I have a lot of concerns about if catfruend1 will be able to continue support for syncthing on android with google’s terrible requirements. if I use a custom rom on my phone and try and stay on a foss setup can I keep using syncthing fork after this has happened
Ozzy
Google’s new developer verification rule only applies to “certified” Android devices – i.e. devices that have been submitted for testing and ship bundled with Google Play – so FOSS derivatives of AOSP such as LineageOS and GrapheneOS aren’t included (I’m unsure what would happen if a user side loads Google Play).
That being said, the majority of Android users are on certified devices from Google, Samsung, Motorola, etc., so the impact on the Syncthing community will potentially still be widespread.
my concern is I put LinageOS on my phone and have google play installed I have serious concerns about being able to use syncthing on my phone
On GrapheneOS, Google Play Services and Store are sandboxed, so they don’t really affect anything else on the device. That’s not the case on LineageOS (if you flash Google apps there), but unless you use paid apps that need to verify their license, there are always methods to access the Play Store via 3rd party apps (e.g. Aurora Store, etc.).
As you’ve said though, the main problem is likely going to be Android on devices which are certified and come with a suite of Google apps out of the box, and they are what the vast majority of people use, not the private/secure alternatives that comprise only a tiny percent of the market. However, I think it’s also worth to note that the largest market in the world (China) doesn’t use Google Play at all.