Books, Christianity, And Hobbies

I'd heard of this a while ago, but with everything going on in my life, I kinda forgot about it. But it's a really big deal and I haven't seen it talked about in my corner of tumblr at all. So let's fix that!

Have you ever installed an app via direct download because it's never been published on the Play Store? Do you want to make a silly little android game and share it with your friends, or a simple tool to make your everyday life easier?

Starting in September of this year (2026), Google is going to force users to install an update that will make both of those things darn near impossible.

Installing apps that aren't from the Play Store will—at best—require a complicated, unintuitive process, including a 24-hour wait period. And Google will still have the power to shut down this entire process on a whim.

Anyone who wants to make an app for Android (and let people install it without having to go through this convoluted process) will have to pay Google $25 and hand over their government ID for the privilege.

This is a BIG problem, and it affects ALL android users. The website I linked above has more information on the specifics, and a list of ways you can help, including a change.org petition you can sign.

You brought music back into the house. I had forgotten.

I explained very clearly to the manager my issue with the meat section not having the price tags listed, and they claimed it was only going to be for the meat, since meat is by weight, and the price of each item is printed on the packs of each item.

Sure. That’s how they get their foot in the door. Fast forward not even two weeks, and here we are:

Bar codes. No prices, no item descriptions. No price stickers on the individual items. Heck, not even the name of the item that is SUPPOSED to be there.

No. The only way to see the price is to scan it on your phone app, which is also recording what you looked at recently, as a way of gauging what you might be looking for in the future.

So here’s what we’re gonna do gang:

Every time you go into a store that has implemented these price-less tags:

Take 1-3 items up to the cash register. Ask the cashier for the price, or hit the price check item on the self checkout, which will likely call over the attendant.

Express that you didn’t actually want it, you just couldn’t see on the shelf how much it was.

POLITELY, AND WITH A THANK YOU FOR THE PRICE CONFIRMATION, Give the items to the cashier or attendant to put back.

When they inevitably try to push the app, politely decline. If pressed for why not, say you don’t want to have to carry your phone in-hand the whole time you are shopping in order to see how much things cost. (Not having cell service or data to use the app is NOT a valid excuse, as stores already often have complimentary WiFi AND more stores will provide WiFi rather than give up on this push for surveillance pricing)

If it’s a shelf-stable item, the cashier will have to set it aside, taking up room in their limited operating space, and eventually pass it off to someone to put in a holding area to put back later. If it’s a fridge/freezer item, it might have to get tossed due to food product sale regulations.

In either case, you are making it a pain in the ass for them to have these digital bar codes. Tie up the checkouts. Give the employees more busywork that the company has to pay them to do. Hurt their bottom line having to toss the pint of ice cream you carried around in your cart for 20 minutes before giving it back to the cashier.