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Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

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Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#181

Post by colllectorof »

2pEXgD0fZ5cF wrote: post #13

Is this google starting to test the waters when it comes to arbitrarily kicking out software they personally don't like? (open source, decentralized, privacy oriented etc.) I might of course be exaggerating a bit here, keep that in mind. - Element and Matrix are growing but still not equipped to fight back at large against this, so it is unlikely to create too much negative press - If Google starts to catch too much…

>Is this google starting to test the waters when it comes to arbitrarily kicking out software they personally don't like? (open source, decentralized, privacy oriented etc.)

Absolutely. They've done similar things with similar apps. You just have to pay some attention to see the pattern.

Let's take video for example. They Kicked LBRY client off Play store not so long ago. (It eventually got reinstated.) They permanently banned BitChute app. Not app-related, but currently Rumble is suing Google for manipulating video search results in favor of YouTube. Look up the details, they are quite interesting.

Meanwhile, Google has an agreement with all Android hardware providers that forces them to pre-install YouTube and make it non-removable.

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#185

Post by young_unixer »

cft wrote: post #168
young_unixer wrote: post #160

I hope more apps start allowing to directly download an .apk file from their website. I don't have Google Play Services or the Play store installed on my phone nor do I want to install them. Yes, it's my responsibility to update the app, whatever, just give me the file.

Then how do you get instant messaging notifications?

I think I don't.

Sometimes I get notifications, sometimes it may take hours for me to get the notification.

I rarely use instant messaging for important things, and when I do, I make sure to check my phone often so I don't miss the messages.

Is this stupid? Maybe, but I'm not going to install Google's closed source crap on a device that I carry almost everywhere. If that means I become a social pariah, then so be it.

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#186

Post by sudosysgen »

userbinator wrote: post #52
hda2 wrote: post #35

OEMs and software vendors have been pushing hard towards locking-down and controlling people's computing devices and people have largely been indifferent. It genuinely seemed all was going to be lost until the tech industry went crazy exercising their control. Their recent (and imo unjustifiable) actions have clearly demonstrated to everyone what it means to hand over control. It remains to be seen whether people wil…

A lot of people already know that you can get apps directly as .apks, but the majority of them have been conditioned by corporate "propaganda" that they'll be almost certainly getting malware that way. The term "sideloading" was invented to ostracise and discourage the practice of acquiring software independently --- which was the norm up until Apple and its walled garden appeared. But now, perhaps when sufficiently…

This would have happened no matter the outcome of the US election. The trend towards consolidation of corporate power is really inexorable.

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#187

Post by jtbayly »

zepto wrote: post #177
jtbayly wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it started with a P. Paler, maybe? or Parter?

Google ditched that app too. If you move from iPhone, where would you go?

I don't really want to go to Android, but as was pointed out above, at least side loading is possible. Everyone still can get Element right now, even though Google has banned it from their store. But if Apple banned it, I'd be immediately unable to get it.

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#188

Post by colllectorof »

darig wrote: post #151

How can I install Matrix on an android phone without using the Google Play store?

F-Droid is the best way for open source apps, but also most APKs are available outside of Play Store via websites like https://www.apkmirror.com/. It's a bit of a risk to load apps like that, though.

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#189

Post by sudosysgen »

jl2718 wrote: post #154
slow_donkey wrote: post #42

If anyone needs a download, you can easily install/sideload via f-droid or the app can be trivially built with './gradlew assembleDebug' (provide your own keys to build a release version)

Is there a guide to doing this safely? As in, protected from malware.

Go to the fdroid website, and download the store.

Alternatively, pull the code from git, and follow the instructions to build the apk.

Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store

#190

Post by burnte »

mastazi wrote: post #129
burnte wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So let me ask you a question, how were they negatively impacting your mental wellbeing? I ask this genuinely, because I have a tendency to feel these tools only negatively impact people who use them in stress-creating ways. That, however, feels like victim blaming. There's a difference between a using a circular saw dangerously and a circular saw that is MADE with electrical failures that shock you. Let me give the e…

Thank you for sharing your experience! > how were they negatively impacting your mental wellbeing? I think the answer to your question is obviously very personal and will change from an individual to another. For me personally the stress came in 2 forms: * Outrage/politics, especially on Twitter and Reddit. On Twitter, it's impossible to escape this, even if you carefully sanitise the list of those who you follow, du…

I reddit daily, I like it a lot. I just gloss over the propaganda crap there, on twitter, facebook, etc. When I want to do politics for real, I do actual fact-based research (as opposed to "my facebook friend watched a youtube video about chemtrails!"). I personally find it easy.

Youtube CAN be a time sink, but so can movies, books, and music. It's my responsibility to manage my time, but I appreciate that it makes it easy to find content I WANT rather than crap.

I grew up dirt poor, homeless twice before I was ten. I make 6 figures now because I work hard, I'm good at what I do (and also because being a white male in America is very useful), and because I know how to spend and not to spend. Good tea is worth it, grocery store milk and butter are fine. A good car is essential, it should work well and look nice, but I'm not buying a Mercedes ever. I have an $1,000 TV that I got for $450 because I love to bargain hunt like some people like to actually hunt.

I don't _generally_ care about remarketing ads, as long as they don't go on for months. My biggest problem is when I see ads for three weeks AFTER I BOUGHT THE DAMN THING.

So I can go to Duck Duck Go, get Google results, but without the benefit of having a profile to determine what's most likely more relevant to me? That doesn't sound useful. I LIKE that Google says, "hey, the last three things he searched were actors in the same TV show, I bet when he's typing a name it's probably related to that same show." I like that Google knows if I search "stars fell on alabama" the chances I want the lyrics to the Frank Sinatra song are 100%. That's beneficial to me.

I have a personal domain for vanity reasons, and also control, yes. If I decide to leave, it's on my terms.

I applaud you for being in charge of your own life, I think I am too. I will say, however, that I think you probably concern yourself with the concept of privacy than me. I'm not a big "what if" person, not a big existential question person. To me, privacy was ALWAYS a lot less encompassing than we ever thought, and at the same time, no one cares about us nearly as much as we think they do. Do FAANG know a lot about me? Yep. but I don't care, because they don't care about me, I don't matter to them. I'm a line in a database, nothing more.

My life philosophy is, "The universe wants to kill me. Eventually it will. My priority is prolonging the magic." That doesn't include worrying about how many databases know I like BSG, Sinatra, Mountain Dew, and liberal politics.

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