Most scam apps are in the Google Play Store btw

Spoken like a true Microsoft and Google agent.

so the real-world id requirement is also user protection? play store is basically an info stealer at this point.

1. Google being a private american company that claims the authority of what is okay and not okay on most devices over the world is problematic, especially in the context of ICE tracking apps, VPN apps, private messaging apps etc. They take this power but don't take responsibility and would not be put into court if this measure would be proven useless if not harmful. I still remember how they complied with deleting Navalny's app from russian app store and nothing stops them from revoking said IDs as well if they don't like what dev does for a reason they'd not care to explain.
2. The side-benefit of that is a manifest v3-style hunt for those who still use their computing devices without watching ads. Alternative apps for social networks and google's own resources is probably the only category I know half-savvy people still intentionally install, sometimes going out of their way for that. While this seems small, adblocking was too, and piracy was never anyone's problem, but by totally crumbling it once again some CEO can get a bonus.
3. We are talking about Google's Android, they had around 15 years to fix the swiss cheese their OS is, to clean obvious garbage from their app store, with modern phones you need to jump through the hoops to enable apk installation and even more hoops to root it, and it still isn't perceived as safe, but does feel like a closed garden iPhone without benefits of having an iPhone - quality basic apps, curated store and need of israeli hack tools to reliably break in. Small scammers still get their bread and butter by sending links to infected files, big scammers vacuum everything you ever have with no explicit user's agreement, and I don't see how that would change with ID requerement they are no bank or government to ask for, but they'd, soon.

I think you should invite people to join you on not one, but two Christmasses to compare before and after. I'm sure they won't magically fix things this time, at best it would be a little setback not changing much in the end. What it would do is directly giving Google even more power while hurting open source community, alternative appstores and OSes.

80% of android users will freely install whatever APK from wherever.

I should care because? Do they care about me not wanting google shoved in every aspect of my life?

so your family's devices get their apps from outside the play store?

people are effectivly prevented from sideloading. not "just a little more complicated"

80% of android users will freely install whatever APK from wherever.

A ridiculous and absurd lie. 90% have zero clue what one is, let alone go into the developer settings (there are one, maybe two settings you have to enable) to change the settings to even make that possible. Why are you lying about this? It's weird.

Alternate stores like Accrescent and FDroid are blocked by this policy, and Google refuses to implement any mechanism for authorising at the store level either. Store level authorization is an obvious alternative to verification of each individual app.

Both Accescent and FDroid have some oversight processes in place, and do not contain "random" APKs. Googles actions show the real motive, which is control... not security.

for all those that only read the memes.

For someone who possibly considers themselves better informed than others, you're seem to be missing the fact that Google's plan had no option for sideloading unverified apps until a sizeable outcry from us (a lot of professional developers and users). Unverified app installation was only allowed (via new hoops) after this action. For now. The fact that Google's plan did not have an option for installing unverified apps shows us what they really want. Therefore it won't be surprising if they make it increasingly difficult or impossible in the future.

At least make it a toggle, like you need to request access for your account for your phone.

Kneecapping everyone because idiots exist is idiotic.

So with your career in ITSec, you're aware of the massive amount of malware found in the play store? That it has historically been the main distribution vector for malware?

You have to jump though extra hoops.

You are downplaying the hoops here by a lot. To install software on my own phone.

Stop calling installing software "side loading". Its nonsense.