I'm trying to work out a strategy to interoperate with Google Play so that we can use F-Droid to provide the trusted app install/update channel on all Android devices.
Internet freedom tools like Psiphon, Tor/Orbot, Great Fire's FreeBrowser, StoryMaker, and many more provide direct download links for installing apps when Google Play is blocked, or the internet is otherwise filtered. If users who download those do not have Google Play, they are left without a reputable source of essential updates. We're funded by OTF to make the F-Droid free software repository the unblockable tool for getting Android apps and updates in places like China and Crimea where Google Play is blocked. F-Droid already supports network access over Psiphon, Lantern, I2P, and Tor, as well as direct device-to-device updates. Additionally, we are adding "collateral freedom" techniques like hosting files on github. To make this update process as easy as possible, we have an Android library that will check if Google Play is available. If it is not, then it will ensure that the user has F-Droid installed via a trusted channel. F-Droid then will provide the trusted update channel for all of those mentioned apps. The only blocker for this library is whether it is perceived to be in conflict with the Google Play Terms of Service. As far as I understand them, this library is not in conflict since it does not promote F-Droid or even make it visible if Google Play is installed. But we would like confirmation from Google. We'll have to address Google's concerns in relation to the Terms of Service, so I'm reaching out to them. I'd like to hear if anyone has any related experience or other ideas for how to approach this. .hc _______________________________________________ List info: https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/guardian-dev To unsubscribe, email: [email protected]
