Flathub beta shows whether app origin has been verified
Flathub, the Linux app store for so-called flatpaks, will receive 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.
According to It’s FOSS more than 70 apps on Flathub currently have a check mark. Because this is a beta feature, these checkmarks can only be seen in the Flathub beta portal. If desired, this is also possible on 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 that software has been verified by Flathub staff. This appears to have two methods of verification.
A commenter on Reddit chimed in that a unofficial WhatsApp client on Flathub had received a checkmark. He noted that this felt dubious because it is not WhatsApp software, even though its origin has been verified. Flathub later removed that checkmark.
It is not clear when the functionality should come to the release version of Flathub. It’s FOSS thinks that will be ‘sometime this year’.