# Google opens applications for Android’s third-party app store programme

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/googles-android-registered-app-stores-program-launches-dec-1-applications-now-open/
- Published: 2026-10-27T19:32:07+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-27T20:07:47+00:00
- Original publisher: Ars Technica
- Original article: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/10/googles-android-registered-app-stores-program-launches-dec-1-applications-now-open/
- Topics: Art, Culture, Gadgets, Software, Technology

## Key points

- Google has opened applications for approved third-party Android app stores.
- Participation costs $10,000 a year and requires security checks.
- The programme starts on 1 December for compatible Android 17 devices.

## Summary

Google has opened applications for its Android Registered App Stores programme, which will give approved third-party stores easier access to users outside the US. From 1 December, supported devices will allow one-click app installs and silent background updates from those stores, offering an alternative to Google Play.

Applicants must meet Google’s requirements for privacy, security and removing illegal content, submit English-language documentation and copies of their apps, and pay $10,000 a year before review. The programme will initially work only on devices running Android 17 QPR2 or later and is planned for dozens of countries, mostly outside the US and Europe; slower software updates may limit how many users can access it.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.