your kids make is wild, I'm glad I didn't grow up in an era where it's normal to have 0 privacy as a kid, y'all crazy parents.