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Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#171

Post by leppr »

scarface74 wrote: post #162
Aeolun wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would they not allow you to sandbox non-play store apps?

Everyone wants their phone to be just as open as their computer and without restrictions - you have that with Android. The minute apps are forced to be in a sandbox, you forgo “openness” and “choice”.

I don't think there's any relationship except an inverse one between user choice and app sandboxing.

QubesOS, Snaps, Firejail, Sandboxie, browser tabs to some extent, restrict user-freedom in only the most technical way, with no bundled choice traps. On the contrary, a good sandbox allows users to forego human curation/proprietary malware detection services and execute any code they want.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#172

Post by scarface74 »

searchableguy wrote: post #27
scarface74 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alternate app stores have been allowed on Android since day one.

Not really. You need to be root to have the same experience as playstore - namely auto updates.

So I’m going to both trust an app that is not sandboxed on my phone and trust it to update itself without my consent?

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#173

Post by scarface74 »

nocturnial wrote: post #43
scarface74 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And Epic conveniently forgot to mention the part about the security warning being well deserved when it came to Fortnite... https://www.cnet.com/news/fortnites-battle-royale-with-andro...

So while the app was on an alternate store a security lapse was detected and fixed. Isn't that actually proof that something doesn't need to be on google play to be checked and improved?

That really doesn’t help if there is a 0 day exploit.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#174

Post by scarface74 »

leppr wrote: post #171
scarface74 wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone wants their phone to be just as open as their computer and without restrictions - you have that with Android. The minute apps are forced to be in a sandbox, you forgo “openness” and “choice”.

I don't think there's any relationship except an inverse one between user choice and app sandboxing. QubesOS, Snaps, Firejail, Sandboxie, browser tabs to some extent, restrict user-freedom in only the most technical way, with no bundled choice traps. On the contrary, a good sandbox allows users to forego human curation/proprietary malware detection services and execute any code they want.

But once you have a sandbox, you limit what the app can do. Would the outspoken users on Android be happy if the sandbox for side loaded apps restricted functionality they wanted?

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#175

Post by WrtCdEvrydy »

scarface74 wrote: post #172
searchableguy wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really. You need to be root to have the same experience as playstore - namely auto updates.

So I’m going to both trust an app that is not sandboxed on my phone and trust it to update itself without my consent?

All apps are sandboxed in Android... even the ones installed externally.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#176

Post by scarface74 »

WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #175
scarface74 wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So I’m going to both trust an app that is not sandboxed on my phone and trust it to update itself without my consent?

All apps are sandboxed in Android... even the ones installed externally.

Obviously not well enough considering what happened with Fortnite....

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#177

Post by leppr »

scarface74 wrote: post #174
leppr wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think there's any relationship except an inverse one between user choice and app sandboxing. QubesOS, Snaps, Firejail, Sandboxie, browser tabs to some extent, restrict user-freedom in only the most technical way, with no bundled choice traps. On the contrary, a good sandbox allows users to forego human curation/proprietary malware detection services and execute any code they want.

But once you have a sandbox, you limit what the app can do. Would the outspoken users on Android be happy if the sandbox for side loaded apps restricted functionality they wanted?

Yes, the issues highlighted in the thread stem not from the technical limitations of Android sandboxing but political censorship by Google. Covid-19 isn't transmitted through apps. This is a stereotypical false dilemma fallacy, where users are artificially forced to chose between security and censorship.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#178

Post by RonanTheGrey »

FrozenSynapse wrote: post #12
cryptoquick wrote: post #5

Google is just such an awful, despicable company, that I've actually moved everything I can from their platform. It wasn't easy, I'd been a Gmail user for nearly 15 years. I'd rather pay Microsoft a hundred bucks a year than support them. That's how much I hate Google.

If Google specifically says in it's Google Play TOS that keywords related to COVID-19 are forbidden, then the decision is correct. Stop hating on Google! Google is one of the few companies that provide quality services for end-users "for free".

I mean, the very subject of this thread started with a description that contained no COVID keywords, so "related" must be interpreted (to me, unreasonably) broadly.

Since there are no rules, and no published list of words you can't use, there's also no recourse. Irrational and irresponsible.

Par for the course for Google, really.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#179

Post by RonanTheGrey »

trca wrote: post #3
wodenokoto wrote: post #2

That is rough. I had to read your text several times to find anything related to COVID, but I guess it is the "which will allow you to enjoy this confinement" part. I'm no expert, but I guess you need to try and phrase it like it just the thing you need when you are home, and let the users figure out why they are home.

Could also be mentioning of "quarantine" directly. Might make sense to make your app description more generic to just being home, so that it will still be applicable after the COVID-19 pandemic has come to a conclusion.

Yeah, makes me wonder if apps for "stay at home" parents are getting hit too, despite the fact that the expression is decades old.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#180

Post by thelibrarian »

webartifex wrote: post #25
cryptoquick wrote: post #5

Google is just such an awful, despicable company, that I've actually moved everything I can from their platform. It wasn't easy, I'd been a Gmail user for nearly 15 years. I'd rather pay Microsoft a hundred bucks a year than support them. That's how much I hate Google.

Agree. I am using the German email provider mailbox.org They even report how often the government forces them to release info with a search warrant. However, I have yet to find an email provider that mimics Gmail's tagging system (=> you can give n many tags to a single email and that email is only kept once on the server). I often think that Google's "Don't do evil" motto is stretched way too often these days.

FYI, Fastmail has just launched Gmail-alike tagging in public beta.
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