Did anyone try to contact Google? (no joke)
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Thanks gbfd for clarifying the technical background. Yes, the problem is Google trying to update apps that were signed with a different key. And this seems to be new behaviour. I confirmed the issue on an old phone too.
Licaon_Kter, I used the reporting function within the Play Store app and gave technical information (about signing keys). I reported three apps to increase the number of reports. But I doubt this will lead to anything with a big company like Google.
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On Android 14 this might be prevented by making the F-Droid client use this new feature ( archive.org ) .
Iâm a little hesitant in promoting its usage, since I wouldnât be surprised if in future versions it will turn in âmake completely impossible to update from a different source (e.g. outside the Play Store)â, but, yeah, itâs just speculation.
Iâd also like to figure out if it really applies to the store app (e.g. F-Droid) or to the app used as installer (e.g. App Manager).
All in all, it should probably be implemented in F-Droid, probably with an option to disable it
Hm, I donât see how âupdate ownershipâ would change the situation. The Play store would still download updates for F-Droid apps and attempt to install them. Instead of a failed upgrade error message, users get an âupdate ownershipâ prompt they have to chancel ⌠every F-ing time. The screenshot of the âupdate ownershipâ prompt shows no option to âalways deny for this app and never try to updateâ. The âupdate anywayâ option would just fail due to a signature key mismatch, like on Android <14.
Once again, Google making life more annoying âin the name of securityâ for anyone who deviates from the âGoogle way of lifeâ 
Youâve already tried it?
At first glance youâd set update ownership with setRequestUpdateOwnership after having added the ENFORCE_UPDATE_OWNERSHIP permission
No I havenât. I just donât see why the Play Store would not try (and fail) to update apps with enforced ownership, when it doesnât care about signature keys that are an integral part of the OS. After all, enforcing ownership doesnât seem to do anything more than introducing an additional step in the update process. Even though the user can prevent or allow an update attempt, you canât prevent the Play Store (or any app) to attempt an update in the first place.
Does any store app check signatures?
I donât know what the Play Store was doing before, but there seems to be a decent chance that since thereâs now this feature, Google said weâll go ahead unless the store said otherwise.
And so that they exclude apps with another update owner from even the update check.
So, it seems worth a try.
You canât prevent the Play Store from doing anything by the way, if they wanted they could replace F-Droid apps with Rick Astler videos.
You can protect yourself by disabling the storeâs automatic updates, using Aurora Store and complaining with Google.
Protesting about google on the F-Droid forum and saying thereâs no point in trying anything wonât get you very far.
For those affected, are you on F-Droid Client 1.18.0? Can you try to use 1.19.0-alpha3 for a while? Expand Versions 
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Afaik, even if the user allows an update from the âupdate ownershipâ prompt, the update will fail when the signature key doesnât match. It doesnât make sense for the Play Store to ignore signature keys now, and it wonât make sense in the future.
Whatâs special about 1.19.0-alpha3 with regard to the Play Store signature key disaster? I have âunstable updatesâ enabled and use 1.19.0-alpha3 since it was released.
You havenât understood what I said, and youâre continuing to complain of what Google does to those who do everything they can to stay away from them
And by the way sometimes developers change their signature by mistake, so itâs not necessarily absurd to list updates with different signatures (which will only be installable by uninstalling the other version of course)
If you think I misunderstood something, please enlighten me instead of getting aggressive.
Even with âupdate ownershipâ, signature keys are still a part of the OS and cannot be ignored by the Play Store or any other store.
In that case, Android will prevent an update and the app in question has to be uninstalled to install the new version.
Basic 1.18.0+ and main client since 1.19.0-alphas use the Session Installer and also set the âinstalled byâ app property on Android 11 or later (not sure since when). See more info above
So basically I want to know if Google breaks both, tries to install updates with different signatures AND ALSO does not respect âinstalled byâ property.
I guess one need to look at an app details, eg. Android Settings â Apps â F-Droid â scroll down to the last 2-3 properties to verify if your Android has such a feature or not.
I think itâs enough to read the sentence immediately following the one you had quoted:
Why do you keep complaining to an F-Droid forum rather than Google if youâre so convinced of that??
As I said myself
The arguments about ownership are over my head, but these are my details if they should help. I have Version 1.18.0. Settings are:
1/ Modify system settings not allowed
2/ Install unknown apps allowed
3/ App installed from Package installer.
I have
Which device and Android version?
Can you check an app installed by F-Droid too ?
/PS: like I said Basic or 1.19.0-alphas set this⌠in your case (1.18) âŚnot⌠lol
You seem to misunderstand the purpose of this thread. I am not complaining to the F-Droid community. I wanted to know if there is something wrong on my side, and if there is a solution. We established that it is in fact Google doing something iffy here. People came with helpful suggestions and background information. If you read my previous comments, you will find that I did report this issue to Google too.
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For now, everyone affected should press âSend feedbackâ and report to Google this âbugâ
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