Here is one: Google will require developer verification to install Android apps
This requirement applies to “certified Android devices” that have Play Protect and are preloaded with Google apps. The Play Store implemented similar requirements in 2023, but Google is now mandating this for all install methods, including third-party app stores and sideloading where you download an APK file from a third-party source.
Sounds a bit crap. Let’s hope this bit remains true:
Google is explicit today about how “developers will have the same freedom to distribute their apps directly to users through sideloading or to use any app store they prefer.”
(A Part claude, part me musing)
The Perfect Storm: De-googled Phones Meet App Sandbox Strategy?
So, Google’s announcement about mandatory developer registration by 2027 looks like bad news for Android freedom - but does it create a massive market opportunity for all of us with Autonomi-powered alternatives?
The De-googled Phone Market is Already Growing
The privacy-conscious phone market is expanding rapidly, with several established players:
Murena - Selling refurbished phones with /e/OS, just launched Fairphone partnership in the US
Fairphone - Sustainable hardware with 7+ years of updates, now available in US via Murena
Degoogled.com - Refurbished phones with GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, and /e/OS pre-installed
DIY Community - Thousands flashing GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, and LineageOS on existing devices
Current Problem: These phones have great privacy but limited app ecosystems. Users often struggle to find alternatives to Google Play Store apps.
Why Google’s 2027 Lockdown Changes Everything
When Google requires all Android apps to have registered developer certificates, it essentially kills…
Independent app development
Side-loading freedom
Open-source app distribution
Privacy-focused alternatives
This is where the sandbox strategy becomes epic?
The Autonomi Advantage: One App, Infinite Possibilities
Instead of fighting app store gatekeepers app-by-app, one sandbox app that:
Gets approved once on legacy app stores
Runs unlimited Autonomi-network apps internally
Bypasses all future app store restrictions
Enables true developer freedom
Technical Benefits:
Frontend developers can build JS/HTML apps without learning Rust
Backend services run in secure Rust environment
Shared wallet, keys, and authentication across all apps
Revenue sharing built-in via “Pay the Developer” system
Market Opportunity: Perfect Timing
Phase 1 (2025-2026): Partner with existing de-googled phone sellers to pre-install Autonomi sandbox
Target refurbished phone market (lower investment, faster deployment)
Focus on privacy-conscious early adopters already buying de-googled devices
Phase 2 (2026-2027): Launch as mainstream Google alternative
Market to users frustrated by Google’s app restrictions
Position as “the phone that runs any app, forever”
Leverage network effects as app ecosystem grows
Phase 3 (2027+): Dominate post-lockdown market
Only phone ecosystem offering unrestricted app development
Developers fleeing Google restrictions boost our app library
Network effects create defensible moat
Revenue Model Synergy
This isn’t just about phones - it’s about creating a complete digital sovereignty ecosystem:
Hardware Sales: Premium margins on refurbished phones with Autonomi pre-installed
App Revenue Sharing: Developers earn from usage, infrastructure providers earn from hosting
Network Services: Permanent storage, secure communication, decentralized search
Enterprise Solutions: Businesses want phones that aren’t controlled by Big Tech
The Cooperative Advantage
Unlike traditional tech companies, a cooperative structure aligns perfectly with digital freedom values:
Members share ownership in both phone business and app ecosystem
Democratic governance prevents platform tyranny
Aligned incentives between users, developers, and infrastructure providers
Steps forward ..
Partnership Outreach: Connect with Murena, Fairphone, or degoogled.com about pre-installing Autonomi sandbox
Developer Incentives: Create programs to attract early app developers to the platform
Community Building: Engage existing de-googled phone communities about Autonomi benefits
Regulatory Positioning: Frame as digital rights and competition issue as Google lockdown approaches
2+ years window of opportunity to build and position before Google’s restrictions create massive demand for alternatives?
Could this become the foundation for the next generation of truly open mobile computing?
That is spot on what I’m thinking. Awesome summary. And not just for Android: iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux. All your stuff, on all your apps, across all your devices, seamlessly. What a beautiful world that would be.
Won’t Apple and Google just ban the Sandbox app? Because it’s being used to circumvent the control they want to have over what runs on ‘their’ devices?
I think you’re basically describing a web app here! 
Fwiw, I don’t think that is a bad thing either.
Certainly, my initial intention behind AntTP was to provide a web backend to facilitate web apps running against Autonomi.
As long as a proxy/gateway can run locally somewhere (integrated or stand alone) and the API is sufficient to expose all Autonomi core features, then web apps become first class citizens.
If you only have remote gateways, these could still be used securely, if done the right way. This may be an option for those unable to install anything on their devices.
Ofc, apps could still talk to the same proxy/gateway too, much like current apps talk REST to their servers too. However, those then must do battle with app stores. So, good to have both options, imo.
To add, doing something like @safemedia is trying to do on the desktop may help, i.e. create a browser which integrates web proxies/gateways.
Forking an open source browser to tack proxies/gateways on the side + auto configure to use them, shouldn’t be a huge lift. Then you have the sandbox + web apps with a single app install.
For the most part, yes 
. Kind of like a web browser+. The front end would work pretty much like you would expect a web browser to. Maybe we just fork off chromium.
But I would like to add more:
Still thinking about it. Brainstorming phase at this point 
Depends on how it is listed. If it looks like a web browser, there shouldn’t be an issue. I mean, they still host tor browser on the google app store.
Or maybe it is just a normal web browser and we do everything in a heavy duty browser plugin like @safemedia is doing. I’m not sure if all these capabilities are available within a plugin or if we have to hijack the code within the browser itself.
Some thoughts on these 2 points:
Some open source Android app stores here: GitHub - offa/android-foss: A list of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) for Android – saving Freedom and Privacy.
Maybe one of these would do the job (of Autonomi App Store) or a minor fork?
I use Aurora (handle Google Play store independently and anonymously) and FDroid which is an alternative to Google Play.
Folk here could help by using these too.
And if you want to be in communities that know about and keep you up to date on the and other freedom FOSS get on Mastodon!
I like the idea. What if we expand it beyond just app stores? Since pretty much everything we want to build already exists in some form or another and has users, maybe we don’t focus on making independent apps at all. What if instead we identify existing popular FOSS applications, work with thier respective development teams, and submit patches to enable their applications to use the Autonomi network as an additional data source. I’ve seen a suggestion to do this with bittorrent applications, for example.
That would be great where possible - no point reinventing the wheel, for sure.
Needs to be said more often.
Thats why any new app developer should be waiting patiently for the basics to get shaken out over the next few weeks as the first phase of IF comes to an end,
How much data would people need to be writing to the network each month, at what ANT price points, for you to be making $20k/month off your apps?
The math looks pretty bad honestly. Say uploading costs $1/GB (ETH + AUTONOMI). I figure 1% is about as high as I could go before people start circumventing it regularly. So $1/100GB. For $20k, I’d need 2PB per month. Doable? Maybe, but not for many years. That’s why I would need several sources of income: ads, consultancy fees, licensing, etc.
Or move somewhere cheaper and safer?
Lets face it, living in large US cities is about to become more expensive ad dangerous with every passing week.
There is no need to go full @TylerAbeoJordan though 
Never go full @TylerAbeoJordan.
I am unproductive in my Southern Tas hovel? Why not go where I’ve gone - if not the physical location, you can set up remote just about anywhere, get to ground, store food, garden, eat home cooked food, and still write code and build businesses. I’m proof of it.
My good socialist dude … I have little choice but to pay the property taxes and the sales taxes. I don’t have any ‘income’ that is taxable here under current law. So as far as I can tell, I should be in compliance with your desires for me to pay the extortive fees of the local council and federal gov. mafia according to their rules and regulations. Unless you are insisting I make a donation as well.
How neighbourly do you feel?