Comment by OJFord
3 months ago
A while ago I implemented some little feature I wanted for an open source app, and tested it on my phone. Only Android development I've ever done, a few hours' work: I wasn't going to get certified as an official Android developer for it. With this, I wouldn't be able to do it? Or rather I could, but could only test with the Android Studio emulator or similar?
Similarly if I just wanted to make something for myself, not distribute it at all, I know have to register with this program just to install my thing on my own phone? I don't think even Apple goes that far?
These restrictions won't apply to developer tools afaik. You will still be able to install anything using ADB.
(I'm not defending the practice — Android needs to be separated from Google, and it needs to be done 10 years ago)
No. You can still install apks through ADB, which is how you would do it during development. But you won't be able to distribute it without signing it through google.