I magine my surprise during the Android app development process to learn that Google has an extremely restrictive policy for individual developers submitting apps to the Play Store.

This requirement, introduced by Google Play in November 2023, states that developers must have at least 12 testers install their app, and those testers must use it for 14 consecutive days. If even one tester fails to log in on the 14th day, the process must start over. You can read this requirement for yourself here.

This is an unreasonable policy that puts independent developers at a major disadvantage, since business and organization accounts are exempt. To make matters worse, Google also requires developers to verify their accounts using a physical, modern Android device — meaning an additional $200 expense for a no-contract tablet running Android 10 or later. While I already fund the development and maintenance of this software suite, these unjust expenses and extra hurdles are simply a bridge too far.

Given these barriers, I’ve decided not to publish the app on the Google Play Store in an act of protest. Instead, it will be offered directtly to users as a downloadable Android package (APK) for those who wish to install it manually, at their own discretion. You can download the installable APK here at this link.