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Android Developer Verification: Threat masquerading as protection

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Re: Android Developer Verification: Threat masquerading as protection

#251

Post by microtonal »

avra wrote: post #111
linuxhansl wrote: post #29

What Google is doing is shameful. One of the promises of Android was being more open than the restrictive Apple ecosystem. Now that they reached penetration they do the switch - under the guise of security. Just let me do with my hardware what I want to do it. Let it be my responsibility to install whatever I want (and stop calling it "side-loading", as if I am doing something shady from the "side"). We need to resis…

> We need to resist this! I agree. What do you suggest? How can we contribute to the resistance?

If you are in the EU, send a message to the DMA Team. Be polite, explain how Google is using its oligopoly power to shut out competing app stores and applications that can be installed outside the Play Store. Explain how it affects you.

An app becoming unavailable through remote attestation? New recaptcha? Document every case and send an e-mail to the DMA team.

Re: Android Developer Verification: Threat masquerading as protection

#252

Post by geocar »

RandyOrion wrote: post #227

Android developer verification program, together with recent reCAPTCHA push [1], and Manifest v2 force depreciation on chrome [2], make one thing crystal clear. When companies like GOOGLE talks about things in the name of "your security", it's a sign that they want you to sacrifice your own things, e.g., privacy, freedom, etc., for their own security. And if you trust them and show your consent by doing nothing, you…

Google has been attempting to license the right to write.

There are a lot of poor people, mostly brown people, who do not have the ability to get one of these licenses.

Some of them are feeding themselves with their ability to write, and Google is literally stealing that food from their mouths.

Re: Android Developer Verification: Threat masquerading as protection

#253

Post by BLKNSLVR »

Pacers31Colts18 wrote: post #132
khurs wrote: post #19

Android users need to switch to Graphene. Someone needs to create a Linux based mobile OS foundation - Google's domination is contrary to many large companies interests, and if Meta and many other such companies were approached, they may well donate large sums of money in their own strategic interests.

I get it, but it really sucks that Graphene only works on Pixel hardware. I switched to Samsung with my last phone.

Out of the frying pan into the fire...

Re: Android Developer Verification: Threat masquerading as protection

#254

Post by geocar »

avra wrote: post #111
linuxhansl wrote: post #29

What Google is doing is shameful. One of the promises of Android was being more open than the restrictive Apple ecosystem. Now that they reached penetration they do the switch - under the guise of security. Just let me do with my hardware what I want to do it. Let it be my responsibility to install whatever I want (and stop calling it "side-loading", as if I am doing something shady from the "side"). We need to resis…

> We need to resist this! I agree. What do you suggest? How can we contribute to the resistance?

Stop using Android.

Re: Android Developer Verification: Threat masquerading as protection

#255

Post by birdsongs »

artisinal wrote: post #221
devsda wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What happens if you "accidentally" become persona non grata with both Google and Apple? If you want to participate in the society, you will forever have to resort to shady tactics. Shady can be defined something as arbitrary as using GrapheneOS. A temporary workaround like using alternatives like GrapheneOS for those affected will only delay the inevitable but it doesn't stop it at all.

iOS can be used without an account. iPhones can be acquired outside of Apple. The EU has the alternative App Store option that doesn’t require an Apple account.

But I can't use my Norwegian BankID unless I have an apple store or play store account. This is required for every aspect of society. Heathcare, banking, taxes, driving, using my debit card online.

They removed SMS 2FA options recently, the only non-tech monopoly method is a 2fa codebrick that's getting harder and harder to acquire (there are new ridiculous facial ID and passport scanning requirements, run by a private corporation, in order to get one).

It's garbage and getting worse. And it seems no one cares our entire lives exist at the whim of two US tech monoliths.

Re: Android Developer Verification: Threat masquerading as protection

#256

Post by throwburn202605 »

hollow-moe wrote: post #188
sambuccid wrote: post #130

It doesn't solve the current issue, but in case we don't manage to push back on this, some people might not know that there are various actual linux OSes for mobile: - SailfishOS: still linux based and seems fairly community inclusive, but the UI part of the stack is closed source. Is the only one officially allowed to run android apps, via emulation. Has existed for a very long time, it's lightweight and I think the…

And all are useless because you can't use your mandatory bank or gov id app.

Might be worth trying to get your gov to pin down the number of users or process to get gov id supported on any new platform.

They likely wont specify 100k people or 10% of population or whatever email/petition but it at least records the requirement that other OSes exist and requires a process to support

Re: Android Developer Verification: Threat masquerading as protection

#257

Post by Arnt »

frollogaston wrote: post #180
stymaar wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This started with phishing It didn't. Phishing is just a pretext. Google didn't care about Phishing for the first 20 years of Android. Why do they now? Because it serves as argument to close their platform a little more (which is a trend that has been going on for years).

I do think it's about Google trying to squeeze profits out of Android, but is there more direct evidence of this? Cause I always have to wonder if it's something else like KYC.

Of course Google generally tries to squeeze profits out of… whatever it does, but eh, by closing something? Google is the company that makes a million in profit from the openness of the web in the time it takes me to write this paragraph, why would that company think that closing something improves its competitive stance?

Re: Android Developer Verification: Threat masquerading as protection

#258

Post by karussell »

hollow-moe wrote: post #188
sambuccid wrote: post #130

It doesn't solve the current issue, but in case we don't manage to push back on this, some people might not know that there are various actual linux OSes for mobile: - SailfishOS: still linux based and seems fairly community inclusive, but the UI part of the stack is closed source. Is the only one officially allowed to run android apps, via emulation. Has existed for a very long time, it's lightweight and I think the…

And all are useless because you can't use your mandatory bank or gov id app.

Not useless. It is like the missing printer driver for Linux Desktop. It makes the experience ugly, but this is not the fault of the Linux OSes.

Also the bank should not require apps (instead they can offer hardware key support or desktop apps) and in fact some - at least in Germany - offer a different authentication possibility. Also the app for the German ID is published on fdroid and does not rely on Google services.

Re: Android Developer Verification: Threat masquerading as protection

#259

Post by charcircuit »

vrighter wrote: post #225

isn't this like the ps3's otheros thingie? Where the advertised functionality of the device was crippled after the customers bought them?

In the PS3 case the feature was removed fully where in this case you just have to go through a new flow with warnings to reenable sideloading unverified developer's app.

Re: Android Developer Verification: Threat masquerading as protection

#260

Post by rtsil »

yunohn wrote: post #237

While I sympathize with the general negative outrage towards this change, I truly believe that people here fail to empathize with the mainstream users of Android phones. I personally have seen every single older relative and non-tech friend, end up installing bloateare, spyware, and malware inadvertently - because they have no idea how anything in the tech domain works. And given the widespread popularity of Android…

They can lock down the Play store completely, that's what 99% of people and the people most vulnerable to malware are using. The problem is extending that to F-Droid and other alternative services.
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