As 2025 draws to a close, it’s a good moment to pause and reflect on a year that proved to be both challenging and energizing for the App Fair Project. Building on the momentum of last year’s retrospective, 2025 saw the project deepen its advocacy work, expand its public presence, and respond to some of the most consequential shifts in the app ecosystem in over a decade.

Free App Stores and FOSDEM 2025

At FOSDEM 2025 in February I presented “Free App Stores and the Digital Markets Act.” The talk focused on how the DMA reshapes the legal and technical landscape for app distribution in Europe, and what those changes mean for free software, alternative app stores, and user autonomy. You can watch the presentation and read the transcript at FOSDEM 2025: Free App Stores and the Digital Markets Act.

Earlier I had the pleasure of being interviewed for the FSFE’s Software Freedom Podcast by Bonnie Mehring1, where we discussed the App Fair Project, the role of regulation in restoring balance to app ecosystems, and why distribution freedom matters for both developers and users. Listen to the complete Software Freedom Podcast interview.

A Year of Public Engagement

This year I joined the board of the F-Droid project. The App Fair Project takes much of its inspiration from F-Droid, and we regard it as a sister project with much wisdom and experience to share from its 15 years of providing free and open-source software to the Android community.

In October, I joined a panel at the Free Software Foundation’s 40-year anniversary celebration2, alongside representatives from the FSF, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Sugar Labs. It was inspiring to reflect on four decades of free software advocacy, and to situate today’s struggles over app stores and gatekeepers within that longer history. A write-up of the panel is available at FSF40-panel.

In November, I attended the Digital Markets Act enforcement symposium3, organized by the free-expression organization ARTICLE 19. I participated as a technical expert, helping to assess the issues and proposals raised by presenters at a time when regulators, advocates, and technologists are grappling with how DMA enforcement should work in practice.4 These conversations underscored that while the DMA is already having real effects, sustained technical and policy engagement is essential to ensure its goals are realized.

Google’s Developer Registration Decree

One of the defining moments of 2025 came in August, when Google shocked the Android world by unilaterally announcing5 that all developers would be required to register with Google in order to continue distributing their apps on Android Certified devices, even outside of Google Play.

This move fundamentally alters long-standing assumptions about sideloading and independent distribution on Android, and it prompted a series of posts in opposition, published through the F-Droid Blog. In September we posted “Free App Stores and Google’s Developer Registration Decree” and in October we published “What We Talk About When We Talk About Sideloading”, which resulted in an extraordinary amount of press coverage6 and increased awareness of the issue. I was interviewed by a variety or tech publications as well as the popular Techlore channel7.

In parallel, we launched keepandroidopen.org as a focused resource to document the implications of this policy shift, coordinate advocacy, and provide calls to action to resist the lockdown of Android.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As we turn toward 2026, there is no shortage of work ahead. I’ll be attending FOSDEM 2026 alongside members of the F-Droid team and board, and presenting on the main track: “Fear and Loathing in the App Stores: when FLOSS principles collide with the Gatekeeper interests.”8

The project will continue ongoing advocacy in support of strong DMA enforcement and continued opposition to Google’s Android Developer Registration Decree and similar efforts that undermine independent app distribution. We will also continue to forcefully oppose Apple’s “notarization” requirement for its third-party app marketplaces in the EU and Japan (as well as Brazil in the near future).

A founding principle of the App Fair Project is that you have the right to install whatever software you want on your computer, regardless of whether it is on your desk or in your pocket. Apple’s “notarization” and Google’s “developer registration” are two sides of the same coin: a ploy by the mobile duopoly to strengthen their gatekeeping and control what you are allowed to do with the devices that you own.

We’re also preparing the full opening of the App Fair submission process and launch of the appfair.net index, cataloging apps distributed through the App Fair Project and making them easier for users to discover. The technical pieces are mostly in place and we’ve been publishing a handful of sample apps throughout the year in an effort to make the pipeline stable and robust.

Closing Thoughts

2025 reaffirmed that the fight for fair, open, and user-respecting app ecosystems is far from over, but it also showed that sustained advocacy, technical clarity, and community collaboration can make a real difference. I’m deeply grateful to everyone who supported the App Fair Project this year.

Here’s to carrying that momentum forward into 2026!

  1. Software Freedom Podcast #30: The App Fair Project with Marc Prud’hommeaux: https://fsfe.org/news/podcast/2025/episode-30.en.html ↩

  2. Free Software Foundation 40th Anniversary Celebration: https://www.fsf.org/events/fsf40-celebration ↩

  3. ARTICLE 19 DMA Report (PDF): https://www.article19.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DMA-DIGITAL-FINAL-2025.pdf ↩

  4. Tech Policy Press: “What Europe’s Digital Markets Act Has Delivered So Far and What Comes Next”: https://www.techpolicy.press/what-europes-digital-markets-act-has-delivered-so-far-and-what-comes-next/ ↩

  5. Android Developers Blog: “A new layer of security for certified Android devices,” 25 August 2025: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/elevating-android-security.html ↩

  6. Press reactions: https://keepandroidopen.org/#press-reactions ↩

  7. The Fight for Android’s Open Ecosystem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnYSwX45ODA ↩

  8. FOSDEM 2026 Schedule: https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/TYZH97-fear-loathing-app-stores/ ↩