Imminent removal from the Google Play Store #1162
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Why is Authenticator Pro is getting removed from the Google Play Store 😢 |
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Dear @jamie-mh, Oh no! The main reason for this app is to not sell users' info, right? This is because your rating is higher than theirs and they want to intimidate. Like with all the alternative YT apps. It's ridiculous that they have to stomp out anyone who has something better than them. it's not like they don't own everything and that you have to succumb to using their play store. Oh well, we will promote everywhere else. I wouldn't want to be where the owners don't play fair anyways. Always, |
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Does removal from the Play Store mean that Wear OS compatibility will break or be discontinued? I notice that the website's comparison says it's not supported in the F-Droid version. The Wear OS companion app is the only reason I chose to use Authenticator Pro. |
WearOS app certainly needs to be signed to communicate. That actually is what makes Authenticator so great. How much would you need for a PO-box ? Maybe we could help with the Donate button. You could also contact a company or a non-profit organization, in France we have Framasoft that is a huge promoter of open source. Edit : I read the policy, and as a personal developer, it indicates that only your country would be public and not the whole address (which is displayed for companies). At least in the French version (maybe our personal data are more protected by GDPR) |
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As @MisterDams said, according to Play Console help article (looks like a EU version of the article), Google Play will only show the country:
I hope this calms your worries, @jamie-mh. If not, I respect your choice! If you go through with the deletion, what will happen to the Wear OS app? |
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The issue is that I've monetised apps on the account in the past. Despite them being unpublished, the rule applies to all apps, even to those created way before the policy was implemented. I've confirmed this with the Google Play developer support. Since my account is tainted, the only option is to create a new one and republish the app under a different name. The app won't be removed from anyone's device though. This sucks because of a few reasons:
I realise that Google Play is the only reasonable way to distribute the Wear OS app. You can sideload APKs but that's not exactly intuitive. |
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@jamie-mh I see, that's an unfortunate situation. I'd be fine with sideloading the Wear OS app, but I can see that others might be uncomfortable with that. |
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Did you already published your app to F-Droid? Maybe I missing something, but I'm unable to find it there. upd: ah, sorry, found a repo - https://authenticatorpro.jmh.me/fdroid/repo/ |
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@jamie-mh Can the git release autoupdate from github or display a notification when there's an update? |
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Any thoughts on allowing donations for PO box, etc? Hard for me to recommend this app when new users can't install it from the Play Store. Thanks for all your work |
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What is the reason using a separated F-Droid repository instead of the "normal" F-Droid repository? |
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I'm dealing with this myself on my own developer account. I believe you should be able to create a new unmonetized developer account and transfer the app to it. I'm happy to sponsor the registration fee for a new dev account if needed. |
Seconding the recommendation of Obtanium. That's actually how I get and update Authenticator Pro, too. |
No idea what the fee is but I'd be willing to contribute as well. |
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Did someone already manage to sideload the app to WearOS without play store? Struggling a little bit here... Is there some tutorial? |
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That kind of stinks, I was wondering why it was no longer installed on my device. Heads up for anyone that does have it installed via playstore, it may auto uninstall so make sure you have backups. |
Wow this is super scary if it auto uninstalls, does this actually happen? |
I doubt it was removed automatically.
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Mine did on my phone anyway, I had to re-download from my f-droid client and restore my backup. This also makes me wonder about the watch app and if there will be an easy way to download it or if it will have continued support. I personally use the watch app on a daily basis. |
I would assume the same. I am only posting my experience which is this morning I could no longer find the app installed on my device. I am the only person that has access to my device. There should be no reason an app should uninstall automatically, but it was clearly not installed on my phone(S24U) anymore and I did not remove it as I depend on it on a daily basis. Maybe I just ran into a bug, or something else has caused this strange behavior, but regardless of if it happened to me it could happen to others. Edit: To clarify what I mean above, there are circumstances that the google play store may automatically remove an app from a device after it being removed from the google play store which includes actions of the developer, possible security concerns, users device policies, etc. Being an authentication app there could be the "security concerns", or because the dev isn't agreeing to the new policy(which I understand and support devs decision) it could fall under "developers actions". Where I mention users device policies and that I could possibly have had something else go wrong is I do have work policies installed to my phone that is required for security reasons by my work and it does monitor for valid apps and it could have possible decided that it was not a safe app to have installed. |
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I've imported all my codes from here to 2fas and apart from grid view it's just as good. |
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Make a new account and make a "Pro" version of the app. Charge $1 or $2 for the Pro version (Or the watch app?!)!! I think we'd all be happy to chip in to help you find a way to cover you on this! |
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Please republish with a new account and just add a 15$ price tag. I'll gladly pay again for your app. Sure others will too... |
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WearOS looks like it doesn't work anymore. I sideloaded the APK on my watch and I get the dreaded blue cloud. |
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@nuttylmao Make sure you're using the correct apks. I just got a new phone and ran into the same issue initially but all is working well now. https://github.com/jamie-mh/AuthenticatorPro/releases/tag/1.25.2 You'll want the "me.jmh.authenticatorpro.apk" for your phone and "me.jmh.authenticatorpro.wearos.apk" for your watch. |
The phone app connection to the wearOS doesn't work on the fdroid or other version so make sure you grab the ones NOT labeled as such. me.jmh.authenticatorpro.apk
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I'm almost positive that's what I did. I'm definitely using that APK for my watch because I just got a new watch today and it was the only way to get it on the watch since it's not on the Play Store anymore. |
It's not on the Play Store anymore which was my point. |
Yeah, I didn't word it quite right. I fix my comment. I did have the same issue at first... I installed both and added the tile and saw the no connection cloud. Did you launch the app once after you installed it, before you went to the tile? |
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I am reading and following this whole thread with bated breath. As soon as I read that I could become a tester I immediately did so! The app works perfectly, and from Google Play I was able to install it on my watch (Galaxy Watch 6) as well. It syncs without a problem, generates correct codes. Wonderfull! The only problem I've found is when I return to an open app on the phone from “recently launched” the app closes with a “biometric scan rejected” notification. P.S What will be the final name of app? I just want to update few places where i wrote about that authenticator ;) |
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I think it's good that the app is being renamed but the new name “Stratum” should be reconsidered because when I search for “Stratum” in the Google Play Store I find at least 6 apps with this name. In my opinion, a unique name would be better so that there is no risk of confusion. If you search for the name in the Google Play Store, only your app should be found and no other apps. |
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I have a bug with the Wear OS app in this version. Do I report it here or a new issue? If I reopen the app and it already has a previous token selected, the back swipe is very unreliable and I have to swipe 3-6 times to get back to the list to select a different token. I'm currently using a PW3 with Wear OS 5 and previously I used a PW1 with Wear OS 4. So it could be a Wear OS 5 incompatibility or a new bug in the repub branch. |
I think that is really a good idea. Stratum seems to be also a name part of many companies. By the way, many thanks for your work! |
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A minor thing but I’ll still mention, I like the name starting from "Authenticator" because letter A gets the app listed at the beginning of the app picker on Android and Wear OS. |
On the WearOS watch you can move any app on the top of the apps list by longer press of the desired app on the app list, and after that you should be able to move the app to the top of the list. It may be harder to do this on the Android phone I guess. |
This doesn’t appear to be something I can do on Wear OS 4 Pixel Watch. Long pressing an app opens actions menu. |
I see. It works as described on my TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro with WearOS 4. I thought that it is an app list feature present for all WearOS 4 smartwatches. Looks like I was wrong and it is more likely to be launcher dependent. |
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Hi everyone, thanks for participating in the closed test. I will make the app generally available on Google Play soon. 
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Good news! Thanks @jamie-mh for your efforts and everyone for participation! |
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I hope there will be enough donations to appreciate the efforts to re-release the app. I've already given my donation... |
@jamie-mh How about Authepad? Blend word of Authenticator and One-time-pad, so it's self-explaining and representative for the apps purpose. It's truly unique: there are zero results in Google Play, zero results in F-Droid, and even on Google search nothing with this exact name shows up. It's also distinct enough from "Authenticator" to avoid confusion or conflicts. Since the first few letters are equal to the previous app name, the position in alphabetically sorted app lists will be the same, and typing the first letter in your drawers search bar will show it as before, so users for which this is of relevance can keep their habit. Plus it's shorter. |
No. Or am I wrong? |
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Anyway guys... @jamie-mh already changed package name, name on GitHub and bought a new domain for that project. I think name was already choosen. |
Fully agree. App name were chosen. Steps required for new release in Play Store were done for this app name. I don't see much benefit from renaming the app at this stage. Too much effort with too low outcome. |
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I'm glad you figured out a way to keep this app alive! The new name is a bit lost in my alphabetical app drawer list, might be the right time to add a shortcut on the launcher (should have done it much sooner!) |
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@jamie-mh does that mean we should uninstall authenticator pro and install stratumauth? Well, I don't see any reason for you to maintain both authenticator pro and stratumauth (even if they're actually the same), just wanted to be sure. |
Authenticator Pro (old app) is no longer supported. It was removed from Google Play Store and there will be no further updates available. It will work on your devices but I would suggest to remove is and switch to the new app version (Stratum). Backups from old one works with the new one by the way. |
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The new app (Stratum) seems to be removed from the Google Play Store too. I get a "Not Found" message when I click on the link provided by https://stratumauth.com/download: (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stratumauth.app ) |
Still available for me. Are you registered fort beta test? |
My 2¢: It's not publicly available yet, "just" for closed/open beta testers, based on the last screenshot from the publishing process posted. We just have to be a bit more patient. I love OSS, when people actually put in the elbow grease. This whole gauntlet with the republishing definitely earned a coffee via the sponsorship link from me 😄 Especially if it works 🤣 |
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Hi everyone, The app has been reviewed by Google and is now publicly available: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stratumauth.app |
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Great! Thank you @jamie-mh for all your efforts to make this app available again. Cheers! |
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Thank you! |
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Amazing, thanks!😻 |
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Awesome! I hope it all goes smoothly. Will be looking forward for the name change on the Izzy repo if that's planned. |
On the 3rd of September 2024, my Google Play developer account will be deleted by Google and Authenticator Pro will no longer be available on the Google Play store. In line with the new Play Store policy, unless I consent to publicly displaying my home address, I will no longer be able to publish apps.
The alternative is to register as an organisation, which involves renting a PO-box and a dedicated support phone number. Of course, this is unreasonable and unsustainable for a free app.
From September, Authenticator Pro will only be available through the F-Droid repos and from GitHub releases.
This is a heads-up for anyone wondering past this date.
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