I just recently reopened an account that was closed due to inactivity.

Lucky me i manage different accounts, because the new way to get help for developers is to do that through play console.

But if your account is suspended, you get always redirected to a page that tells you the account is suspended.

Looking at other ways to get to the help portal.... when you select you need help for developers, yep you're redirected.

So because i have another developer account, i could open a support ticket. I had to write the same message to the fucking bot at least three times, which was funny because the answer was more or less a rephrasing of my message, and every time it would add the rephrasing again, and again.

At the fourth time something must have happened because it was escalated, and then i had my account back.

I was actually open to making a new account, which i wrote several times, it's only that i needed to get back the app IDs because you know, the app is installed in places.

Now, it's the first of october and i have constant nagging for unregistered package names on another account: this is for apps that are suspended for bullshit reasons, which i can't reinstate because the bot is in loop mode around the same wrong rule violation (like: i can't make a basic / pro version of my app now? pro version is too simillar so it must be blocked?) and i can't register the package name because it's suspended, an i can't reinstate it because loop. I can't delete it because it's suspended, an i can't reinstate it because loop.

Fucking brillant!

My account got closed for inactivity while I had multiple apps published. Google does not understand the concept of a finished app apparently, and requires you to continuously push updates or else you permanently lose your account with no way of reopening it.

I got a Google survey this week.

Which of the following are the reasons you chose Google Play related issues as one of the weaknesses?

The second option, written by Google was:

- Sudden account termination without actionable feedback or clear restoration guidance

They know they're killing accounts without due process, they don't care, why would they? They're the only game in town now the Android Developer Verification Program is in force.

It gets better, I too had my account closed for inactivity, but I STILL get emails from them I can't stop because I can't log in to change email preferences.

There’s Googlers on HN reading these who could probably fix this but won’t.

the browser is the best tool we have now to fight the duopoly and its absurd rules.

Funnily, or depressingly, a lot of people here on HN are against the browser, either because "the UI doesn't look native" or because of security/privacy issues, with regular apps shipping with hundreds of MB or spyware you have no control of.

Let's push for the browser to become more feature rich, more secure and more universal. Or maybe for another OS altogether?

The question is: does Android Developer Verification Program actually help improving the .apk app store experience?

Probably not. Google is notoriously bad at customer support (for both devs and consumers)

Fortunately PWA are well supported on android, half the apps on my phone are PWA and I didn't need an app store or hacking my device to install them. But I moved from native android to PWA after having hellish issues with their automated developer nightmare system.

Yes, fuck Android though I have to use an Android phone(and I don't want fucking Apple either). I pulled my hobby game from play store because they won't just let it be. Some new regulation now and then and threats to disable the app.

Honestly, I agree!

I paid my fee - $20 or $25, I can’t quite remember - but when I couldn’t reliably enter or find my physical home address via Google Maps because of some weird street-name issues, I never got to complete the process!

Had the exact same thing. Developed a small game, pushed it to iOS without much fanfare (well, other than having to pay the insanely high toll to get into the garden) and then turned to Android to do the same. Another toll gate at only a quarter the price - sure, lets pay that as well. But then we get to the point where they require images of government issued id and address verification. You can have my money, buddy, but that level of personal data for something small like a game? How about no…

Yes, fuck it. This is beyond insane, apparently I cant distribute apps just in GitHub "releases" section anymore without Google's approval. I hope some EU antimonopoly something will fry their asses.

I switched to GNU/Linux on my GPD MicroPC 2 ;)

Did you thing it was still the 2000's or something?

That you were still free to write code, put it out there and have people use it freely?

A decade ago, I made a joke comment to a friend that you were soon going to need a carry permit to operate a compiler.

Joke's not so funny in 2026.

Why does anyone even dev for G or A - unless you get a big pay check from either ? Every time I look into mobile dev I just go “yep, NOPE!” and go to have a shower. And it seems to just get worse and worse? Are both app stores going to be full of just unusable vibe coded crap in few years time?

... just developing for Linux has always had it's own attraction: the one of being free to do what you want.

Another person discovers the binary certificate cartel.