[phillc73]

Not solutions, but two potential workarounds.

Is it possible to open source the app itself and then distribute via F-Droid?[1]

Can you provide your customers with a direct apk download? Although, you will then need to educate your customers about the "scarey" warnings about doing so. I do not have Google Play Store installed on my phone and it is an annoyance when app developers do not provide a direct apk download.

Initially, from an ease of update point of view, I guess neither option is quite as convenient as the Play Store. However, once you've broken your reliance on Google to distribute your application, you'll never have to deal with such a situation again.

[1] https://f-droid.org/

[heroic]

We are giving the APK as an option to people who are reaching out on support about bugs. But most people don't have the know how of how to enable installing from unknown sources

[hncensorsnonpc]

I hope to god fdroid does not allow this. They will probably newer open source their build app and let fdroid build it anyway.