This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Good, but I still don't trust Google and I really want Linux (you know what I mean) on my next phone.
It's always the same, big shocking announcement, public outcry, pushing forward with a less shocking version, public acceptance, and then rolling out the rest of the initial plan. Why do we keep falling for it?
Give a fascist an inch...
Users only need to eat half of a shit sandwich!
This is less terrible news, not good news.
This new 'flow' will require drinking a verification can (of piss) every time you want to use a sideloaded app
Straight from the playbook. Announce something terrible, then back off with something bad. Everyone calls it a win.
See: Wizards if the Coast, Unity
Don't consider this a win, guys, this is more of an 'Oh shit, we're screwed if we follow through with this right now' moment, there's nothing stopping them from walking this back at a later, less turbulent date when no one's paying attention, and locking Android down anyways, as this directly reminds me of the situation which caused WEI to be scrapped.
Also, the EU pushing Chat Control through the back door might embolden Google to both try an Android lockdown just like was going to roll out before, and try WEI again, and get both actually pushed through somehow.
I wouldn't even be surprised if MS were emboldened to try to lock down PCs... Again....
I mean, sure, but there was never anything stopping them from doing this in the first place except public pressure. Large companies changing tracks due to public demand is a good thing, and definitely a win.
I think its better to simply realize that a win doesn't mean the fight is over. It's okay to be happy about a success. Just don't let up on the pressure.
Google: "Based on this feedback and our ongoing conversations with the community, we are building a new advanced flow that allows experienced users to accept the risks of installing software that isn't verified.
And we will NEVER trust you again because we know you'll retry this next year or so in a few smaller steps that all have cutesy innocent names that are supposed to lull us in a false sense of security
Fuck Google, stop paying them for anything, stop using their services wherever possible.
That's not good enough. They're just going to keep lightly pushing against the bad publicity until everything not controlled by Google on your phone goes away.
We need an alternative made without googles shitty hands in the mix. This forced duopoly between Apple and Google sucks. No phone competition in the US also sucks. Overpriced Samsung or a Google phone, while companies Like Red Magic have fan and liquid cooled phones with huge batteries, more ram, and more storage, for less than a grand being sold around the rest of the world outside the US.
Stop it. You're reminding me why I want to move my family out of the US. Its not just phones, everything is a facade here.
… continues to make Play Integrity an integral part of Android and making all the stupid banking and govt apps requiring having it on your phone thus making it harder to de-google.
still no… fuck you.
So I just read what they are going to do and this article is just clickbait. Basically they still want you to dox yourself but it'll still work like iOS Test Pilot. Google is still full of shit and lies but hey at least you don't have to pay them money until enough users download your app if you want more.
So it'll basically still kill apps like F-Droid or you downloading an app from the internet to run on your phone. You'll basically have to signup to install third party apps on your device per app in general and alot of the convenience and developer community will still just leave android as a whole.
All in all really bad decision on Google's part while also extending this to things like fireOS or whatever the fuck the Quest 2 and 3 will run as a skin of android. This will make sure they would be forever stuck on older versions of android; lest they have to contend with the new upcoming android features that will enforce this that will be baked into the operating system next year. Even without Google Play Services like I read.
Personally I don't think developers should have to sign up to Google and provide ID cards to basically have a limited amount of users use their specific app outside the app store.
Google obviously is feeling threatened by better apps that more people are using on platforms like F-Droid compared the outright subscription based shitware and adware on the playstore. Which is why they are doing this. But like platforms before like inturn Symbian. I personally think it'll fuck them over so hard that'll they'll never recover while China or whomever else makes a new platform for you to run android apps on for a time before going all proprietary fucked up Linux. Just like Android again.
They'll probably also release a new API to allow apps to check if user have enabled sideloading. Then overzealous apps like fucking mcdonalds will throw a hissy fit about it and refuse to work unless you turn it off. Also your bank too, just to really make it as hard as possible to include sideloaded apps. Sideloading will remain available, but so painful, most people just give up.
Just recently mcdonalds app stopped working when installed in a secondary profile. Long history of them trying to detect root hiding methods too. Fuck them. Once this sideload block thing arrives, mcdonalds would be the first to block it.
For now. You just wait. Evil corp is gonna evil corp it all up.
No freaking way this was because of "feedback". This was because the European Commission will keep escalating their fines if Google keeps at it with the monopoly bullshit.
Google: “Based on this feedback and our ongoing conversations with the community, we are building a new advanced flow that allows experienced users to accept the risks of installing software that isn’t verified.
I've been side loading apks since I bought my first Android phones and am much more concerned about malware "safe" apps from Google's Play store. Google's quality control is shit.
Yes. I wonder how many people unknowingly updated Simple Mobile Tools apps after the new owner's buy-in.
$100 says they're just going to make it require adb.
I'm guessing they're going to hide it in developer tools with a bunch of warnings and no explanation on how to get there so regular users don't turn it on by accident.
Which would actually make sense.
Easing is not removing.
Anything more than a warning and disclaimer popup is too much.
Uh-huh, sure, just about protecting the users. Nevermind that actual malware is regularly found on play store, and exactly 0 times -- on f-droid they're "protecting" the users from.
They are going to make this into a "1 step back 2 steps forward" type of situation. This is that 1 step back and in a few months there will be 2 steps forward where they will completely ban all non play store apps.
Easing up? Don't fucking touch it. Google is already annoying me with their play protect warnings.
Well we are already getting a popup warning when installing apps outside of the play store. You also have to enable the actual source where you get the file from/try to install it from for allowing installation of these apps.
How massively complicated are they thinking to make this that people are not "coerced" into installing? Also there is really no need to pressure anyone to download a scammy app. There's plenty on the play store.
They've already lost my trust. GrapheneOS or LineageOS are the only safe bets now.
Literally idk why people are saying "If this happens I'll switch to an iPhone"
Like bruh Apple is even a more closed off walled garden? What sort of sense does that make to switch to something twice as expensive and gives you absolutely no control?
Even if Google decided to implement this in the future, I will never switch to an iPhone and neither should you
This feels like Americans voting behavior. "The thing I liked has gone to shit, so as a protest I will take double shit with extra piss"
I'm just waiting for the moment Valve also decides to enter the mobile market :)
Google is paving the ground for Linuxphones.
It's so blatantly obvious how evil they've become that it makes striving for alternatives a necessity.
I have been looking at getting a flip phone and ditching this "Smart phone" bullshit altogether, I still might. I'm sick of this rug pull bullshit and no one can convince me they aren't just going to try again.
We are designing this flow specifically to resist coercion, ensuring that users aren’t tricked into bypassing these safety checks while under pressure from a scammer.
Translation: if they want scamware, it better be from Google Play, where Google gets a 30% cut. On top of the cut they got for the phishing link in Google Ads.
And if anything thinks I'm being hyperbolic, go on Google Play and search for pretty much anything. Or turn off your adblocker.
Helped a disabled pensioner recently with her phone that kept plaging loud obnoxious ads at her even while locked.
She had 4 different "virus scanners" that were all fake adware.
I have an app on F-Droid. Nothing special, basically something I wrote for myself. I was thinking about putting it on Play Store so I can share it with friends that don't use F-Droid but with those new requirement I'm 100% not doing that. Fuck Google.
I don't believe it. We need actual options Vs Android.
I'm still slowly moving towards a Linux phone. That I can install whatever on, of course.
Maybe even eInk screen. Just that currently there's nothing with eSIM as well.
