Android developer verification

Google is introducing Android developer verification: on most Android phones, apps will only install if they were registered with Google by a verified developer. This also applies to apps installed from an APK file (“sideloading”) — which is how you install the AAPS app you built yourself.

This page explains what changes, when, and the free ways to keep installing and updating AAPS on your phone.

What is changing

Today, you install AAPS by copying the APK file to your phone and tapping it. In the future, when you do this on a phone with Google services (a “certified” Android device — virtually every phone sold with the Play Store), Android will check whether the app comes from a developer registered with Google. If not, the normal installation is blocked.

The check happens when an app is installed or updated. It does not remove apps that are already installed and running.

Google is rolling this out gradually:

When

What happens

August 2026

Free “limited distribution” developer accounts are open worldwide, and the “advanced flow” starts rolling out to phones

September 30, 2026

Verification is enforced in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, for apps installed from Google Play and a few other app stores

2027

Enforcement expands to the rest of the world and to all installations, including APK files

Details are published by Google on the Android developer verification pages, including a FAQ. Google may still adjust dates and details; this page will be updated as the rollout progresses.

Does this affect me?

  • Building AAPS is not affected at all. The browser build, the Android Studio build and the CLI build work exactly as before, and your keystore does not change.

  • Your current AAPS keeps running. Verification is only checked when installing or updating an app.

  • If you live in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore or Thailand: from September 30, 2026, verification is enforced for apps installed from Google Play and a few other app stores. Google states that installing an APK file directly is not covered by this first step, so AAPS should still install as usual. Nevertheless, prepare one of the free installation methods below now, so that you are not caught out if this changes.

  • If you live anywhere else: nothing changes for you before 2027. You have time, but it is worth reading this page so the change does not surprise you when you update AAPS. The advanced flow can already be enabled on most phones, and it is a one-time setup.

  • Old phones: verification applies to phones running Android 7 or higher, which means every phone able to run AAPS.

Free ways to install AAPS

You do not need to pay Google anything to keep using AAPS. There are three free methods; pick the one that matches your situation.

Which method should I use?

  • You built AAPS with Android Studio or the command line (so you have a computer): use ADB. It is exempt from verification, has no limits, and needs no Google account.

  • You built AAPS with the browser build and have no computer available: use the advanced flow on your phone.

  • You prefer to register with Google so the normal “tap the APK” installation keeps working: use a free limited distribution account.

Option 1: Install with ADB (computer needed)

ADB (Android Debug Bridge) is Google’s official tool for installing apps from a computer onto a phone with a USB cable. Google has confirmed that apps installed with ADB do not require verification — there is no waiting period, no device limit and no registration.

One-time preparation:

  1. On your phone, enable the hidden developer options: go to Settings > About phone (on some phones Software information) and tap Build number seven times, until the phone confirms you are a developer.

  2. Go back to the main Settings, open the new Developer options entry and enable USB debugging.

  3. On your computer, make sure ADB is available:

    • If you use Android Studio, ADB is already installed with it.

    • Otherwise, download Google’s free SDK Platform Tools and unzip the folder. No installation is needed; ADB is the adb program inside that folder.

Installing (and later updating) AAPS:

  1. Connect the phone to the computer with a USB cable.

  2. On the phone, accept the Allow USB debugging? prompt (the first time only).

  3. On the computer, open a terminal (command prompt) in the folder containing ADB and the AAPS APK file, and run:

    adb install -r app-full-release.apk

    Replace app-full-release.apk with the actual name of your APK file. The -r option updates an already installed AAPS while keeping all its data and settings.

  4. Wait for Success to be displayed. AAPS is now installed on your phone.

The same command is used for every future update. The Wear OS pages already use ADB in the same way to install the watch app.

Option 2: The “advanced flow” on your phone (no computer needed)

Google provides an escape hatch for experienced users who understand the risks of installing unverified apps, called the advanced flow. Google started rolling it out to phones in August 2026, ahead of enforcement, so you can set it up now. It is a one-time setup on the phone itself, which takes 24 hours to complete:

  1. Enable the hidden developer options (see step 1 of the ADB method above), then open Settings > Developer options > Apps from unverified developers.

  2. Turn on Allow apps from unverified developers. The phone asks for your screen lock to confirm it is you.

  3. The phone asks whether someone is asking you to turn on this setting, and explains that banks, government agencies or police would never ask you to do so. Read the warning and confirm that nobody is pressuring or guiding you (this is a protection against scammers).

  4. Restart your phone. This starts a one-time 24-hour waiting period.

  5. After 24 hours, go back to Settings > Developer options > Apps from unverified developers to finish the setup.

  6. Choose whether to allow unverified apps for 7 days or indefinitely. For AAPS, choose indefinitely, otherwise your next update will be blocked once the 7 days have passed.

After this setup, installing or updating the AAPS APK works as it does today, with one extra warning that the app is from an unverified developer — tap Install anyway.

Good to know:

  • You can turn Developer options off again afterwards: the advanced flow stays enabled. Google also does not give apps (such as banking apps) any way to detect that the advanced flow is enabled.

  • If you turn the advanced flow off, installing or updating AAPS is blocked again (your installed AAPS keeps running). You have a 10-minute window to turn it back on; after that, the 24-hour waiting period starts again.

  • Changing the phone’s clock does not shorten the waiting period, and ADB cannot skip it.

  • If you cannot find Apps from unverified developers in the developer options, your phone has not received the feature yet. It is delivered by a system component called Android Developer Verifier, which Google is rolling out gradually through the Play Store.

Note

Google describes this as a first version and may still change the screens and steps; this section will be updated with screenshots once the final version is available.

Option 3: Register with Google (free limited distribution account)

Google offers a free developer account type for hobbyists and personal use, called a limited distribution account, open to everyone since August 2026:

  • No government ID and no fee (unlike the paid developer account, which is not needed for personal AAPS use). You do need a Google account with 2-step verification, a Google payments profile holding your legal name and address, and a contact email address.

  • You register your app’s package name in Google’s Android Developer Console, and authorize the phones it may be installed on, up to 20 devices, through a handshake with a QR code or link between the phone and the console.

  • Once registered, the normal installation (tapping the APK file) works again on the authorized phones, without ADB and without the advanced flow.

  • A limited distribution account can later be upgraded to a full account, but not the other way round.

Warning

Google has not explained how registration works when many people build the same open-source app: every self-built AAPS uses the same package name (info.nightscout.androidaps) with a different signing key, and Google’s FAQ states that a package name already in use by others cannot be claimed outright and requires an additional review.

For this reason, step-by-step instructions cannot be written yet. This section will be completed once registration has been tested with AAPS. In the meantime, ADB and the advanced flow above are reliable alternatives.

What does not change

  • Building AAPS yourself, with any of the three build methods.

  • Your GitHub account, your fork and your keystore.

  • Your installed AAPS app, your settings and your objectives.

  • Phones without Google services, and ADB installations in general.

Where to get help

  1. Read Google’s developer verification FAQ for questions about the verification itself.

  2. Ask on the #AAPS channel on Discord, or in one of the other community channels, if an installation is blocked.

  3. When asking for help, include your phone make and model, Android version, your country, and the exact message displayed when the installation fails.