diff --git a/platform/android/doc_classes/EditorExportPlatformAndroid.xml b/platform/android/doc_classes/EditorExportPlatformAndroid.xml
index 2b18cde3570..a6b392610bf 100644
--- a/platform/android/doc_classes/EditorExportPlatformAndroid.xml
+++ b/platform/android/doc_classes/EditorExportPlatformAndroid.xml
@@ -52,6 +52,11 @@
 		<member name="gradle_build/android_source_template" type="String" setter="" getter="">
 			Path to a ZIP file holding the source for the export template used in a Gradle build. If left empty, the default template is used.
 		</member>
+		<member name="gradle_build/compress_native_libraries" type="bool" setter="" getter="">
+			If [code]true[/code], native libraries are compressed when performing a Gradle build.
+			[b]Note:[/b] While enabling compression can reduce the size of the binary, it may result in slower application startup because the native libraries must be extracted before use, rather than being loaded directly.
+			If you're distributing your app via the Play Store, it's generally recommended to keep this option [code]false[/code], see [url=https://developer.android.com/build/releases/past-releases/agp-3-6-0-release-notes#extractNativeLibs]official documentation[/url].
+		</member>
 		<member name="gradle_build/custom_theme_attributes" type="Dictionary" setter="" getter="">
 			A dictionary of custom theme attributes to include in the exported Android project. Each entry defines a theme attribute name and its value, and will be added to the [b]GodotAppMainTheme[/b].
 			For example, the key [code]android:windowSwipeToDismiss[/code] with the value [code]false[/code] is resolved to [code]&lt;item name="android:windowSwipeToDismiss"&gt;false&lt;/item&gt;[/code].
diff --git a/platform/android/export/export_plugin.cpp b/platform/android/export/export_plugin.cpp
index 99427188a63..423be720f9a 100644
--- a/platform/android/export/export_plugin.cpp
+++ b/platform/android/export/export_plugin.cpp
@@ -2031,6 +2031,11 @@ String EditorExportPlatformAndroid::get_export_option_warning(const EditorExport
 			if (!enabled_deprecated_plugins_names.is_empty() && !gradle_build_enabled) {
 				return TTR("\"Use Gradle Build\" must be enabled to use the plugins.");
 			}
+		} else if (p_name == "gradle_build/compress_native_libraries") {
+			bool gradle_build_enabled = p_preset->get("gradle_build/use_gradle_build");
+			if (bool(p_preset->get("gradle_build/compress_native_libraries")) && !gradle_build_enabled) {
+				return TTR("\"Compress Native Libraries\" is only valid when \"Use Gradle Build\" is enabled.");
+			}
 		} else if (p_name == "gradle_build/export_format") {
 			bool gradle_build_enabled = p_preset->get("gradle_build/use_gradle_build");
 			if (int(p_preset->get("gradle_build/export_format")) == EXPORT_FORMAT_AAB && !gradle_build_enabled) {
@@ -2114,6 +2119,7 @@ void EditorExportPlatformAndroid::get_export_options(List<ExportOption> *r_optio
 	r_options->push_back(ExportOption(PropertyInfo(Variant::BOOL, "gradle_build/use_gradle_build"), false, true, true));
 	r_options->push_back(ExportOption(PropertyInfo(Variant::STRING, "gradle_build/gradle_build_directory", PROPERTY_HINT_PLACEHOLDER_TEXT, "res://android"), "", false, false));
 	r_options->push_back(ExportOption(PropertyInfo(Variant::STRING, "gradle_build/android_source_template", PROPERTY_HINT_GLOBAL_FILE, "*.zip"), ""));
+	r_options->push_back(ExportOption(PropertyInfo(Variant::BOOL, "gradle_build/compress_native_libraries"), false, false, true));
 	r_options->push_back(ExportOption(PropertyInfo(Variant::INT, "gradle_build/export_format", PROPERTY_HINT_ENUM, "Export APK,Export AAB"), EXPORT_FORMAT_APK, false, true));
 	// Using String instead of int to default to an empty string (no override) with placeholder for instructions (see GH-62465).
 	// This implies doing validation that the string is a proper int.
@@ -3691,8 +3697,9 @@ Error EditorExportPlatformAndroid::export_project_helper(const Ref<EditorExportP
 			target_sdk_version = itos(DEFAULT_TARGET_SDK_VERSION);
 		}
 		String enabled_abi_string = join_abis(enabled_abis, "|", false);
-		String sign_flag = should_sign ? "true" : "false";
+		String sign_flag = bool_to_string(should_sign);
 		String zipalign_flag = "true";
+		String compress_native_libraries_flag = bool_to_string(p_preset->get("gradle_build/compress_native_libraries"));
 
 		Vector<String> android_libraries;
 		Vector<String> android_dependencies;
@@ -3767,6 +3774,7 @@ Error EditorExportPlatformAndroid::export_project_helper(const Ref<EditorExportP
 		cmdline.push_back("-Pplugins_maven_repos=" + combined_android_dependencies_maven_repos); // argument to specify the list of maven repos for android dependencies provided by plugins.
 		cmdline.push_back("-Pperform_zipalign=" + zipalign_flag); // argument to specify whether the build should be zipaligned.
 		cmdline.push_back("-Pperform_signing=" + sign_flag); // argument to specify whether the build should be signed.
+		cmdline.push_back("-Pcompress_native_libraries=" + compress_native_libraries_flag); // argument to specify whether the build should compress native libraries.
 
 		// NOTE: The release keystore is not included in the verbose logging
 		// to avoid accidentally leaking sensitive information when sharing verbose logs for troubleshooting.
diff --git a/platform/android/java/app/build.gradle b/platform/android/java/app/build.gradle
index 82348d23148..b0155879e2d 100644
--- a/platform/android/java/app/build.gradle
+++ b/platform/android/java/app/build.gradle
@@ -134,6 +134,14 @@ android {
             }
         }
 
+        jniLibs {
+            // Setting this to true causes AGP to package compressed native libraries when building the app
+            // For more background, see:
+            // - https://developer.android.com/build/releases/past-releases/agp-3-6-0-release-notes#extractNativeLibs
+            // - https://stackoverflow.com/a/44704840
+            useLegacyPackaging shouldUseLegacyPackaging()
+        }
+
         // Always select Godot's version of libc++_shared.so in case deps have their own
         pickFirst 'lib/x86/libc++_shared.so'
         pickFirst 'lib/x86_64/libc++_shared.so'
diff --git a/platform/android/java/app/config.gradle b/platform/android/java/app/config.gradle
index bdeba65ceb1..738f0a74996 100644
--- a/platform/android/java/app/config.gradle
+++ b/platform/android/java/app/config.gradle
@@ -375,6 +375,23 @@ ext.shouldNotStrip = { ->
     return isAndroidStudio() || project.hasProperty("doNotStrip")
 }
 
+/**
+ * Whether to use the legacy convention of compressing all .so files in the APK.
+ *
+ * For more background, see:
+ * - https://developer.android.com/build/releases/past-releases/agp-3-6-0-release-notes#extractNativeLibs
+ * - https://stackoverflow.com/a/44704840
+ */
+ext.shouldUseLegacyPackaging = { ->
+    String legacyPackagingFlag = project.hasProperty("compress_native_libraries") ? project.property("compress_native_libraries") : ""
+    if (legacyPackagingFlag != null && !legacyPackagingFlag.isEmpty()) {
+        return Boolean.parseBoolean(legacyPackagingFlag)
+    }
+
+    // Default behavior for minSdk >= 24
+    return false
+}
+
 ext.getAddonsDirectory = { ->
     String addonsDirectory = project.hasProperty("addons_directory") ? project.property("addons_directory") : ""
     return addonsDirectory