Bitcoin Forum

Very concerning news - Google Play is going to ban non-custodial wallet apps for US and EU users, on December 2025. That's in just four months.

This seems to be part of the broader trend of companies and government attacking privacy.

Alternate app stores are required immediately.

https://talkimg.com/images/2025/08/13/USrHTm.jpeg

If this is true, thry are only deceiving themselves for people that truly wants privacy and not those that just use what they see. The noncustodial wallets are existing without Google. Example is Electrum wallet that you can download on Electrum official website, while some other noncustodial wallets can be downloaded directly on their official websites and on GitHub. We do not need Google to use the apps.

This will enable phishing campaigns on an unprecedented scale.

Many people will lose their funds because they do not know where to download wallet APKs and verify PGP signatures.

I check Microsoft Store now I did not see Electrum.

I understand you, that there will be fake apps to scam people. But I do not think so. According to what I read about the one for European Union, if the noncustodial wallet has FinCEN, state banking, or MiCA license, it will continue to be on the app store.

I think something like that will also be for people living in United States.

That means those exchanges noncustodial wallet apps (and some other ones) might be the one thriving on Playstore which are close source apps. This will give more ways for close source apps on the Store.

Even with Google, there are still fake apps. It is people that should be careful. If care is not taken, someone can even download fake app on the Stores.

Sighs another win for centralization and loss for decentralization. Basically decentralization is actually losing every single day that passes and it's not fair. These open source non custodial wallets are safer and better than their centralized counter part and even though the creators don't really make money from them it's sad they're still being targeted.

I think it's high time we had a trusted site compiling all open source softwares for safe downloads especially for wallets.

What a great idea. It would be like KYCnot.me but for wallets.

On it. 🫡

Yeah exactly, since it would even be coming from this forum's trusted members it will not only be safer but people will have more reasons to trust it including my self. We are all decentralization enthusiasts and we can't sit back and watch decentralization crumble at the very least let's do what we can.

I'm 100% available for tech related support you may need along the way you can send me PMs and I'll be in touch to assist in ways I can and please give me the liberty to name it :D ;D

Someone lost their assets because they downloaded a fake wallet app on playstore.

Before now, that is before playstore had these non-custodial wallets on their store, we used the official websites of these wallets and that made us to even be more security conscious. While I agree that this is like a crackdown on privacy and tightening on regulations, I wonder who will be the loser here. It is amazing how human can quickly adapt to new changes if they think that these new policy by Google is in or not in their own best interest. It is also over to the developers of these wallets to see how they would react.

Luckily I don't live in these countries, but I believe local countries will follow to try to control privacy.


Do we still need them?

How about Bitcoin.org (https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet?step=5): We already have a list of wallets listed there, and most of the wallets have their own source code link.

Or Bitcoin.org untrusted?

Since this is not managed by some trusted members here, I think another extra site created by a group of trusted people here might be a good idea.

It could be better to work KYCnot.me with the team and developers of those wallets so they can upload the .apk directly to the site just like how Play store works. Because if not, it will be a another work the KYCNotme team/dev to do the uploading of those wallets.

Some of us who have used devices that nolonger rely on Google services such as playstore like Huawei Phones are even having a huge laugh about this  ;D
America companies and corporations think that they are the only ones that exist and run the world, but they are very wrong!


Google Play Store has hosted fake and phishing apps in the past and continues to do so to date anyway

Don't you think it is more centralization introduced into the decentralized world? In fact I categorize google appstore as a centralization that should not have existed if we are going to talk about decentralization. And I would even go as far as saying when people were downloading wallets from the centralized google store, it was a loss of decentralization and when they shut down it can be categorized as a win.

What we need to reach better security in the decentralized world are these 3:
1. 100% open source software
2. Reproducible/deterministic builds
3. Signed binaries

This trio would ensure that people can download compiled software from literally anywhere not just some "trusted" centralized server controlled by one entity (single point of failure). They just need to verify the hash for integrity (a hash that anybody who compiles the same source code can vouch for) and verify the signature for authenticity.

Wallet scrutiny can be used for it. https://walletscrutiny.com/

Just enter the name of the wallet to check if the wallet is open source or not.

I don't want to live in a world where my portfolio goes up if this is the cost of it mooning.

What good will our bitcoins be to us if all of these gatekeepers to the internet can force us to surrender our coins via AML/KYC proxy?

For now it's just Google - if Apple does this too it's game over for a lot of users.

I searched for more details and found that some news media noticed Google have updated their support page stating this policy exclude non-custodial wallet[1]. But i would remain cautious since there's no list or definition of non-custodial wallet. But on other side, i wonder whether this policy will make scam custodial wallet/service (such as Freewallet) kicked from google play.

[1] https://decrypt.co/335134/google-non-custodial-wallets-exempt-new-crypto-app-rules-play-store (https://decrypt.co/335134/google-non-custodial-wallets-exempt-new-crypto-app-rules-play-store)

For users that do not want privacy. Many people fall under this category. And likely they are using their Trust wallet or Bitget wallet already. Either due to ignorance, unknowingly preference for centralization in relation to believing what the government are saying. I have noticed some people just like to follow the government and not knowing what is actually behind government plans.

I have posted already that I search Electrum on Windows Microsoft Store, but I did not see it. But people that wants good noncustodial wallet for bitcoin still downloaded it. This wallets can exist without these centralized bodies.

Bitcoin Core, Sparrow, Bluewallet and some other wallets that I search for are not on Microsoft Store. Bitcoin Core and Sparrow are also not on Android and many people are using them.

This should not be of concern to people that wants privacy. All they need is learning about it. Also, information from a forum like this can help.

It is theirs to decide, and they could also decide to take the same step as Google, yeah that would be game over for people who download their wallets from there. And what would naturally happen is that people would seek better sources to download the wallets they need, i.e. downloading electrum from electrum.org rather than on Playstore.

After some time in crypto, it seems that history is repeating itself, over and over again
China bans, Google removes ads, China bans again, Google will remove wallets...and so on

To be honest, it won't change much for me, but for those who want security in crypto, they will have to seek a little more information before downloading any dubious APKs
It can facilitate some scams and cause confusion

The downside is that it can make it more difficult for new crypto users to download more secure wallets
Another negative point for Google

This is unprecedented nonsense, seriously, I don't even know how to describe this situation. What a boring world we live in. This only reinforces the point that we need to flip the switch, defend our freedom and privacy, and never give in.

Luckily, we have alternatives like Fdroid. Those celebrating this news are the wallet fraudsters who will invest heavily in phishing campaigns, causing many people to get robbed.

Thank you, daddy state, for creating yet another problem. My tax dollars are being well spent...

Imagine this happening in a certain Latin American country where we have a crazy president and a court minister with serious popularity problems who thinks he's a dictator:

"Only regulated wallet apps and accredited by Anatel, requiring CPF registration, can be downloaded by users".

It would be damaging or more like inconvenient but I don't think it would be game over since all of these popular wallets have a website where they self-host their binaries and also there is github where they share the source code and some of the also publish the binaries there as a mirror.

I believe that now more than ever, we need to learn more about crypto, security, and privacy
Fortunately, we have good tools to protect ourselves from most of the things that governments can do against us

The situation you mentioned in Brazil is an example where things are changing rapidly and censorship, confiscation, and blocking of money and assets seem entirely possible and realistic.
If we give up self-custody, privacy, anonymity, and security, it could cost us dearly

Google is a company that will always lean toward regulation and the government; after all, their business is to make money

I recently wrote that people should prepare migrating from g00gle play store to other open source alternatives (Fdroid, Obtainium, Droid-ify, etc).
They are not going to stop attacking everyone because they are all working towards agenda 2030 and elimination of privacy :P
My predictions is that in future they will only allow us to use gov-approved bitcoin wallets.

It seems that we have no reason to panic, for now, as Google themselves have clarified that non-custodial wallets are not included in their policy.

https://x.com/tuxpizza/status/1955746471904731546

I still don't trust them, but make of that what you will.

Consider this a fire drill.

While removing these from their stores might look like a big problem which I don't see as one because all those are centralized platforms and that's the reason they are feeling too powerful and we can still download from official websites, there is a bigger problem. What if Microsoft wakes up tomorrow and decides to withdraw compatibility of these decentralized wallets on their OS, apple follows suit and other OS providers? and let's not forget that android is owned by google which has declared war on it already, then we might see a true end to using decentralized wallets.

I think it is time we start thinking decentralization all round, then we may not have to worry about the bullying of these providers. Something like:

• A decentralized Store
• A decentralized OS

Surely this is possible, if Google and its likes can come out with centralized Stores and OS, then a decentralized copy is possible. Another major advantage is that it would eliminate all fake copy of wallets and apps that flies all over Playstore since all software that would be uploaded there would be verified, and must be open source.

If this happens with iOS, we iPhone users are cooked. At least with Google (android) you can install a self compiled or trusted (verifiable) APK. But for iOS, you literally can't install an app unless you buy yourself a developer accounts ($100 per year) to sign your own app and sideload it. It's also a lot harder to do that. :P

I think this might happen sooner or later, even if they backed down for now. :(

Wait, first they announce a ban on non-custodial wallet apps for US and EU users, without detailing what custodial and non-custodial wallet even means, and now they come out with a new tweet clarifying that non-custodial (self-custodial) wallets are excluded from the new regulatory rules?

Is there a serious communication problem with google, or was this proof that they backed down due to user pressure? Either way, we can't back down, we must remain vigilant and always strongly criticize companies that kneel to government organizations that want to destroy privacy and freedom of choice.

For me, this was proof that they backed down! Because if that were really the case, google would have clarified that non-custodial wallets would be excluded from this regulation from the beginning, don't you agree?

Don't trust Google and big techs, they're not on our side!

By doing that. they would also break compatibility of many other software that share same dependency. Although they could use list of file hash or name to block non-custodial wallet from running on their OS.


What does decentralized means in this case?

I agree.

If anything, Google is shooting itself in the foot with this and endangering users by making them download the app from an unvetted platform or website, where they could easily fall for a virus/scam/malware/whatever. Google has been fucking up ever since they employed Pichai as CEO. Since then the have been screwing over users and doing everything they can to maximize profits. Same with Youtube's CEO, Mohan.

I agree with you but not everyone will install the APK files and many will just not use the non-custodial wallets because they aren't available on the google playstore.

Soon we will find that the Apple App Store will be doing the same, and you will not even see these apps on the Microsoft Store either. This is not a coincidence but a proper plan being laid out globally to control the crypto space, and everyone should hold the crypto with proper KYC, and the thing decentralize, that they are doing to ban indeed. They (the governments and those evil powers behind them who are even controlling the governments) want everything to be tracked and taxed.

If they can do this, before you know it, they will be banning websites of non-custodial wallet software. Electrum and bitcoin core will be the first ones to go down. They’ll do what they did to xmr, btc mixers, non-kyc exchanges and casinos. Either we take a stand now and tell them to go fuck themselves or we’ll suck it up and become slaves. Recently google crippled adblocking software on chrome too. I say fuck google and start using alternatives whenever you can. Start with using firefox or something else that has nothing to do with google. It is either them or us. Clearly they want war. Let’s hit them where it hurts.

This is one of the reasons I can never use Apple devices. I know if I use it, it is like I am in a prison. People do not know their right because if they know, they will stay away from Apple devices. Google is not the best, but at least it is better. With all the iPhone strictness, fake wallets are found on App store recently. If people are wise, iPhone supposed not to sell at all. So I will say iPhone users are not cooked if they know what is going on, they can switch to alternatives.

To be honest, right now there aren't many limitations on the Apple Store. It's also a lot easier to put fake apps on the Play Store than on Apple's app store. I have published apps on both stores and while google only asks for basic information, has fast approvals, and even faster updates (pretty much instant), Apple reviews every single app and update, and even big companies have apps rejected because of small issues that need fixing.

I write all of that admiting that I am an Apple user, and have lots of products from them (iPhone, Apple Watch, Airpods, Macbook). Their hardware is just best. :P

I think they already clarified this announcement, they will ban or remove the platform on googleplay if they will not comply to the policy of the region or country they are serving meaning they will need to registered like to local exchange of a country this is to be able to avoid risk, non custodial wallets are not included, and will not be remove to the googleplay, developers can still update.

That is true. The fake wallets were on Playstore before but since like 3 years now, the fake app developers were tired and they started using App store. The recent ones reported were on App stores and probably more might come. But another recent one were extensions.

I guess you are from United States. I noticed people from United States just have one kind of preference for Apple products. Although, people that are using 2 or 3 Apple products will want to continue using their products.

Vivo X200 and the lastest Xiaomi competed with iPhone camera. Many people online even rated them better than Apple. I like Samsung because it is available in my country cheaper. Do not mind my off-topic post.

Apple has not produced any foldable phone and their AI is significantly lagging behind. Sorry for my off-topic again.

But most importantly, I can not use a device that will not allow me to download apps through a browser because I know I am giving out my freedom.

Google banning unlicensed wallets won’t kill self-custody if you ask me, Google is definitely deceiving themselves if they thinking so. It only shows how many people rely on app stores instead of learning the basics when it comes to downloading these wallets.

For instance, Electrum, BlueWallet, Wasabi can all be downloaded directly from the developers’ sites or from GitHub. Bitcoin since it's launch has always been bigger than corporations. If there's any real problem about this development, I think it is education. Like people need to know they don’t need Google’s permission to hold their own keys and this new development I believe will force more education among Bitcoiners that are ignorant to the these necessary basics.

People get tricked into downloading and entering their seeds in fake phishing wallets they see on services like the Play Store or the App Store all the time. It helps only to some degree. If they want to be in bitcoin and crypto, they will have to learn how to protect themselves or face the consequences of their actions.


That depends. If you are using Android, you will most likely have alternatives to get the apps you need. But if you have an iPhone, you pretty much stuck with the App Store. YOu can always jailbreak your iPhone, though.

I appreciate everyones concern and, to be honest, it sounds bad, but seriously... calm down! It's not going to be the end of the world, even if they do it.

Allow me to elaborate:

The huge majority of people, don't do self-custody anyways, they either buy and keep in CEXs or they buy ETFs. So, this leaves a minority (the rest of us) who seriously care about bitcoin's true intention and do self-custody. But, we 're not like the rest of the world, we will find our workaround.

Yes, NotATether is right, that some people will not know where to download APKs and GPG keys. But are they really this many? Because, unfortunately, I think it's just a few people.

Disclaimer: I don't use mobile apps as wallet software, only PC, but I can feel your frustration.

Check what NotATether posted (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5554878.msg65693506#msg65693506) last about it, that the policy will not affect noncustodial wallets.

https://x.com/tuxpizza/status/1955746471904731546


What frustration? The APK are available on the wallets official sites and also available on GitHub.

Thanks but Twitter is notoriously bad for extracting good information from it. I mean, a twitter post is not official and, in my eyes, shouldn't be taken for granted. I am sure that even with this tweet above, you are not very certain they won't declare war on self-custody wallets, are you? Perhaps it's just me who is suspicious, so...


The frustration isn't about what we will do. I meant frustration (anxiety) about what will happen to users who don't have the technical skills to understand how to install an APK and verify it properly.

To be honest, I've never downloaded a crypto wallet from play store because I don't trust it, it's so full of scam services that I prefer to manually visit official websites of wallets like electrum.org and download APK from their website or visit the official Play Store link from there.
Android is an open-source. The good thing about this is that we can download APK files and install them anyway.

These many people have to learn something. I don't really understand how people do not check sources multiple times. When I download something or when I send coins from my wallet to another, I triple check everything and before I do something, I try to learn everything from head to toe. I'll never understand those who aren't this much interested into what they do and do things blindly. I'll never understand those people who click on the first search engine result instead of checking other results too to make a proper decision.

I am not a fan of them either, especially not for hot wallet use. But there have been situations where I needed one. I also use Blue Wallet as one of my companion apps for my Jade airgapped hardware wallet. I initially installed it over the Play Store but I know there are alternative ways to download it (like GitHub) if one day it completely disappears from the Store. I also use MetaMask on my Android when I need to have stablecoins on the go.

Yeah I am not really trying to imply that it’s bad, just that people around here have solid knowledge in order to avoid possible scams etc.

And to be absolutely honest I have used BW as well only for watch-only my multisig vault.

Plus if I ever needed to do frequent transactions via LN I would have an LN wallet like Phoenix.

Did Google don't know that when it comes to the Internet, they can download anything they want from the source? They don't have to use Google Play if they prohibit it. We can go to the wallet website and download it directly from their site.

I guess Google has been force by the regulator doing that. They don't like people using the non-custodial wallet apps because they don't know who their customers are. The regulator make a deal with the wallet developer to add something to the wallet so the regulator knows the customer.

The government wants to controlling the privacy but they don't tells it transparently. They will say that what they do now will be part of privacy, but it is not.

From what I understood, this is a plan of the US government. Because if this process becomes successful, they will be able to regulate and control all users. That is why the government and big companies want to track these things. When these things come under their control, then all users’ privacy will decrease. And people will be forced to use custodial wallets. The reason is that they will have both control and profit in their hands.

So if we are not careful now, when this process is fully completed, there will be no way left. For this, I think we should focus more on alternative app stores and open-source wallets.

Does the non custodial wallets need google to exist or survive? Those wallets operate and working without the use of Google and they have their own websites and apps so if google thought they can stop those wallets then they are just wasting their time. It would have been better if they focus on their search engine business and not fighting to stop unrealistic battle.
They are fighting to stop those wallets so that users of bitcoin will navigate to custodial wallets. I strongly believe that this fight is sponsored by custodial wallets company and the government executing it.

I don't know why the thread title says "Google declares war on...", really Google has nothing to do with that but it's the government that demands that it not publish them at least those that are not licensed, in this case Google only avoids having legal conflicts, but I don't know to what extent this is a problem, for example I trust more in downloading from the wallet page, than from the Playstore itself, which is widely known that malicious people have been able to sneak into the store apk intended for scam in general.

I think you miss the point. The point is not whether we can get alternatives. There will always be alternatives to things like this. I don't think I've ever downloaded a wallet from Play Store, and I use an android device. The point is, this is how it starts. It starts with very small and relatively insignificant things. They start like this and give one excuse, like "it's been used for fraud and other illegal activities", and later on, it will be more significant stuff like making it compulsory to have your bitcoin and other crypto in a CEX.
If it truly has no significance whatsoever and we have nothing to worry about, then they wouldn't have done it. However, the fact that a company as big as Google is willing to dissatisfy a section of its customers this way suggests that it has significance.

What even makes it funnier is that they always make it seem like they have the best interests of the public at heart, when in reality, they just don't care. This way, it makes it easy to gaslight people who don't buy the bullshit. For example, when they make it seem like criminals use non-custodial wallets, then you, who oppose them or use non-custodial wallets, are criminals, after all, "if you have nothing to hide, why are you scared?".

You don't expect big companies to come out and say, "We want your personal data so we can use it however we want" They will tell you they use it to prevent crimes like child pornography, fraud, money laundering, etc and then go ahead to assure you that your privacy is safe. If you kick against that, it's easier to gaslight you and make it seem like you're hiding something illegal. In the end, they always seem like the good guys.

If you are downloading things from some Google curated app thing you are already doing it wrong since you are not even checking checksums of the downloaded files with what the author provided, let alone pgp encryption verification measures.

No, but it's definitely easier. You also expose your software to a much bigger potential user base. You don't need the Play Store because you can download .apk files from the official websites, GitHub, F-Droid, or you can use GrapheneOS, for instance. But like I said, it helps to have your software visible in front of a huge audience.

If you are a writer, you can self-publish your books but it helps to sign a contract with a publishing house.
Musicians can create and release their own music but it helps to work with a big record company.
You can be an actor without working in Hollywood but we know where the biggest deals are made.

Etc., etc.