I think most people here live too much in their tech bubble and don't realize how dumb the vast majority of people are when it comes to tech. I know that feeling myself that you lose the grip to "reality" when you are too much into tech, but after dealing a bit with "ordinary" people, I do understand why Google wants to do that. Most people have absolutely no idea about tech at all. So many people don't even know what exactly a browser is, what a "tab" means or can't even get to install an iPad. Google mainly has to take care of these people, not people who install apps using F-Droid. Go to the streets and ask strangers if they know what F-Droid is, and if they don't, try to explain it to them. The 24 hour wait period looks like a good trade off to me. Still allowing experienced users to install apps, but the majority of people will be protected, and it won't even affect most people.

And no, I'm not a bot or some pro Google activist, check my github account, I even use GrapheneOS myself.