Discussion on Hacker News:
Just who owns the phone anyway? I hope Google doesn’t get into automobile security. We’d have to buy Google gas, listen only to Google radio (comes with loads of free advertising), And nothing will fit except Google parts.
It’s not getting better and Google’s attempt at owning the Internet is getting closer. reminds me of Colossus The Forbin Project.
I wonder, does Googles latest restriction include all Android devices around the world, or just the US?
I’m made a slight change to suite today’s times being what they are … Remove one freedom every ✸week, and soon there will be no freedoms, and no one will notice
Originally said ‘each generation’.
I hope the ad doesn’t scare a lot of Android users into getting in to what I got into.
I imagine Google will block people that lease their phone from Google from using the “Dark”, or “Deep” web. It’s one place that I see being blocked by ISO (Internet Service Provider verses IP (Internet Protocol) for users safety and privacy - of course.
Only one word for what Google is doing.
~s
Latest: Google will block sideloading of unverified Android apps starting next year - Ars Technica
Google has announced plans to begin verifying the identities of all Android app developers, and not just those publishing on the Play Store. Google intends to verify developer identities no matter where they offer their content, and apps without verification won’t work on most Android devices in the coming years.
… unless they are stopped by governments from doing so.
I’m guessing that a lot of governments will be on board with it.
Governments (and corporate entities) seem to harbor this delusion that Google is synonymous with “security,” anyway… at least, judging by the data-exploitation anti-features built into their websites and apps, reCAPTCHA, etc., not to mention governent contracts.
This is not good. Even if you use Waydroid, bypassing Google Play Services, the effect on app developers will be chilling. It is effectively the final nail in the coffin for Android being an open ecosystem after Google made it significantly harder for other non-Google Android ROMs to be maintained.
Good riddance. Android has never been a user-respecting or fully-free system, and it was never intended to be. From the start, it was pitched to Google as a boon to marketing (a.k.a., exploitation).
This.
And people kept asking why Linux phones when Android exists…
Related discussion on Hacker News: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android | Hacker News
Maybe more people will switch over to GrapheneOS, which is based off the Android Open Source Project and not dependant on google garbage.
I don’t think this affects the underlying foundation of ASOP so, it’s not a concern. Start saving now for a used pixel from swappa, your local pawn shoppe, or any other second hand market.
With 5+ yrs of updates and more for security updates, people will be fine. If you’ve got the cash, grab a new one after GrapheneOS is available on it. Or a Librem5 if that is sufficient.
Start telling people now that it was time for this years ago and clearly things are only getting worse. lol
Lol. AOSP is developed by Google and GrapheneOS only supports Google devices. Graphene is not at all a way out of dependency on Google.
The reason it’s only supported on google devices is because no other manufacturer has the security chip.
It’s still developed by the community, despite google being involved.
I actually wouldn’t mind Purism offering their own take on a GrapheneOS device. It’d be great not to have to give The Big G money, even indirectly.
I used a L5USA for a few years. It disconnected from cellular calls while driving and I lost a job because I didn’t know I was missing calls for a couple hours. I noticed the Internet disconnected and the VPN was trying to reconnect and didn’t bother stopping again to fix everything. After that I found a used Pixel and it’s been fine.
@BeaverTek I have a similar problem with SMS and Internet with the librem 5 (I’m under Mobian and other users under Byzantium and Crimson complain too), I understand your frustration. However, calls, SMS and Internet were working with my Pinephone. I hope that I will find a solution. It’s not a problem with Linux on mobile in general, that’s why I don’t think that using Android helps.
What @BeaverTek wrote was overly broad.
I think his intention was to say that another operating system is a way out of the specific restriction on sideloading.
… unless Google can find a way to enforce that in hardware
… which like most of these things (walled garden) is simultaneously “not the silliest idea” and “evil”.
SafetyNet already prevents people from installing some apps on degoogled Android phones.