The Play Store is not required for APK distribution. Not now, nor has it ever been.

Zagitta 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

	▲	rstat1 4 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		is like much of the discourse around the changes, overly sensationalized and borderline false.

dannyw 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

They’ve announced they’re changing the policy to require ‘verification’ in future Android versions.

It will likely be delayed, just like Manifest v3, but eventually it will happen.

	▲	mook 23 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Well, they seem to have started shipping parts of that; recently I noticed https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and... was installed for me.