The reason why the Android version of the video playback app 'VLC' is not updated is because 'I don't want to give my private key to Google'



The video playback app 'VLC' is compatible with various OS such as Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, but the Android version of VLC has stopped receiving updates after February 2023. The VLC development team explains why the Android version of VLC has stopped updating.

VLC for Android updates on the Play Store - DEV Community

https://dev.to/npomepuy/vlc-for-android-updates-on-the-play-store-179j




Below is the application information of the Android version of VLC distributed on Google Play at the time of article creation. The latest version is 3.5.4, which was released on February 20, 2023, and updates have not been distributed for over a year. VLC itself is actively being developed, and VLC compatible with OSes other than Android, such as Windows and iOS, is frequently updated.



The reason why the Android version of VLC has stopped updating is due to changes in Android application publishing rules by Google. For a long time, apps were distributed on Google Play by ``developers uploading signed APK files to Google Play'', but in 2018, ``developers upload pre-compiled app code and resources to Google Play''. The distribution format ` `Android App Bundle (AAB) '' has been introduced, in which the APK file is generated and signed by Google.

With AAB, Google generates and signs the APK file, so developers must upload a private key to Google for signing. However, the VLC development team could not accept uploading of the private key for security reasons, so they decided not to adopt AAB. Google has made it mandatory for new apps released after August 2021 to adopt AAB, but it allows apps that have already been released to maintain the traditional distribution format, so VLC updates continued to be delivered without any problems.

Google announces that it is necessary to use ``Android App Bundle'' instead of APK to publish Android apps on Google Play - GIGAZINE



After that, Google announced in November 2022 that ``Apps compatible with Android TV will need to transition from the APK file direct upload method to AAB from May 2023.'' Since the Android version of VLC has a TV mode and is compatible with Android TV, it was necessary to migrate to AAB in order to maintain functionality and distribute updates.

Google Play also has an app distribution system called ' Dual Release ' that combines APK file direct upload method and AAB. Dual release is a system that ``distributes apps to devices with Android 11 or later using AAB, and distributes APK files uploaded by developers to devices with Android 10 or earlier.'' All you have to do is hand over the newly created private key instead of the private key you have been using since distribution. This also aligns with VLC's security philosophy when moving to dual releases.

However, even if you move to dual release, the rule that ``Android TV compatible apps cannot be distributed via APK direct upload method'' still applies, so if you move to dual release, TV mode will be provided for devices running Android 10 or earlier. You won't be able to. According to the development team, nearly 70% of VLC users are using devices running Android 10 or earlier, so cutting off devices running Android 10 or earlier is a difficult choice.

In summary, in order to distribute updates for the Android version of VLC on Google Play, you can either ``give the private key you used to sign the APK file to Google and fully migrate to AAB while preserving all functionality'' or ``dual release. However, both of these measures are unacceptable to the development team, and the company is unable to distribute updates. That's why.

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