Device says my app blocked by play protect because I'm not a recognised developer

[writermanuk]

I have just completed alpha testing of the latest version of my app. As usual, I then created a signed apk and copied it to a Samsung tablet for beta testing.

When I click on the apk on the target device, I get a message telling me that the install has been blocked by Play Protect because it doesn't recognise the app developer.

This never used to happen. Is this a new feature? It's not an immediate problem because there's an option to install anyway but it's an inconvenience and it would be alarming for my end users if they were to see the same message.

Is there some sort of formality I need to complete so that Play Protect does recognise me as a developer? Does the problem go away when I finally publish my latest version on Play Store?

Kind regards
Keith

 

[SpookDroid]

Play Protect IS a new(ish) feature from the Play Store, but didn't know that it applied to manually side-loaded apps. Not sure what the process is, however, but it basically tells the user you're not a registered developer so should proceed with caution (as anyone should when sideloading apps).

This can, however, be disabled in the Play Store (Settings/Play Protect).

You can find info for developers in this:
https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2812853

 

[akshays2]

Did you get this issue solved?