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Your phone is about to stop being yours

keepandroidopen.org

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Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#71

Post by surgical_fire »

criddell wrote: post #61
NDlurker wrote: post #30

>Android's openness was never just a feature. It was the promise that distinguished it from iPhone. Millions chose Android for exactly that reason. Google is now revoking that promise unilaterally, on devices already in people's pockets, because they've decided they have enough market dominance and regulatory capture to get away with it. This is why I've stuck with Android for the past 15 years.

For you, is the openness of Android appealing as a matter of principle or does it enable you to do things you couldn't otherwise do?

Yes.

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#72

Post by plytow »

nine_k wrote: post #22
moralestapia wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you do all that to install an app in a device that you own? It's bollocks.

Because grandmas all over the world are getting swindled by scam apps. Look, I can't locally install a web extension I wrote on an open-source Firefox browser, because security. I have to install a Developer Edition, or get the extension reviewed and signed by Mozilla, for the very same reasons of thwarting scammers. Is this stifling, or is it making my browser not mine? Is anybody making a big deal out of that? The…

[dead]

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#73

Post by ge96 »

buzzwords wrote: post #57

I imagine most of us here will look elsewhere when we next upgrade. But are those numbers large enough to form a viable alternative?

I'm doubtful, I for a bit bought a lot of the Pine64 devices thinking about this eg. not just Android/iOS... but the lack of feature parity eg. missing drivers, lack of apps, old hardware.

Unless people are paid to do it vs. volunteer

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#74

Post by selectively »

rcxdude wrote: post #64
selectively wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Revocations are for apps being malware and nothing else, much like macOS Gatekeeper (Apple doesn't even revoke certs used by Warez groups to sign cracked apps). Automated bans can be an issue, but that's an edge case. Google already had the functionality to 'revoke' an app if ordered to do so by a legal authority. It is much more important to make a real world attack - something that is draining wallets of ordinary p…

I can't trust Google will keep to that, sorry. Nor can I accept harms being twisted into a further centralised accumulation of power (especially when Google, with all their resources, could likely do much more to prevent these scams than grabbing that power for themselves)

Well, the very good news is that Google is not seeking your trust. You have no say at all. This is the new system, it benefits actual real people over HN commenters and you will just have to deal with it.

Google doesn't have the ability to change the way banking apps work with regards to transferring money from one account to another in Malaysia/Brazil/Thailand. That would be a matter for the national Governments. This is the best approach available.

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#75

Post by dethos »

To be sincere, they were never truly ours. A proof of that is they were able to come up with this, and you don't have a way to reject it.

What we actually need are (open) alternatives, not to double down on Google's ecosystem and Google-controlled OS. We need to control the device we bought and be able to run whatever we wish on it. Just like we do on PCs.

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#76

Post by [deleted] »

TGower wrote: post #52

This is a wild misrepresentation of the situation. Saying there is no opt-out is just false, they even provide the information on how users can opt-out. The "mandatory 24 hour cooling-off period" is also misleading, it's easy to bypass the cooling-off period with ADB.

[deleted]

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#77

Post by raverbashing »

hungryhobbit wrote: post #44
0x3f wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds a bit like trying to transfer my own money to myself at the bank. I.e. it seems designed to prevent old people getting scammed.

That's exactly what this is: Google is trying to prevent tech illiterate users from installing malware. (Or at least, that's their take on this. You can choose to read between the lines, or not, as to whether they have other motivations also.)

Of course they have other motivations

But for 1 person wanting to run their own software there are hundreds of people with the potential to install malware/crapware/etc

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#78

Post by bee_rider »

ninininino wrote: post #17
drnick1 wrote: post #8

I don't care, I run Graphene, and my phone is definitely mine. Most Android apps just work, and the ones that don't are the kind of malware I am happy to do without.

That's a great attitude until slowly but surely 90% of apps used in day to day life won't function for you: banking, dating, social media, e-commerce, communication/messaging etc slowly freeze you out.

Are banks and e-commerce going to get rid of their websites? I imagine some will, but I can’t imagine using one that did.

Dating… well, the goal for most people is to exit the dating pool anyway.

Social media is bad.

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#79

Post by selectively »

0x3f wrote: post #6
jjgreen wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From TFA: Delve into System Settings, find Developer Options Tap the build number seven times to enable Developer Mode Dismiss scare screens about coercion Enter your PIN Restart the device Wait 24 hours Come back, dismiss more scare screens Pick "allow temporarily" (7 days) or "allow indefinitely" Confirm, again, that you understand "the risks" Nine steps. A mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period. For installing softw…

Sounds a bit like trying to transfer my own money to myself at the bank. I.e. it seems designed to prevent old people getting scammed.

Yes! That is because banking malware is specifically what is being targeted here: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2026/03/android-de...

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#80

Post by kahrl »

mmooss wrote: post #49

There is a negative network effect: The opt-out is so complex and time-consuming that it will deter almost all users (even if some on HN say they will do it). With so few users, many fewer developers will release apps that don't comply with Google's requirements. Then the value of opting out will decline significantly, which will reduce the number of people doing it, which will reduce the number of apps released ...…

ZERO. ZERO developers who don’t comply will make a living selling applications and services to the general public.
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