Imminent removal from the Google Play Store

[jamie-mh]

On the 3rd of September 2024, my Google Play developer account will be deleted by Google and Authenticator Pro will no longer be available on the Google Play store. In line with the new Play Store policy, unless I consent to publicly displaying my home address, I will no longer be able to publish apps.

The alternative is to register as an organisation, which involves renting a PO-box and a dedicated support phone number. Of course, this is unreasonable and unsustainable for a free app.

From September, Authenticator Pro will only be available through the F-Droid repos and from GitHub releases.

This is a heads-up for anyone wondering past this date.

[jamie-mh]

P.S: I think it might be too late to mention this, considering I can't find the play store entry for Authenticator Pro already but what if a final update was pushed to google play users notifying them (via a dialog popup or something) that the app would be published under a new name and that users needed to manually migrate etc.? I am not aware of the whole procedure about re-publishing so if that required older one to be unpublished first somehow, then probably nothing can be done :-/

The app is unpublished and I can't push any updates, so there is no way of notifying users. That being said, the app hasn't been uninstalled from devices and will continue to work as-is. It just can't be reinstalled from the Google Play store.

[Kucharskov]

I am reading and following this whole thread with bated breath. As soon as I read that I could become a tester I immediately did so! The app works perfectly, and from Google Play I was able to install it on my watch (Galaxy Watch 6) as well. It syncs without a problem, generates correct codes. Wonderfull!

The only problem I've found is when I return to an open app on the phone from “recently launched” the app closes with a “biometric scan rejected” notification.

P.S What will be the final name of app? I just want to update few places where i wrote about that authenticator ;)

[ThunderF0x]

I think it's good that the app is being renamed but the new name “Stratum” should be reconsidered because when I search for “Stratum” in the Google Play Store I find at least 6 apps with this name. In my opinion, a unique name would be better so that there is no risk of confusion. If you search for the name in the Google Play Store, only your app should be found and no other apps.

[kylemacfarlane]

I have a bug with the Wear OS app in this version. Do I report it here or a new issue?

If I reopen the app and it already has a previous token selected, the back swipe is very unreliable and I have to swipe 3-6 times to get back to the list to select a different token.

I'm currently using a PW3 with Wear OS 5 and previously I used a PW1 with Wear OS 4. So it could be a Wear OS 5 incompatibility or a new bug in the repub branch.

[Omnibrain007]

I think it's good that the app is being renamed

I think that is really a good idea. Stratum seems to be also a name part of many companies. Perhaps you take a new unique name like: Jamies Authentificator

By the way, many thanks for your work!

[Sominemo]

A minor thing but I’ll still mention, I like the name starting from "Authenticator" because letter A gets the app listed at the beginning of the app picker on Android and Wear OS.

[KlosiakMK]

A minor thing but I’ll still mention, I like the name starting from "Authenticator" because letter A gets the app listed at the beginning of the app picker on Android and Wear OS.

On the WearOS watch you can move any app on the top of the apps list by longer press of the desired app on the app list, and after that you should be able to move the app to the top of the list. It may be harder to do this on the Android phone I guess.

[Sominemo]

you can move any app on the top of the apps list by longer press of the desired app on the app list, and after that you should be able to move the app to the top of the list

This doesn’t appear to be something I can do on Wear OS 4 Pixel Watch. Long pressing an app opens actions menu.

[KlosiakMK]

you can move any app on the top of the apps list by longer press of the desired app on the app list, and after that you should be able to move the app to the top of the list

This doesn’t appear to be something I can do on Wear OS 4 Pixel Watch. Long pressing an app opens actions menu.

I see. It works as described on my TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro with WearOS 4. I thought that it is an app list feature present for all WearOS 4 smartwatches. Looks like I was wrong and it is more likely to be launcher dependent.

[jamie-mh]

Hi everyone, thanks for participating in the closed test. I will make the app generally available on Google Play soon.

[KlosiakMK]

Good news! Thanks @jamie-mh for your efforts and everyone for participation!

[Herman-n]

I hope there will be enough donations to appreciate the efforts to re-release the app.

I've already given my donation...

[eltos]

I think it's good that the app is being renamed but the new name “Stratum” should be reconsidered because when I search for “Stratum” in the Google Play Store I find at least 6 apps with this name. In my opinion, a unique name would be better so that there is no risk of confusion. If you search for the name in the Google Play Store, only your app should be found and no other apps.

@jamie-mh How about Authepad?

Blend word of Authenticator and One-time-pad, so it's self-explaining and representative for the apps purpose. It's truly unique: there are zero results in Google Play, zero results in F-Droid, and even on Google search nothing with this exact name shows up. It's also distinct enough from "Authenticator" to avoid confusion or conflicts. Since the first few letters are equal to the previous app name, the position in alphabetically sorted app lists will be the same, and typing the first letter in your drawers search bar will show it as before, so users for which this is of relevance can keep their habit. Plus it's shorter.

[Herman-n]

@jamie-mh How about Authepad?

No. This app is for OTP = one time password, not for OTP = one time pad.

Or am I wrong?

[Kucharskov]

Anyway guys... @jamie-mh already changed package name, name on GitHub and bought a new domain for that project. I think name was already choosen.

[KlosiakMK]

Anyway guys... @jamie-mh already changed package name, name on GitHub and bought a new domain for that project. I think name was already choosen.

Fully agree. App name were chosen. Steps required for new release in Play Store were done for this app name. I don't see much benefit from renaming the app at this stage. Too much effort with too low outcome.

[MisterDams]

I'm glad you figured out a way to keep this app alive!

The new name is a bit lost in my alphabetical app drawer list, might be the right time to add a shortcut on the launcher (should have done it much sooner!)

[rywz]

@jamie-mh does that mean we should uninstall authenticator pro and install stratumauth? Well, I don't see any reason for you to maintain both authenticator pro and stratumauth (even if they're actually the same), just wanted to be sure.

[KlosiakMK]

@jamie-mh does that mean we should uninstall authenticator pro and install stratumauth? Well, I don't see any reason for you to maintain both authenticator pro and stratumauth (even if they're actually the same), just wanted to be sure.

Authenticator Pro (old app) is no longer supported. It was removed from Google Play Store and there will be no further updates available. It will work on your devices but I would suggest to remove is and switch to the new app version (Stratum). Backups from old one works with the new one by the way.

[stbxxl]

The new app (Stratum) seems to be removed from the Google Play Store too. I get a "Not Found" message when I click on the link provided by https://stratumauth.com/download: (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stratumauth.app )

[rak-rak]

The new app (Stratum) seems to be removed from the Google Play Store too. I get a "Not Found" message when I click on the link provided by https://stratumauth.com/download: (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stratumauth.app )

Still available for me. Are you registered fort beta test?

[AFulgens]

The new app (Stratum) seems to be removed from the Google Play Store too. [...]

My 2¢: It's not publicly available yet, "just" for closed/open beta testers, based on the last screenshot from the publishing process posted. We just have to be a bit more patient. I love OSS, when people actually put in the elbow grease. This whole gauntlet with the republishing definitely earned a coffee via the sponsorship link from me 😄 Especially if it works 🤣

[jamie-mh]

Hi everyone,

The app has been reviewed by Google and is now publicly available: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stratumauth.app I'm closing this issue.

[KlosiakMK]

Great! Thank you @jamie-mh for all your efforts to make this app available again. Cheers!

[rak-rak]

Thank you!

[the-code-creator]

Amazing, thanks!😻

[Gravemind2015]

Awesome! I hope it all goes smoothly. Will be looking forward for the name change on the Izzy repo if that's planned. P.S. It'll be funny to have the encrypted backup file extension still say .authpro :-)

[IzzySoft]

@jamie-mh looks like you forgot to drop us a note. And while the changed package name would usually be noticed here, it will take quite a while for that to happen because…

$ iod repo get me.jmh.authenticatorpro
me.jmh.authenticatorpro: looking for 'https://api.github.com/repos/stratumauth/app/releases'
me.jmh.authenticatorpro: checking tag 'v1.0.2'
me.jmh.authenticatorpro: lastRelNo set to 'v1.0.2', checking for files
me.jmh.authenticatorpro: Upstream file date (2024-10-18 20:08) is newer than ours (2024-06-25 19:39).
me.jmh.authenticatorpro: returning ['v1.0.2','https://github.com/stratumauth/app/releases/download/v1.0.2/com.stratumauth.app-armeabi-v7a.fdroid.apk',1729274913]
me.jmh.authenticatorpro: 1.25.2 up-to-date.

well, 1.0.2 < 1.25.2 :man_shrugging:

So do you want us to switch to the new package name (guess that's a rhetorical question to be answered by "yes") and, while on it, shall we stick with armeabi (32bit) or switch to arm64?

[jamie-mh]

@IzzySoft yep my bad forgot to leave you a mention.

Yes, can you switch to the new package name please. I think we should use the 64-bit build now (it seems like Android has already started phasing out support for 32-bit: #1174). I provide a "fat" apk with all ABIs on my repo for anyone who needs it.

[IzzySoft]

Thanks @jamie-mh! I'll then prepare the switch:

• establish the 64bit variant with the new packageName
• add a note to the description of the "old one" pointing it's continued as (link-to) the new one
• set a reminder to remove the "old one" after ~1 month overlap, giving people a chance to see the note and switch
• finally, after ~1 month, removing the "old one".

First 3 bullet points will be completed around 7 pm UTC (with the next sync), so then please change the link behind the IoD badge to com.stratumauth.app (just need to adjust the packageName there). All prepared here now:

Android has already started phasing out support for 32-bit

No, not Android. Just Google (for their Pixels) and a few other device vendors. Also some chip vendors (e.g. some new ARM chips dropped support, also new SnapDragons) – but some vendors even managed to re-establish 32bit support there.

[jamie-mh]

@IzzySoft thanks for changing the package name. I've updated the links in the repo and website to point to the new page.

It still uses the old description though, can it be resynced with the fastlane files in this repo or is it linked to the old page in some way?

[IzzySoft]

I've updated the links in the repo and website to point to the new page.

Thanks!

It still uses the old description though

My bad, I forgot to manually trigger a Fastlane update. Was notified of this already by an IzzyOnDroid team member, so it was fixed last night – effective with the next sync in about 4h from now.