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Google’s New Policy is an “Extinction Event” (F-Droid Interview)

December 10, 2025 · 1 h 4 min

Show notes

Google just announced a policy that could kill F-Droid and open source app distribution on Android. Marc Prud'hommeaux from F-Droid's Board of Directors calls it an "extinction event"—here's why that matters even if you've never used F-Droid.


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F-Droid Website: https://f-droid.org


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⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 INTRO
00:01:45 PIVOTING TO OPEN SOURCE
00:04:29 WHEN MARC JOINED THE BOARD
00:05:27 APP STORE BREAKDOWN
00:08:23 GOOGLE PLAY STORE VS. F-DROID
00:10:39 MALWARE & APP STORE SAFETY
00:15:45 ARE DEVS AWARE OF MALWARE?
00:17:40 WHY IS F-DROID ONLY ON ANDROID?
00:19:26 GOOGLE'S PLANS FOR ANDROID
00:22:44 HOW BAD IS THIS?
00:24:21 GOOGLE'S REASONING
00:26:21 HOW THIS IMPACTS F-DROID
00:28:42 WEB-BASED F-DROID?
00:30:05 DOES THIS IMPACT OTHER APP STORES?
00:31:35 WHY SHOULD REGULAR USERS CARE?
00:37:09 WHY SHOULD OTHER USERS CARE?
00:39:45 EFFECT ON DEVELOPERS
00:41:29 WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?
00:48:54 WHY IS GOOGLE DOING THIS?
00:51:02 COMPARISON TO EPIC GAMES
00:52:58 IS ANYONE ELSE STEPPING UP?
00:54:31 WHAT KEEPS YOU GOING RIGHT NOW?
00:56:35 WHAT'S NEXT?
01:01:34 FINAL WORDS


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