Discription: Ellipsus is a principled alternative to Google Docs—built for writers, by writers.
For: Beginner and intermediate
It has easy interface to navigate and offers variety of convenient tools for writers.
Cost: Free but includes premium plan for some features.
Type: Website.
02. Scrivener
Description: Scrivener is a word-processing program and outliner designed for writers. Scrivener provides a management system for documents, notes and metadata. This allows the user to organize notes, concepts, research, and whole documents for easy access and reference.
For: Intermediate and expert
It is designed primarily for intermediate to expert users who are working on long-form, complex writing projects such as novels, screenplays, or academic theses. While beginners can learn to use it, the software has a notoriously steep learning curve due to its extensive, high-powered feature set.
Cost: Paid with a free trial.
Type: App.
03. Campfire Writing
Description: Campfire is a reading and writing platform for genre fiction. Discover books & bonus content, write novels, and self-publish with royalties.
For: Beginner and intermediate
It is accessible to beginners but is specifically tailored for intermediate, who require heavy worldbuilding, organization, and planning tools etc.
Cost: Free but includes premium plan for some features.
Type: Website and app.
04. Reedsy Studio
Description: Reedsy Studio is a free online app for authors to plan, draft, edit, and format their book, creating professional ePub and print-ready files easily.
For: Beginner and intermediate
It is primarily designed for beginners and intermediate authors, particularly those self-publishing for the first time who need a free, all-in-one, and user-friendly platform.
Cost: Free but includes premium plan for some features.
Type: Website.
05. Atticus
Description: Create professional print books and eBooks easily with the all-in-one book writing software.
For: Beginner and intermediate
It is designed to be accessible to a variety of users, but it is primarily tailored for intermediate to advanced (professional) indie authors, though beginners can use it due to its intuitive interface.
Cost: Paid.
Type: Website and app.
06. Novlr
Description: Novlr is writer-owned creative writing platform. Join a community with writers and their goals at the heart of everything we do.
For: Beginner and intermediate
It is designed for beginners to intermediate writer. It is often recommended as a more user-friendly alternative to complex software like Scrivener, making it ideal for those who are intimidated by steep learning curves.
Cost: Free but includes premium plan for some features.
Type: Website.
07. JotterPad
Description: JotterPad is a text editor app for Android, developed by Two App Studio. It is proprietary software that uses the freemium pricing strategy.
For: Anyone
It is designed for beginners, intermediate, and expert writers alike, making it a versatile tool for anyone focused on creative writing, screenwriting, or plain-text drafting. Its primary appeal lies in its minimalistic, distraction-free interface, which is useful for beginners.
Cost: Free but includes premium plan for some features.
Type: Website and app.
08. FocusWriter
Description: It's a simple distraction-free word processor. It provides customizable themes, font, colors, and background image to add ambiance. It also features on-the-fly updating statistics, daily goals, multiple open documents, spell-checking, and much more.
For: Beginner.
Suitable for writers who like simple and distraction-free word processor.
Cost: Free.
Type: App.
09. yWriter
Description: yWriter is a word processor which breaks your novel into chapters and scenes, helping you keep track of your work while leaving your mind free to create.
For: Intermediate and expert
It is designed for intermediate to advanced writers, particularly those who are plotting-heavy, structure-focused novelists or screenwriters. While it is free and has a straightforward interface, its focus on organizing scenes, tracking character data, and data-heavy analytics makes it most useful for writers tackling complex, long-form projects.
Cost: Free but includes premium plan for some features.
Type: App.
10. Grammarly
Description: Grammarly is an American English-language writing assistant software tool. It started as a tool to review the spelling, grammar, and tone of a piece of writing.
For: Anyone
It is designed for a broad range of users, offering utility for beginners, intermediate, and expert writers, though it serves different purposes for each level. It is primarily targeted at anyone who writes using a computer for work or pleasure, including students, professionals, bloggers, and non-native English speakers.
Cost: Free but includes premium plan for some features.
Type: Website and app.
11. Obsidian
Description: Obsidian is a proprietary personal knowledge base and note-taking application that operates on markdown files.
For: Intermediate.
It best for intermediate to expert users—especially those who want a powerful system for organizing and connecting ideas, but beginners can use it too if they’re willing to learn.
Cost: Free but includes premium plan for some features.
Type: App.
12. AutoCrit
Description: AutoCrit is an online manuscript editing tool that gives fiction and non-fiction writers the power to quickly and effectively self-edit their work anytime.
For: Intermediate and expert
It is best for intermediate and expert writers during the editing phase. It’s an analysis tool, not a beginner writing one.
Cost: Free but includes premium plan for some features.
The most ENSHITTIFICATION-PROOF way to get the Enshittification audiobook, ebook and hardcover is to pre-order them on my Kickstarter! Help me do AN END RUN around the AMAZON/AUDIBLE AUDIOBOOK MONOPOLY and DISENSHITTIFY your audiobook experience in the process.
William Gibson famously said that "Cyberpunk was a warning, not a suggestion." But for every tech leader fantasizing about lobotomizing their enemies with Black Ice, there are ten who wish they could be Darth Vader, force-choking you while grating out, "I'm altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further."
I call this business philosophy the "Darth Vader MBA." The fact that tech products are permanently tethered to their manufacturers – by cloud connections backstopped by IP restrictions that stop you from disabling them – means that your devices can have features removed or altered on a corporate whim, and it's literally a felony for you to restore the functionality you've had removed:
That presents an irresistible temptation to tech bosses. It means that you can spy on your users, figure out which features they rely on most heavily, disable those features, and then charge money to restore them:
It means that you can decide to stop paying a supplier the license fee for a critical feature that your customers rely on, take that feature away, and stick your customers with a monthly charge, forever, to go on using the product they already paid for:
It means that you can push "security updates" to devices in the field that take away your customers' ability to use third-party apps, so they're forced to use your shitty, expensive apps:
Or you can take away third-party app support and force your customers to use your shitty app that's crammed full of ads, so they have to look at an ad every time they want to open their garage-doors:
Or you can break compatibility with generic consumables, like ink, and force your customers to buy the consumables you sell, at (literal) ten billion percent markups:
Combine the "agreements" we must click through after we hand over our money, wherein we "consent" to having the terms altered at any time, in any way, forever, and surrender our right to sue:
With the fact that billions of digital tools can be neutered at a distance with a single mouse-click:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/
With the fact that IP law makes it a literal felony to undo these changes or add legal features to your own property that the manufacturer doesn't want you to have:
And you've created the conditions for a perfect Darth Vader MBA dystopia.
Tech bosses are fundamentally at war with the idea that our digital devices contain "general purpose computers." The general-purposeness of computers – the fact that they are all Turing-complete, universal von Neumann machines – has created tech bosses' fortunes, but now that these fortunes have been attained, the tech sector would like to abolish that general-purposeness; specifically, they would like to make it impossible to run programs that erode their profits or frustrate their attempts at rent-seeking.
This has been a growing trend in computing since the mid-2000s, when tech bosses realized that the "digital rights management" that the entertainment industry had fallen in love with could provide even bigger dividends for tech companies themselves.
Since the Napster era, media companies have demanded that tech platforms figure out how to limit the use and copying of media files after they were delivered to our computers. They believed that there was some practical way to make a computer that would refuse to take orders from its owner, such that you could (for example) "stream" a movie to a user without that being a "download." The truth, of course is that all streams are downloads, because the only way to cause my screen to display a video file that is on your server is for your server to send that file to my computer.
"Streaming" is a consensus hallucination, and when a company claims to be giving you a "stream" that's not a "download," they really mean that they believe that the program that's rendering the file on your screen doesn't have a "save as" button.
But of course, even if the program doesn't have a "save as" button, someone could easily make a "save as" plugin that adds that functionality to your streaming program. So "streaming" isn't just "a video playback program without a 'save as' button," it's also "a video playback program that no one can add a 'save as' button to."
At the turn of the millennium, tech companies selling this stuff hoodwinked media companies by claiming that they used technical means to prevent someone from adding the "save as" button after the fact. But tech companies knew that there was no technical means to prevent this, because computers are general purpose, and can run every program, which means that every 10-foot fence you build around a program immediately summons up an 11-foot ladder.
When a tech company says "it's impossible to change the programs and devices we ship to our users," they mean, "it's illegal to change the programs and devices we ship to our users." That's thanks to a cluster of laws we colloquially call "IP law"; a label we apply to any law that lets a firm exert control on the conduct of users, critics and competitors:
https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/
Law, not technology, is the true battlefield in the War on General Purpose Computing, a subject I've been raising the alarm about for decades now:
When I say that this is a legal fight and not a technical one, I mean that, but for the legal restrictions on reverse-engineering and "adversarial interoperability," none of these extractive tactics would be viable. Every time a company enshittified its products, it would create an opportunity for a rival to swoop in, disenshittify the enshittification, and steal your customers out from under you.
The fact that there's no technical way to enforce these restrictions means that the companies that benefit from them have to pitch their arguments to lawmakers, not customers. If you have something that works, you use it in your sales pitch, like Signal, whose actual, working security is a big part of its appeal to users.
If you have something that doesn't work, you use it in your lobbying pitch, like Apple, who justify their 30% ripoff app tax – which they can only charge because it's a felony to reverse-engineer your iPhone so you can use a different app store – by telling lawmakers that locking down their platform is essential to the security and privacy of iPhone owners:
Apple and Google have a dupology over mobile computing. Both companies use legal tactics to lock users into getting their apps from the companies' own app stores, where they take 30 cents out of every dollar you spend, and where it's against the rules to include any payment methods other than Google/Apple's own payment systems.
This is a massive racket. It lets the companies extract hundreds of billions of dollars in rents. This drives up costs for their users and drives down profits for their suppliers. It lets the duoply structure the entire mobile economy, acting as de facto market regulators. For example, the fact that Apple/Google exempt Uber and Lyft from the 30% app tax means that they – and they alone – can provide competitive ride-hailing services.
But though both companies extract the 30% app tax, they use very different mechanisms to maintain their lock on their users and on app makers. Apple uses digital locks, which lets it invoke IP law to criminalize anyone who reverse-engineers its systems and provides an easy way to install a better app store.
Google, on the other hand, uses a wide variety of contractual tactics to maintain its control, arm-twisting Android device makers and carriers into bundling its app store with every device, often with a locked bootloader that prevents users from adding new app stores after they pay for their devices.
But despite this, Google has always claimed that Android is the "open" alternative to the Apple "ecosystem," principally on the strength that you can "sideload" an app. "Sideload" is a weird euphemism that the mobile duopoly came up with; it means "installing software without our permission," which we used to just call "installing software" (because you don't need a manufacturer's permission to install software on your computer).
Now, Google has pulled a Darth Vader, changing the deal after the fact. They've announced that henceforth, you will only be able to sideload apps that come from developers who pay to be validated by Google and certified as good eggs. This has got people really angry, and justifiably so.
Last week, the repair hero Louis Rossmann posted a scorching video excoriating Google for the change:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBEKlIV_70E
In the video, Rossmann – who is now running an anti-enshittification group called Fulu – reminds us that our mobile devices aren't phones, they're computers and urges us not to use the term "sideloading," because that's conceding that there's something about the fact that this computer can fit in your pocket that means that you shouldn't be able to, you know, just install software.
Rossmann thinks that this is a cash grab, and he's right – partially. He thinks that this is a way for Google to make money from forcing developers to join its certification program.
But that's just small potatoes. The real cash grab is the hundreds of billions of dollars that Google stands to lose if we switch to third-party app stores and choke off the app tax.
That is an issue that is very much on Google's mind right now, because Google lost a brutal antitrust case brought by Epic Games, makers of Fortnite:
Epic's suit contended that Google had violated antitrust law by creating exclusivity deal with carriers and device makers that locked Android users into Google's app store, which meant that Epic had to surrender 30% of its mobile earnings to Google.
Google lost that case – badly. It turns out that judges don't like it when you deliberately destroy evidence:
They say that when you find yourself in a hole, you should stop digging, but Google can't put down the shovel. After the court ordered Google to open up its app store, the company just ignored the order, which is a thing that judges hate even more than destroying evidence:
Google was ordered to make it possible to install new app stores as apps, so you could go into Google Play, search for a different app store, and, with a single click, install it on your phone, and switch to getting your apps from that store, rather than Google's.
That's what's behind Google's new ban on "sideloading": this is a form of malicious compliance with the court orders stemming from its losses to Epic Games. In fact, it's not even malicious compliance – it's malicious noncompliance, a move that so obviously fails to satisfy the court order that I think it's only a matter of time until Google gets hit with fines so large that they'll actually affect Google's operations.
In the meantime, Google's story that this move is motivated by security it obviously bullshit. First of all, the argument that preventing users from installing software of their choosing is the only way to safeguard their privacy and security is bullshit when Apple uses it, and it's bullshit when Google trots it out:
But even if you stipulate that Google is doing this to keep you safe, the story falls apart. After all, Google isn't certifying apps, they're certifying developers. This implies that the company can somehow predict whether a developer will do something malicious in the future.
This is obviously wrong. Indeed, Google itself is proof that this doesn't work: the fact that a company has a "don't be evil" motto at its outset is no guarantee that it won't turn evil in the future.
There's a long track record of merchants behaving in innocuous and beneficial ways to amass reputation capital, before blitzing the people who trust them with depraved criminality. This is a well-understood problem with reputation scores, dating back to the early days of eBay, when crooked sellers invented the tactic of listing and delivering a series of low-value items in order to amass a high reputation score, only to post a bunch of high-ticket scams, like dozens laptops at $1,000 each, which are never delivered, even as the seller walks away with tens of thousands of dollars.
More recently, we've seen this in supply chain attacks on open source software, where malicious actors spend a long time serving as helpful contributors, pushing out a string of minor, high-quality patches before one day pushing a backdoor or a ransomware package into widely used code:
So the idea that Google can improve Android's safety by certifying developers, rather than code, is obvious bullshit. No, this is just a pretext, a way to avoid complying with the court order in Epic and milking a few more billions of dollars in app taxes.
Google is no friend of the general purpose computer. They keep coming up with ways to invoke the law to punish people who install code that makes their Android devices serve their owners' interests, at the expense of Google's shareholders. It was just a couple years ago that we had to bully Google out of a plan to lock down browsers so they'd be as enshittified as apps, something Google sold as "feature parity":
Epic Games didn't just sue Google, either. They also sued Apple – but Apple won, because it didn't destroy evidence and make the judge angry at it. But Apple didn't walk away unscathed – they were also ordered to loosen up control over their App Store, and they also failed to do so, with the effect that last spring, a federal judge threatened to imprison Apple executives:
Neither Apple nor Google would exist without the modern miracle that is the general purpose computer. Both companies want to make sure no one else ever reaps the benefit of the Turing complete, universal von Neumann machine. Both companies are capable of coming up with endless narratives about how Turing completeness is incompatible with your privacy and security.
But it's Google and Apple that stand in the way of our security and privacy. Though they may sometimes protects us against external threats, neither Google nor Apple will ever protect us from their own predatory instincts.
Click here to pre-order my next book, ENSHITTIFICATION: WHY EVERYTHING SUDDENLY GOT WORSE AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
Google is going to restrict what mobile apps you are allowed to install on your Android devices starting September 2026.
Date of this post: March 12, 2026. Announcement was August 2025, and still stands.
Only verified apps from developers that provide all their personal details and government ID will be allowed, even from outside the Play Store.
They say this is for our safety, but this is taking away our digital rights. It's about control.
Sources, elaboration, and solutions under the cut.
Get started building your Android apps.
"Starting in September 2026, Android will require all apps to be registered by verified developers in order to be installed on certified Android devices.
You will need to provide and verify your personal details, like your legal name, address, email address, and phone number.
If you're registering as an organization, you'll also need to provide a D-U-N-S number and verify your organization's website.
You may also need to upload official government ID.
You'll need to prove you own your apps by providing your app package name and app signing keys."
Why is this bad?
Quoting keepandroidopen.org:
"You, the consumer, purchased your Android device believing in Google’s promise that it was an open computing platform and that you could run whatever software you choose on it. Instead, as of September 2026, they will be non-consensually pushing an update to your operating system that irrevocably blocks this right and leaves you at the mercy of their judgement over what software you are permitted to trust.
You, the creator, can no longer develop an app and share it directly with your friends, family, and community without first seeking Google’s approval. The promise of Android — and a marketing advantage it has used to distinguish itself against the iPhone — has always been that it is “open”. But Google clearly feels that they have enough of a lock on the Android ecosystem, along with sufficient regulatory capture, that they can now jettison this principle with prejudice and impunity.
You, the state, are ceding the rights of your citizens and your own digital sovereignty to a company with a track record of complying with the extrajudicial demands of authoritarian regimes to remove perfectly legal apps that they happen to dislike. The software that is critical to the running of your businesses and governments will be at the mercy of the opaque whims of a distant and unaccountable corporation."
Quoting woheller69 on github:
"Requiring developers to submit personal identity details to Google in order for their apps to run on certified Android devices represents a serious attack on fundamental digital rights:
Developer privacy – Individual developers and small teams should not be forced to hand over government IDs or sensitive documents to a multinational corporation. Many developers value their privacy for legitimate personal, political, or security reasons.
The right to use my own device – As a user, I should be free to run the software of my choice on my phone. Blocking applications that do not meet Google’s new requirements is a restriction on device ownership and digital freedom.
Free and open-source software ecosystems – Many FOSS projects are developed by volunteers who will not (and often cannot) provide identity documents. This policy risks removing an enormous amount of valuable free software from certified Android devices.
Developer safety – In some countries, linking real-world identities to developers of privacy tools, political apps, or security software can put them in danger. This requirement could actively harm people.
Adaptation and forking of open-source programs – One of the most important freedoms of open-source software is the ability to fork and adapt programs to personal or local needs. Today, I can simply fork an app, add a translation, build it, and install it on my device. Under the new rules, any fork would require a new package ID — which in turn would force the developer to register with Google and provide personal identity details. This creates a bureaucratic and privacy-invasive barrier to the most basic use of open-source: improving, localizing, and customizing software."
Bypass Options:
Contribute to woheller69/FreeDroidWarn development by creating an account on GitHub.
"Use a free, uncensored Android system like /e/os, LineageOS, or GrapheneOS that does not preinstall Google Play Services.
"Degoogle" by removing Google Play Services. Depending on the manufacturer of your phone this may require rooting your device.
Install apps via ADB. Google has already confirmed that ADB will continue to work in the future. You can either use ADB from a PC as described below or use a wireless ADB based installer like anyapk."
Please Complain! Details are listed here for many countries:
Advocating for Android as a free, open platform for everyone to build apps on.
Been awhile since I've had one of these posts part deus: but I figure with all that's going on in the world it's time to make another one and get some stuff out there for people. A lot of the information I'm going to go over you can find here:
https://www.privacyguides.org/en/tools/
So if you'd like to just click the link and ignore the rest of the post that's fine, I strongly recommend checking out the Privacy Guides.
Browsers:
There's a number to go with but for this post going forward I'm going to recommend Firefox. I know that the Privacy Guides lists Brave and Safari as possible options but Brave is Chrome based now and Safari has ties to Apple. Mullvad is also an option but that's for your more experienced users so I'll leave that up to them to work out.
Browser Extensions:
uBlock Origin: content blocker that blocks ads, trackers, and fingerprinting scripts. Notable for being the only ad blocker that still works on Youtube.
Privacy Badger: Content blocker that specifically blocks trackers and fingerprinting scripts. This one will catch things that uBlock doesn't catch but does not work for ads.
Facebook Container: "but I don't have facebook" you might say. Doesn't matter, Meta/Facebook still has trackers out there in EVERYTHING and this containerizes them off away from everything else.
Bitwarden: Password vaulting software, don't trust the password saving features of your browsers, this has multiple layers of security to prevent your passwords from being stolen.
ClearURLs: Allows you to copy and paste URL's without any trackers attached to them.
VPN:
Note: VPN software doesn't make you anonymous, no matter what your favorite youtuber tells you, but it does make it harder for your data to be tracked and it makes it less open for whatever public network you're presently connected to.
Mozilla VPN: If you get the annual subscription it's ~$60/year and it comes with an extension that you can install into Firefox.
Mullvad VPN: Is a fast and inexpensive VPN with a serious focus on transparency and security. They have been in operation since 2009. Mullvad is based in Sweden and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for payment methods that allow it.
Email Provider:
Note: By now you've probably realized that Gmail, Outlook, and basically all of the major "free" e-mail service providers are scraping your e-mail data to use for ad data. There are more secure services that can get you away from that but if you'd like the same storage levels you have on Gmail/Ol utlook.com you'll need to pay.
Tuta: Secure, end-to-end encrypted, been around a very long time, and offers a free option up to 1gb.
Mailbox.org: Is an email service with a focus on being secure, ad-free, and privately powered by 100% eco-friendly energy. They have been in operation since 2014. Mailbox.org is based in Berlin, Germany. Accounts start with up to 2GB storage, which can be upgraded as needed.
Email Client:
Thunderbird: a free, open-source, cross-platform email, newsgroup, news feed, and chat (XMPP, IRC, Matrix) client developed by the Thunderbird community, and previously by the Mozilla Foundation.
FairMail (Android Only): minimal, open-source email app which uses open standards (IMAP, SMTP, OpenPGP), has several out of the box privacy features, and minimizes data and battery usage.
Cloud Storage:
Tresorit: Encrypted cloud storage owned by the national postal service of Switzerland. Received MULTIPLE awards for their security stats.
Peergos: decentralized and open-source, allows for you to set up your own cloud storage, but will require a certain level of expertise.
Microsoft Office Replacements:
LibreOffice: free and open-source, updates regularly, and has the majority of the same functions as base level Microsoft Office.
OnlyOffice: cloud-based, free
FreeOffice: Personal licenses are free, probably the closest to a fully office suite replacement.
Chat Clients:
Note: As you've heard SMS and even WhatsApp and some other popular chat clients are basically open season right now. These are a couple of options to replace those.
Note2: Signal has had some reports of security flaws, the service it was built on was originally built for the US Government, and it is based within the CONUS thus is susceptible to US subpoenas. Take that as you will.
Signal: Provides IM and calling securely and encrypted, has multiple layers of data hardening to prevent intrusion and exfil of data.
Molly (Android OS only): Alternative client to Signal. Routes communications through the TOR Network.
Briar: Encrypted IM client that connects to other clients through the TOR Network, can also chat via wifi or bluetooth.
SimpleX: Truly anonymous account creation, fully encrypted end to end, available for Android and iOS.
Now for the last bit, I know that the majority of people are on Windows or macOS, but if you can get on Linux I would strongly recommend it. pop_OS, Ubuntu, and Mint are super easy distros to use and install. They all have very easy to follow instructions on how to install them on your PC and if you'd like to just test them out all you need is a thumb drive to boot off of to run in demo mode. For more secure distributions for the more advanced users the options are: Whonix, Tails (Live USB only), and Qubes OS.
On a personal note I use Arch Linux, but I WOULD NOT recommend this be anyone's first distro as it requires at least a base level understanding of Linux and liberal use of the Arch Linux Wiki.
If you game through Steam their Proton emulator in compatibility mode works wonders, I'm presently playing a major studio game that released in 2024 with no Linux support on it and once I got my drivers installed it's looked great. There are some learning curves to get around, but the benefit of the Linux community is that there's always people out there willing to help.
I hope some of this information helps you and look out for yourself, it's starting to look scarier than normal out there.
Hey guys, I'm coming on here to warn my fellow android users.
Starting September 30th 2026, Google will start forcing creators of apps to start forking over Government ID. And any apps that have not complied with this, will no longer work until they do from where I'm understanding.
It'll start in places such as Brazil and more. And then change to globally after 2027.
So I urge you all to contact your house of representatives and or your senates to stop this.
Because this? This just fucks up anominity on our internet.
Please. I beg you all to do this.
Because Google cannot win. We only have 86-85 days left.
Please everyone. I beg you to do this.
Do you really want apps that you love that are probably not connected to Google, be unusable after months?
I think not.
So, I urge you all to do this. For our safety. Because this? This is just greed on Google's part.
To keep us safe my ass.
Android was the only free type of phone you could get without all that shit. And now this?
This is just horrible.
So please, no matter where you are. Contact your house of representatives and or senates and make them take action against this. Because this? This is most definitely illegal.
To anyone with android phone or may have one like... anyone... or anyone else from the U.S.A with a Android Phone or any other creator with an android phone? I beg of you to do something about this.
I already sent mine in.
What Google is doing
In August 2025, Google announced a new requirement: starting September 2026, every Android app developer must register centrally with Google before their software can be installed on any device. Not just Play Store apps: all apps. This includes apps shared between friends, distributed through F-Droid, built by hobbyists for personal use. Independent developers, church and community groups, and hobbyists alike will all be frozen out of being able to develop and distribute their software.
Registration requires:
Paying a fee to Google
Agreeing to Google's Terms and Conditions
Surrendering your government-issued identification
Providing evidence of your private signing key
Listing all current and all future application identifiers
If a developer does not comply, their apps get silently blocked on every Android device worldwide.
Who this hurts
You
You bought an Android phone because Google told you it was open. You could install what you wanted, and that was the deal.
Google is now rewriting that deal, retroactively, on hardware you already own. After the update lands, you can only run software that Google has pre-approved. On your phone: your property, that you paid for.
Independent developers
A teenager's first app, a volunteer's privacy tool, or a company's confidential internal beta. It doesn't matter. After September 2026, none of these can be installed without Google's blessing.
F-Droid, home to thousands of free and open-source Android apps, has called this an "existential" threat. Cory Doctorow calls it "Darth Android".
Governments & civil society
Google has a documented track record of complying when authoritarian regimes demand app removals. With this program, the software that runs your country's institutions will exist at the pleasure of a single unaccountable foreign corporation.
The EFF calls app gatekeeping "an ever-expanding pathway to internet censorship."
Google's "escape hatch" is a trap door
Google says "power users" can "still install" unverified apps. Here's what that actually looks like:
Delve into System Settings, find Developer Options
Tap the build number seven times to enable Developer Mode
Dismiss scare screens about coercion
Enter your PIN
Restart the device
Wait 24 hours
Come back, dismiss more scare screens
Pick "allow temporarily" (7 days) or "allow indefinitely"
Confirm, again, that you understand "the risks"
Nine steps. A mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period. For installing software on a device you own.
Worse: this flow runs entirely through Google Play Services, not the Android OS. Google can change it, tighten it, or kill it at any time, with no OS update required and no consent needed. And as of today, it hasn't shipped in any beta, preview, or canary build. It exists only as a blog post and some mockups.
This is bigger than Android
If Google can retroactively lock down billions of devices that were sold as open platforms, every hardware manufacturer on the planet is watching.
The principle being established: the company that made your device gets to decide, after you've bought it, what software you're allowed to run. In software, this is called a "rug pull"; but at least you could always install competing software. In hardware, it is a fait accompli that strips you of your agency and renders you powerless to the whims of a single unaccountable gatekeeper and convicted monopolist.
Android's openness was never just a feature. It was the promise that distinguished it from iPhone. Millions chose Android for exactly that reason. Google is now revoking that promise unilaterally, on devices already in people's pockets, because they've decided they have enough market dominance and regulatory capture to get away with it.
Ars Technica: "Google's Apple envy threatens to dismantle Android's open legacy."
So, let me ask you all... is this truly about security?
Is this really about protecting the kids?
No!
It's about control!
So I beg all of you in the united States to spread the word.
Fight back
Everyone
Install F-Droid on every Android device you own. Alternative stores only survive if people actually use them.
Contact your regulators. Regulators worldwide are genuinely concerned about monopolies and the centralization of power in the tech sector, and want to hear directly from individuals who are affected and concerned.
Share this page. Link to keepandroidopen.org everywhere.
Push back on astroturfers. The "well, actually..." crowd is out in force. Don't let them set the narrative.
Sign the change.org petition and join the over 100,000 signatories who have made their voices heard.
Read and share our open letter
Tell Google what you think of this through their own developer verification survey (for all the good that will do).
Eloiacs Softwa Pvt Ltd – Your Partner in Digital Growth
Choosing the right technology partner is the first step toward business growth, and Eloiacs Softwa Pvt Ltd is known for delivering practical, result-oriented, and scalable digital solutions. At Eloiacs, the focus is not just on developing software, but on building smart technology systems that support long-term business success.
A Holistic Approach to Digital Transformation
Eloiacs believes that technology should simplify business operations, improve efficiency, and enhance customer experience. Instead of offering generic solutions, the team focuses on understanding business needs and delivering customized applications that align with real-world goals.
From startups to established enterprises, Eloiacs helps organizations adopt modern technology that improves productivity, streamlines processes, and prepares them for future growth.
Customized Software Solutions for Every Business
Every business operates differently, and Eloiacs Softwa Pvt Ltd understands the importance of personalized solutions. Their development process is designed to create software that matches your workflow, industry requirements, and operational needs.
Whether you need a web application, mobile app, or enterprise software, the solutions are built to be user-friendly, scalable, and secure. The team also ensures that the software integrates smoothly with your existing systems for better performance and efficiency.
Smart Web and Mobile Application Development
In today’s digital world, having a strong online presence is essential. Eloiacs specializes in building responsive websites and high-performance mobile applications that enhance user experience and strengthen your brand presence.
Their development services include:
Business websites and web applications
Android and iOS mobile app development
E-commerce solutions
UI/UX design for better user engagement
These solutions help businesses reach more customers, improve accessibility, and drive growth.
Technology Solutions for Business Efficiency
Eloiacs focuses on creating technology that improves day-to-day operations. Their services include cloud-based applications, automation tools, and software maintenance that ensure smooth performance and long-term reliability.
With continuous support and updates, businesses can stay secure, efficient, and ready for changing market demands.
Guided Development and Ongoing Support
One of the key strengths of Eloiacs Software Pvt Ltd is their client-focused approach. From project planning to deployment and maintenance, the team provides clear communication, expert guidance, and regular updates.
This structured approach helps businesses stay confident, meet deadlines, and achieve the desired results without technical complications.
Why Choose Eloiacs Softwa Pvt Ltd?
Customized and scalable software solutions
Client-focused development approach
Expertise in web, mobile, and cloud technologies
User-friendly and secure applications
Reliable support and maintenance services
Solutions designed for long-term business growth
Conclusion
If you are looking for a trusted technology partner to transform your business digitally, Eloiacs Softwa Pvt Ltd is the right choice. With their expertise, personalized approach, and commitment to quality, they help businesses build powerful digital solutions that deliver lasting results.
Follow our Tumblr for more insights on technology, digital transformation, and business innovation.
Aleksei Volkov, a Russian national, pleaded guilty to operating as an initial access broker for the Yanluowang ransomware group, which targeted multiple United States companies between 2021 and 2022. Court filings indicate he gained unauthorised access to victim networks and sold those credentials for ransom proceeds.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) directed all federal agencies to patch a Samsung zero-day actively exploited in LandFall spyware attacks against WhatsApp users. The flaw enabled remote monitoring on affected Android devices.
Researchers from Volexity linked new spear phishing operations to China-aligned threat group UTA0388, using artificial intelligence tools to craft more convincing phishing messages. Simultaneously, a new phishing-as-a-service platform named Quantum Route Redirect was discovered targeting Microsoft 365 users worldwide via over 1,000 malicious domains.
A report by Wiz revealed that 65% of leading artificial intelligence firms leaked sensitive credentials and model data through GitHub repositories. Exposed secrets potentially compromise proprietary assets valued at hundreds of billions of dollars.
Cybersecurity researchers identified the GlassWorm malware spreading through compromised Visual Studio Code extensions, infecting thousands of developer systems. Meanwhile, ClickFix-style phishing attacks resurfaced, targeting hotels with PureRAT malware delivered through malicious emails.
The Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) updated its Top 10 web application risks, adding two new categories reflecting emerging threats in application security. Additionally, Mozilla enhanced its Firefox 145 release with stronger anti-fingerprinting protections to bolster online privacy.
Today's advisories highlight multiple high-severity vulnerabilities across the Linux kernel, Red Hat, and Ubuntu, including the VMSCAPE flaw affecting virtualised environments. Critical issues were also patched in Samba, Samsung Android (actively exploited), and Intel microcode, while coordinated updates spanned Python, OpenSSL, and libTIFF, indicating a broad focus on foundational open-source components.
Highlights of the day:
GlassWorm resurfaces via infected OpenVSX extensions: new wave compromises three developer plugins and GitHub repos, using hidden Unicode and Solana blockchain C2; victims include a Middle Eastern government entity.
Booking.com phishing hijacks hotel accounts worldwide: attackers abused legitimate business logins to send PureRAT-laced messages to guests, enabling large-scale credential theft and financial fraud.
OWASP updates Top 10 for 2025: revised list introduces “Software Supply Chain Failures” and “Insecure Design” while reaffirming “Broken Access Control” as the top web application risk.
AI firms leak secrets on GitHub: Wiz found 65% of Forbes AI 50 companies exposed API keys and credentials across deleted forks and personal repos, revealing weak secrets management.
Russian hacker admits role in Yanluowang ransomware: Aleksei Volkov pleaded guilty in the US to selling stolen access and laundering ransom payments, facing prison and $9.1 million restitution.
Mobile vs Web vs Desktop, Which Application Development Service Is Right for You?
Application Development Services
Choosing the exemplary Application Development service or professional assistance can be confusing, especially with so many options to choose from—mobile, web, or desktop. Each one has its own benefits, and the right choice depends on your business needs, users, and goals. Let’s explore what each option offers and help you decide which one is the best fit or suits your objective the most.
1. Mobile App Development
Mobile applications are crafted for smartphones and tablets. They run on platforms like iOS/Android operating systems and can be downloaded from app stores for their use as per the demand.
Best for:
Businesses targeting and trying to fetch mobile users
Features and systems inbuild systems like GPS, camera, or push notifications
Real-time user interaction with the app
Pros:
Easy and quick access and get together for users
Better performance and ease of operations on mobile devices
Offline functionality possible within this model
Cons:
Huge costing of building separate or individual apps for iOS and Android
Needs regular updates and upgrades for compatibility
2. Web App Development
Web apps run in browsers and don’t need to be downloaded. They can work and get going for users on both computers and mobile devices as long as internet access is provided or its aligned.
Best for:
Businesses with a broad audience or wide segment users
Apps that don’t need access to device features
Faster and cheaper development
Pros:
Works across all devices
Easier to update and maintain
Lower development costs
Cons:
Need a secured internet connection to function or outperform
Limited or lowered access to mobile hardware features
3. Desktop App Development
Desktop apps get installed directly on a computer, offering more control and power to the user. As these are some of the ideal resources for internal business tools or heavy-duty software.
Best for:
Software that requires high performance
Businesses with specific internal needs
Complex tasks and deliverable like video editing or data analysis
Pros:
Strong performance delivered and speed
Doesn’t always require or demand internet
More secure for enterprise use
Cons:
Limited to desktop users
Requires installation and manual updates
Which Application Development Is Right for You?
If your target users are always on mobile devices, consider developing a mobile app. If you want something easy to access and update, choose web development. For feature-rich, high-performance apps, desktop development is a wise choice.
Professional companies like Suma Soft, IBM, and Cyntexa can guide you through the Application Development process and help you pick the right path based on your goals. Making the correct choice today ensures better results tomorrow.
