You would think right. I recently had a transit pass loading application update and demand that I turn off developer mode to continue use. This app is also run by a government agency across the pond(canada). Went over to the play store reviews and were all complaining about it.
They allege it was to help protect accounts and personal data. Ok, then why doesn’t my bank account get compromised regularly? Or any other account I’ve logged into on my phone literally ever because I had turned on dev mode weeks after getting my first android 10 years ago. This application has been janky for years and only in the past month have they made positive changes to its functionality. I am biased and maybe more irked then necessary but I do expect better/the minimum from these kinds of institutions.
Also doesn’t help that these companies pass around money with eachother and government entities all the time so they don’t tecnically need any of our business to function. Which enables them to pull this kinda shit and wait for us to get mad enough or to put up with it.
My concern in the long run is that over time the newer generations arent going to ever learn/know how freeing personal computing used to be. They’ll gradually put up with worser and worser and this intrusive encroach on our technological freedom is going to look terribly different in the coming decades.