Google said this week that third-party app stores outside the United States can now formally apply to join its Registered App Stores program, which grants participating stores the same one-click installation and silent background updates that Google's own Play Store has long enjoyed on Android devices.
The program, first announced in March, is Google's voluntary response to pressure the company has faced globally since losing its antitrust case to Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite. In the US, a court order already requires Google to give rival app stores access to the Play Store and to let them operate with fewer restrictions. Outside the US, where no such order exists, Google is instead offering comparable treatment on a voluntary, opt-in basis.
What registered stores get
"In March, we announced the Registered App Stores program to give third-party app stores a more streamlined way to reach users while maintaining the safety and security of the Android ecosystem," a Google spokesperson said. "Eligible app stores outside the US can now apply to register their stores ahead of the new simplified installation experience rolling out to users later this year." Once approved, a store's apps can be installed with a single tap rather than navigating Android's standard side-loading warnings, and can update themselves automatically in the background, just as Play Store apps do.
Google has not published a specific list of eligibility requirements beyond general safety and security standards, nor has it said how many stores have applied so far. The looser rules will not extend automatically to every app store; participation requires formal registration and presumably ongoing compliance with Google's terms.
Running Android's app ecosystem has grown more complicated for Google since the Epic ruling, which the company continues to describe as requiring a difficult balance between opening the platform to competition and preserving the security review process that has historically distinguished Android from more open alternatives. Google has indicated the simplified installation flow for registered stores will begin rolling out to some devices later this year.