Flathub beta shows whether app origin is verified - Computer - News

Flathub, the Linux app store for so-called flatpaks, will get a verification badge for apps in the future. The feature is now available in beta. The check mark indicates that the app in question is developed and published on Flathub by the same party.

Volgens It’s FOSS currently over 70 apps on Flathub have a check mark. As a beta feature, these checkmarks can only be seen in the Flathub beta portal. If desired, you can also use Flathub only verified software will be shown.

It’s FOSS further writes that developers can verify their Flathub app by using the link between their repo on GitHub or GitLab and Flathub. A mouse-over with, for example, Mozilla Firefox however shows a tooltip stating that software has been verified by Flathub staff. With that, there seem to be two methods of verification.

A commenter on Reddit chimed in that a unofficial WhatsApp client on Flathub got a checkmark. He noted that felt dubious because it’s not WhatsApp software, even though its origins have been verified. Flathub later unchecked that box.

It is not clear when the functionality should come to the release version of Flathub. It’s FOSS thinks that’s “sometime this year.”