A new API in the Google Play Store gives developers the ability to block sideloading of their (paid) apps.

You can use any Android app externally via an APK file Page loading in your phone or tablet. This is an advantage Android has over the iPhone, where this is not possible. There are reasons for this (such as bypassing region locks), but it is also a way to avoid paying developers for apps.

Google understands developers’ frustration and now integrates the Google Play Integrity API into Android. When sideloading apps, it checks whether you have a valid license. Read: Did you pay or are you trying to do something illegal?

The search giant doesn’t enable this feature by default, but offers the tool to developers. Let’s say you have a paid app and you see a lot of users in the telemetry data, but it doesn’t translate into skyrocketing sales. You can enable the feature.

Once this happens, the user of such an illegal app installation will receive a message via Google Play that the app does not have a valid license. You can ignore this and continue using the app, but the developer may also choose to lock you out, according to Android Authority. The only way to solve this problem is to actually purchase the app instead of sideloading it.

Choice of developer

The Google Play Integrity API checks that interactions and server requests come from the real app binary running on a real Android device. It looks for evidence that the app has been tampered with and is running in an unreliable software environment.

This is good news for app developers to prevent their paid apps from being downloaded and used illegally. Important: This is an opt-in. The Play Store will only take action if the developer tells them to.