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AnkiDroid: Google Play no longer allowing Open Collective donation link

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Re: AnkiDroid: Google Play no longer allowing Open Collective donation link

#31

Post by NDlurker »

dataflow wrote: post #27
NDlurker wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm guessing you've never shown up to a foreign country without a phone. First thing I do after I get through customs is find the phone store.

> I'm guessing you've never shown up to a foreign country without a phone. First thing I do after I get through customs is find the phone store. Indeed I have not. In fact I haven't even heard of people doing this until your comment. And that's before unknown app developers coming into the picture. I assume you do this to avoid border phone searches? And you feel the (ostensibly) security-related mechanisms for the r…

I just print out all my stuff and go old school. Pick up a cheap android phone at the airport and go about my business. Not sure why this is uncommon. Maybe I'll switch it up next time and bring my phone loaded up with dick pics.

Why shouldn't people be free to install their preferred software immediately after purchasing a phone? How does it help anyone other than Alphabet shareholders to restrict that?

Re: AnkiDroid: Google Play no longer allowing Open Collective donation link

#33

Post by dataflow »

amiga386 wrote: post #18
dataflow wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Google's "escape hatch" is a trap door >> Wait 24 hours >> Pick "allow temporarily" (7 days) or "allow indefinitely Geez. I don't like what they're doing either but this fear-mongering is not helping your cause. So the "trap door" here is just that you can't buy a phone and immediately start loading apps from unverified developers onto it until 24h have passed? Of all the hills we could be dying on, that's the one…

- the "24 hours" is Google's first formulation of plausible deniability. They've likely done testing to hone that number to find a sweet spot. - the "24 hours" is enforced by remotely-run code, meaning Google remains in control of it and can unilaterally alter how this works, any time they feel like. Imagine you went to the shops, and found that one shop, while it had the goods on display, and could totally just let…

> On what planet do you think anyone other than the most dedicated of dedicated people would choose the shop that requires waiting a whole day to use it when the alternative has no such restriction?

I have no clue what you're referring to or worried about here, could you clarify? Are you worried Android is going to lose power users to iPhone? What are the alternative shops you're referring to here? We're not buying pastries.

> The developers in F-Droid are verified, just not by Google.

"Unverified" in my comment was a shorthand for "unverified by Google", not an insult.

> Google is not the be-all and end-all, but with this power-play, they are making themselves that.

The complain about that? Rather than wasting time complaining about the 24h wait?

I don't know if people's imaginations are lacking here, but there could easily be a world in which your 'alternative' verifier would still make you wait 24h (or longer). The wait is clearly a security mechanism, regardless of who makes you do it. (And yes, it could have been chosen for plausible deniability.) Is your actual problem the wait itself, or is your actual problem the identity of the entity making you do it, or is your actual problem that the power is too concentrated in one entity, regardless of the entity? These are very different issues with very different solutions.

Re: AnkiDroid: Google Play no longer allowing Open Collective donation link

#34

Post by david_allison »

dataflow wrote: post #4

> Play billing "must not be used in cases where payments include … tax exempt donations" > Note: 501(c)(6) is a tax-exempt status; donations are not tax-deductible for the donor. Google's communications explicitly state "tax-exempt". Isn't it pretty obvious that the problem is the donations aren't tax-exempt, despite the organization being tax-exempt? Your note suggests you already understand this. Logically, the pay…

We've been seeking official clarification from Google on this for over a month. That's what we're seeking here.

It's not clear given Google's policy wording and replies. We've removed the links, and can move forward once clarification has been provided.

Re: AnkiDroid: Google Play no longer allowing Open Collective donation link

#35

Post by sam345 »

NDlurker wrote: post #31
dataflow wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm guessing you've never shown up to a foreign country without a phone. First thing I do after I get through customs is find the phone store. Indeed I have not. In fact I haven't even heard of people doing this until your comment. And that's before unknown app developers coming into the picture. I assume you do this to avoid border phone searches? And you feel the (ostensibly) security-related mechanisms for the r…

I just print out all my stuff and go old school. Pick up a cheap android phone at the airport and go about my business. Not sure why this is uncommon. Maybe I'll switch it up next time and bring my phone loaded up with dick pics. Why shouldn't people be free to install their preferred software immediately after purchasing a phone? How does it help anyone other than Alphabet shareholders to restrict that?

I've never heard of a cheap Android phone at the airport.

Re: AnkiDroid: Google Play no longer allowing Open Collective donation link

#36

Post by Gander5739 »

maelito wrote: post #10

If only PWA were not made invisible by Apple. The install button has been moved voluntarily to the share menu. The UE should make it mandatory to permit PWA install popups on all platforms. Such problems wouldn't arise, because this app could be installable as a cached Web app. A native mobile application could be installed only for specific functionalities.

This is on Android, though.

Re: AnkiDroid: Google Play no longer allowing Open Collective donation link

#37

Post by vachina »

Gander5739 wrote: post #36
maelito wrote: post #10

If only PWA were not made invisible by Apple. The install button has been moved voluntarily to the share menu. The UE should make it mandatory to permit PWA install popups on all platforms. Such problems wouldn't arise, because this app could be installable as a cached Web app. A native mobile application could be installed only for specific functionalities.

This is on Android, though.

Android and iOS keep each other in check

Re: AnkiDroid: Google Play no longer allowing Open Collective donation link

#38

Post by emursebrian »

Shit like this is yet another reason why we don't have apps in the app store. In app purchases are a non-starter for us.

As I understand it, there are ways to work around accepting payments or donations outside of the app stores.

It adds one more thing to have to do and explain to users. And even with that piece taken care of, we would need to be constantly vigilant about changes in Apple or Google policies that might eject our app from the storefront.

Re: AnkiDroid: Google Play no longer allowing Open Collective donation link

#39

Post by skeledrew »

Apps need to exit the Play Store. I have a whole slew of apps which haven't been updated for a while now because Aurora Store isn't working because of whatever Google of doing. Meanwhile the ones installed via FDroid and other means are perfectly up to date. It's a crappy state of affairs as Google continues to close the boiling Android frog.

Re: AnkiDroid: Google Play no longer allowing Open Collective donation link

#40

Post by devsda »

brainwad wrote: post #7
amiga386 wrote: post #6

Not Google's first rodeo. They pulled the same move in 2019: https://www.phoronix.com/news/WireGuard-Ejected-Play-Store This is why software should not be subjected to an "app store" type distribution system, where a monopolist retains absolute control of what software can run on your devices, and can capriciously deny distribution to developers for whatever reason it likes.

You can install from other stores (AnkiDroid is on F-Droid, for example), or from direct file download on Android already. The problem is rather thay most users just use the store preinstalled on their phone as part of Google's deal with OEMs to bundle Google Play Services. So either you follow Google's rules, or you lose all the users who don't want to leave the walled garden, even though they can.

When do we stop this instinctive response of "well you can still do it in an only slightly convoluted way" everytime a corporate does something bad.

Windows added ads - well you can disable them, if you don't like it.

Chrome brought up mv3 - well you can still use mv2, it is only optional.

Reddit locking subreddits behind login wall - well there's always old.reddit

Android moving everything to playstore - there's always FDroid.

How many of these are still true and for how long?

If someone's country is a dictatorship, it doesn't help to tell them that there are 100 other democratic countries, just move. Not everyone can emigrate or want to emigrate for any number of reasons.

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