Google Starts Accepting Applications for Its Android App Store Alternative Program

Google is now letting third-party app stores apply for a program that gives them many of the same perks the Play Store enjoys on Android, with support for users rolling out later this year. The company confirmed that applications for its Registered App Stores program are open to eligible stores outside the US, the next step in a plan it first floated back in March.

The pitch for store operators is straightforward. Get accepted, and your app store can let users install apps in a single click, the same frictionless flow Google's own Play Store uses. You also get to push app updates silently in the background, rather than forcing users through manual update prompts. Those two features sound small, but they're the difference between an app store that feels native to Android and one that feels like a workaround.

"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."

Born out of a courtroom loss

This program didn't emerge from nowhere. It's a direct consequence of Google losing its antitrust case against Epic Games, maker of Fortnite, and then losing the appeal of Judge James Donato's ruling. That defeat came with a list of remedies Google had to implement: allowing third-party billing systems, sharing its app catalog with competing stores, and, most dramatically, distributing rival app stores directly through the Play Store itself for users in the US.

That last requirement is a genuinely awkward outcome for Google. Having competitors' storefronts surfaced inside its own flagship app is about as uncomfortable as remedies get for a platform owner. So Google and Epic, after the dust settled, tried to negotiate something more palatable: a settlement that would let Google swap out the court-mandated Play Store distribution for this Registered App Stores system instead, provided participating stores met baseline trust and safety standards. The plan was to use that approach both domestically and internationally.

It didn't stick. The court signaled it wouldn't approve the settlement, and Google and Epic ultimately withdrew it. That left US users with the court-ordered setup — third-party stores inside Google Play — while the Registered App Stores program became Google's path forward for everyone else.

Two systems, one Android

The net effect is a split experience depending on where you live. In the US, the Epic ruling guarantees rival app stores a spot inside Google Play, a structural change forced by the courts that Google didn't choose. Outside the US, Google retains more control: stores have to actively apply, meet Google's standards, and get approved before they receive the same installation and update privileges.

It's worth remembering why any of this matters to ordinary users. Sideloading apps on Android, meaning installing them from outside the Play Store, has historically been clunkier and riskier than Play Store installs, which is part of why alternative stores never gained much traction against Google's dominance. A program that gives registered stores one-click installs and silent background updates narrows that gap considerably, making a rival store feel less like a sketchy detour and more like a legitimate alternative.

Whether that actually produces a thriving competitive market for Android app distribution outside the US remains to be seen. The program depends on stores choosing to apply, meeting Google's bar for safety and security, and then convincing users there's a reason to switch away from Play in the first place. Google has set the mechanism in motion. What happens next depends on how many stores show up and how many users notice the difference once support starts appearing on devices later this year.