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Play Store blocks AuroraStore, hurting GrapheneOS users

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Re: Play Store blocks AuroraStore, hurting GrapheneOS users

#211

Post by nisiddharth »

xingped wrote: post #135
ravenstine wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GrapheneOS (the project) might recommend for or against certain things in relation to their specific objectives, but that doesn't mean all GrapheneOS users have the same objectives or need to comply with the opinions of GrapheneOS. For instance, I use GrapheneOS because it provides better security and privacy out of the box than LineageOS, but I'm also not so paranoid that I'm going to just blindly listen to advice a…

I've honestly never understood why F-Droid even still exists. Every time I've tried to use it (as recently as half a year ago) it's still a shitshow and never displays or updates apps correctly. Half the time an app showed up on the website that didn't show up on the phone app. The other half of the time even when I did get something installed, it would just never understand that an update existed and needed to downl…

Try using the Droid-ify client: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.looker.droidify/

Re: Play Store blocks AuroraStore, hurting GrapheneOS users

#212

Post by nfriedly »

AuroraStore is/was really nice for running purchased games on Android-based game consoles (Retroid Pocket, Ayn Odin, etc.) because a lot of games seem to be incorrectly marked as incompatible with those devices.

Play Store won't let me install them, but AuroraStore will, and most of the time they work fine after that.

For example, I have Balatro running on my Ayn Thor this way.

Re: Play Store blocks AuroraStore, hurting GrapheneOS users

#214

Post by aaravchen »

titularcomment wrote: post #61
DaSHacka wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually think there's already a lot of us in the 'community' as-is. I personally describe it as 'Valuing Privacy/Freedom over Security'. One pretty clear example of this is how they don't recommend using FireFox Mobile and F-Droid, both of which I use regardless because I'm not willing to put up with worse privacy/usability tradeoffs in the name of (imo 'hyper-')security. I think it's fine the mission of the proje…

FYI, there are ungoogled chromium builds for Android. Firefox Mobile really is a lackluster browser unfortunately both from a usability and security standpoint (e.g. IonStack worked on Fennec)

I would actually argue the exact opposite. All of the Chromium-based forks are a usability disaster. I have to use grid view only to see my tabs? It took them most of a decade to finally get the relatively common place bottom bar, and it still arbitrarily decides to ignore your setting if it thinks your screen is "too big"? It's just failure after failure. I absolutely dread when some shitty site I'm forced to use refuses to load in anything but chrome and I have to open up Vanadium for the first time in forever.

Re: Play Store blocks AuroraStore, hurting GrapheneOS users

#215

Post by jeroenhd »

ssernikk wrote: post #69

I maintain my grandmothers phone, which comes down mostly to just updating WhatsApp once in a while. Obviously she doesn't have a google account, so I've installed her AuroraStore. It's a shame that there is no official way to install apps on android without a google accout[1], since it's a basic functionality, just like calls or a web browser. [1] For obvious reasons I don't want her to download apks from the intern…

There are other Android stores. Amazon ran one for the longest time. Many brands have their own app stores as well.

It's the app publishers defaulting to Google that's the biggest issue.

At least WhatsApp has an official APK download, most apps don't.

That said, Google will still let you update apps without being signed in. Hold the Play Store icon to open the quick action menu. From there you can go to "my apps" and update all of the apps on your phone, bypassing the login prompt. Not great, but a workaround that should do the trick while Aurora finds another way to hack their way into the Play Store APIs.

Re: Play Store blocks AuroraStore, hurting GrapheneOS users

#216

Post by Cider9986 »

Linux-Fan wrote: post #143
joekrill wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a Google Account that isn't tied to anything else. Isn't that pretty much impossible? You need a phone number for verification, which effectively ties it to that phone number.

> > a Google Account that isn't tied to anything else. > Isn't that pretty much impossible? You need a phone number for verification, which effectively ties it to that phone number. I just want to follow-up on this because some people claim this is not correct because they have managed to create accounts without phone numbers. Indeed, I think to this day, under special circumstances (like e.g. on reasonably recent An…

Same thing happens to me.

Re: Play Store blocks AuroraStore, hurting GrapheneOS users

#218

Post by duskdozer »

juiceland wrote: post #42
pyrophane wrote: post #8

GrapheneOS actually recommends against using Aurora and instead just using the Play Store, so this shouldn't really hurt users. For extra privacy, you can sign into the Play Store with a Google Account that isn't tied to anything else.

> Google Account that isn't tied to anything else. At the risk of being a privacy absolutist / fatalist: Google’s entire business model is surveillance. They follow you around and track your habits so you can be influenced. Given that, a Google account is always tied to something else.

[flagged]

Re: Play Store blocks AuroraStore, hurting GrapheneOS users

#219

Post by ErenayDev »

g-b-r wrote: post #201
ErenayDev wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm using my Proton account in my phone and in play store. now i tried adding my proton account in AuroraStore, and it worked flawlessly. so my question: why AuroraStore uses google accounts instead of another providers?

What the hell are you talking about? Proton accounts to access the Play Store?

what happened? if you're trying to say that this is "impossible", its not. But if you're trying to say about privacy, that account I tried is another one of mine. im not stupid to use my primary proton account in my phone.

Re: Play Store blocks AuroraStore, hurting GrapheneOS users

#220

Post by anon5739483 »

xingped wrote: post #135
ravenstine wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GrapheneOS (the project) might recommend for or against certain things in relation to their specific objectives, but that doesn't mean all GrapheneOS users have the same objectives or need to comply with the opinions of GrapheneOS. For instance, I use GrapheneOS because it provides better security and privacy out of the box than LineageOS, but I'm also not so paranoid that I'm going to just blindly listen to advice a…

I've honestly never understood why F-Droid even still exists. Every time I've tried to use it (as recently as half a year ago) it's still a shitshow and never displays or updates apps correctly. Half the time an app showed up on the website that didn't show up on the phone app. The other half of the time even when I did get something installed, it would just never understand that an update existed and needed to downl…

Yeah, the experience isn't great and there are better alternatives but F-Droid was there before anything else existed. It's also great to just have it as an option.
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