What's this about?
Tuta's countdown: in 120 days Google begins silently blocking installation of "unverified" Android apps — apps whose developers haven't registered identity with Google — with global rollout planned for 2027.
What exactly is side-loading?
Installing apps from outside the official store — Android's historical differentiator versus iOS. Developer verification inserts Google as gatekeeper for *all* distribution, store or not.
Why is this worth noting?
HN 102 points, 26 comments. F-Droid, privacy apps, and independent developers all depend on unverified distribution; "silently blocking" means most users won't know what they lost. Alongside today's Antigravity ToS story, it's the same theme: platform account power expanding by default.