You may have been wondering if your Android application needs to be licensed by Google. The answer depends on your circumstances and your application. A strict policy is necessary when the app needs to be approved by a Google Play server and is unavailable when the device is offline. In contrast, a server-managed policy stores a copy of the license for each user on a server that keeps track of trial periods and expiration dates. This is Google’s default licensing policy.
While the base Android operating system is open source software, most devices ship with substantial amounts of proprietary software. These include Google Mobile Services, the Android Play store, and Google Search. These proprietary applications must be licensed by Google. The device manufacturer must also comply with Google compatibility guidelines in order to ship these apps. Custom certified distributions of Android may replace stock Android apps with proprietary versions or add additional software not included in the standard Android operating system.
Aside from smartphones, Android has many other uses besides smartphones. Developers can use Android to develop software for digital cameras, game consoles, and portable media players. There are even Wear OS platforms for wearable devices. Android software packages use the APK format and are distributed through a proprietary application store or an open source platform. If you are developing an Android application for one of these platforms, it is important to know about the license terms.
