Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Debloat non-rooted Android devices

github.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

211–220 of 231 posts

Re: Debloat non-rooted Android devices

#211

Post by miroljub »

HenryBemis wrote: post #161
autoexec wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first time I had a samsung phone I noticed after about two weeks that every single word I typed into any application was being collected and sent to a third party whose privacy policy said it was used to collect data about my interests, my social life, to make guesses about my intelligence level and education, and that the data would be sold for "market research" among other things. No user would ever suspect tha…

NoRoot Firewall app (I'm not affiliated). I must have brought it up in every Android security related post in HN that I've came across. I use it on all my Android devices. I block all traffic in most apps. Some Android phones allow you to allow/block Data and/or WiFi separately. My Samsung 4G tablet doesn't allow me to switch off Data or WiFi for some apps, especially the system ones. This is where NoRoot Firewall do…

Can you please provide an installation link? Searching Google Play for it brings a lot of junk.

Re: Debloat non-rooted Android devices

#212

Post by 1oooqooq »

fsflover wrote: post #189
1oooqooq wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> how are operating system environments such as GrapheneOS and CalyxOS, etctera There are ZERO open source OS for mobile. ZERO. NONE. even the ones you list doesn't have access to essential drivers. What do they do? they get the driver as binary blobs from the original image, and just ship them. So all those projects are 1) full of closed source kernel drivers. 2) stuck on a specific kernel version to be able to use…

> There are ZERO open source OS for mobile. ZERO. NONE. This is false. Sent from my Librem 5, which runs FSF-endorsed PureOS.

librem5 is a binary blob provider. and you mostly fell for a scam.

they signed the same NDA as other OEM.

your so called open source drivers are full of binary blobs, which ironically are just the chip manufacturer reference implementation code compiled, with little else.

librem5 just shouts the lie louder. it's as closed source as any other device. like raspberrypi in terms of drivers.

...and I'm not going into the illegal investment scam librem company spams every one of their customers.

Re: Debloat non-rooted Android devices

#213

Post by 1oooqooq »

kaanyalova wrote: post #186
1oooqooq wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> how are operating system environments such as GrapheneOS and CalyxOS, etctera There are ZERO open source OS for mobile. ZERO. NONE. even the ones you list doesn't have access to essential drivers. What do they do? they get the driver as binary blobs from the original image, and just ship them. So all those projects are 1) full of closed source kernel drivers. 2) stuck on a specific kernel version to be able to use…

There is Replicant [0] which is completely proprietary blob/firmware free but it has extremely limited hardware support with only support for Samsung devices from 2011-2012. [0] https://www.replicant.us

you're wrong. I'm a previous maintenaner (before the replicant name change).

the whole project was done by teenagers extracting blobs.

then, one, a single, Samsung model was chosen as the holygrail for no other reason other than two devs had it. they worked on reverse engineering some of the essential blobs and providing very crude drop ins (thing barely functional. absolutely no power efficiency concerns, etc).

that one device then got older and cheaper and more devs got it. continue to reverse engineering.

today, a decade latet, that model is very old. functionality is still stuck on 2g or 3g for a 4g modem.

...if modem is that far behind take a guess how bad is the rest of the components.

it's a shit show. and you are correct in that this one is indeed the best example of a fully open source driver mobile.

Re: Debloat non-rooted Android devices

#214

Post by fsflover »

1oooqooq wrote: post #212
fsflover wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are ZERO open source OS for mobile. ZERO. NONE. This is false. Sent from my Librem 5, which runs FSF-endorsed PureOS.

librem5 is a binary blob provider. and you mostly fell for a scam. they signed the same NDA as other OEM. your so called open source drivers are full of binary blobs, which ironically are just the chip manufacturer reference implementation code compiled, with little else. librem5 just shouts the lie louder. it's as closed source as any other device. like raspberrypi in terms of drivers. ...and I'm not going into the…

Did FSF also fall for a scam? Where are the binary blobs in PureOS, show us please. Yes, firmware is proprietary, but it's the best we have. You fell for the security nihilism: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27897975

There is no scam in Purism. I received all my devices, and they're as advertised.

Re: Debloat non-rooted Android devices

#215

Post by account42 »

rightbyte wrote: post #69
autoexec wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AnySoftKeyboard I've been using it ever since. It's got a lot of customization options and all the keys I need.

Thanks. It seems good. I did the mistake of trying to find one via Google Play. It pushes so much malware to the top and wont allow you to filter the search. Discoverability there is zero. It is like I always forgot I need to use fdroid and open Play by muscle memory.

F-Droid tends to be a much better first stop if you are searching for non-hostile apps.

Re: Debloat non-rooted Android devices

#216

Post by account42 »

throwaway11460 wrote: post #132
sham1 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue here isn't that there is regulation, it's that the regulation is badly written. For essential services such as banking and government stuff, you shouldn't be forced to rely on things like the Google Play Store and Apple stuff. This kind of stuff should work even on a debloated, degoogled phone. And the regulation must be improved, not thrown away. Politicians of course have hard time with technology, so of…

I'm a citizen of a small EU country that has voting power in the EU parliament near zero percent. They should do better, indeed, but what can I do. Much bigger fishes (even the banks) tried to convince the EU this is bad, it probably didn't even register on their radar. From my perspective, the regulation will always be bad, I can't do anything about it however hard I try, and so it shouldn't exist at all.

> I'm a citizen of a small EU country that has voting power in the EU parliament near zero percent. They should do better, indeed, but what can I do.

You can bring this to the attention of other EU citizens so that they too badger their representatives about this. It's not like any individuals vote in a larger EU country is worth more than yours.

Re: Debloat non-rooted Android devices

#217

Post by account42 »

paulryanrogers wrote: post #126
hulitu wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No user would ever suspect that the keyboard that came with their cell phone would be letting third parties read all their texts and emails When we were young, this was called a keyloggger and one running was a sign that your computer was compromised. I guess times have changed.

Keyloggers are generally installed without consent. These keyboards are chosen, even if there terms are buried in a EULA it would take days to read.

If you buy a laptop and the OEM has pre-installed a keylogger then it is still a keylogger. Most people don't choos their Android keyboard but use whatever is the default on the device they bought.

Re: Debloat non-rooted Android devices

#218

Post by yard2010 »

brookst wrote: post #176
theandrewbailey wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We've been in the cyberpunk dystopia timeline for at least 10 years, maybe since the 90s.

My grandparents assured me we’ve been heading to dystopia since the invention of the television. Pretty sure their parents said the same thing about radio. Presumably if you go far enough back you’d find warnings of dystopia applied to coming down from the trees.

I am a grandparent myself I just don't have any grand children nor children just yet.

Re: Debloat non-rooted Android devices

#219

Post by red-iron-pine »

croes wrote: post #88
bboygravity wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it mind blowing that: 1. Samsung is able to sell phones like that legally. 2. People are not in jail. 3. Governments somehow think it's ok that random companies can see everything their citizens do online. National security risks maybe? Trade secret issues? It's almost suspicious to the point where I would start thinking those third party spy companies are possibly (US/5 eyes) government run?

They don't care as long they are not Chinese.

> as long as they are South Korean

Re: Debloat non-rooted Android devices

#220

Post by Terretta »

hparadiz wrote: post #144
Terretta wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> mind blowing “Mind blowing” is too strong a word when every thread about Apple on HN is demanding the iPhone be opened up to the same, taking away non-tech people’s choice to buy a bloat free and privacy defaulted device designed to stay that way even if people more technically savvy try to hook in. It’s a fine line, of course, since the same non-tech people love IAP and ad-supported, as shown by the folks opting i…

Meanwhile I'm over here on a rooted android phone with no pre installed anything and a custom build of chromium that let's me have ublock origin on my phone. And RCS still works cause I guess they can't detect my old version of magisk.

I run u-block origin on my iPhone with Kagi Orion. What's your point?
Post reply on HN