Android 14's first developer preview released and with it comes continued changes to make applications that solely run as background utilities useless.
Namely, these changes affect at least Home Button and Trickle. TetherFi fits slightly easier into the use-case mold that Google seems to want Android to evolve towards - as it's usecase is met under the CONNECTED_DEVICES type of foreground long-running service, as it managed connected devices under a WiFi Direct group. Home Button and Trickle both do not fall under any use case specifically, and thus they would be put under the "special use" type which is subject to both approval and deprecation in the future.
Let me be very clear, no third-party app will ever receive the "special use" case type approval from Google unless they are large, multi-million dollar companies. As such, since both Trickle and Home Button require a foreground service to operate even in a somewhat expected way, both of these applications cannot continue on the Play Store in the future.
Trickle was a newer application but was genuinely useful, as it allowed the device to automatically enter the system-level low-power mode - a feature which has not yet been duplicated in the system or other third-party applications and thus there is no replacement for it.
Home Button is pyamsoft's original Android app, built first as a learning opportunity and turned into an online product. It has seen widespread use, but now has official alternatives such as modern software buttons and device-swipe controls. After more than 10 long years of Android development and support - it finally sees its last day.
TetherFi should continue to be supported, assuming that we are allowed as a valid foreground service use-case, and the upcoming stock app should also not be affected by these new restrictions.
Stay tuned!
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