Why do you think they are doing it?

To stop scammer-guided malware installation, and probably those "download whatsappupdate.apk for free new emoji" ads that pop up all the time.

Google doesn't care about F-Droid one way or the other. It's a niche project that barely registers on the scale of all Android users.

	▲	fc417fc802 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		They don't care about F-Droid but they do care to choke out any potential competitors to their ecosystem before they can get a foothold. See their behavior surrounding device certification for example. They want to abuse the network effects of their ecosystem to prevent consumers from leaving. This is just more of that - vendor lock-in masquerading as an unfortunate necessity.

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lern_too_spel 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

F-Droid still works the same as it did before. This just means that McDonald's can distribute its apps on its website without showing a scary warning on install on Google's Android builds.

	▲	xigoi 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		No it doesn’t. You will now have to follow a lengthy process before being allowed to install apps from F-Droid.

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IshKebab 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

To defeat scammers. Not everything is a conspiracy.