Seems the pressure is working.

  • zergtoshi@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Does anyone have one of these phones https://linuxstans.com/linux-phone/ and can say anything about it?
    Other Linuxphones would be fine by me as well :)

    [rant]
    I’m strongly feeling there’s an end coming for using Android in the way I used to.
    Google Play Integrity bullshit is putting the nail in the coffin, if killing F-Droid doesn’t come first.
    Too many lickspittle app developers cave to Google’s monopoly.
    Then again, I was able to grow up without a portable computer and while the world has changed quite a bit since that, I’m sure I can go back to that.
    [/rant]

    • Auli@lemmy.ca
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      1 month ago

      They cave because the amount of people who sideload anything is a rounding error of users. Most just load from the Play store.

      • zergtoshi@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        And what good is ‘sideloading’ (imo a loaded expression), if you can’t use your phone the way you want because of the Google Play Integrity crap that fails on custom ROMs?
        Btw. I don’t think that the amount of F-Droid users are a rounding error, but I may be wrong.

  • spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works
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    1 month ago

    Remember when Google backed off the changes to Chrome that prevented adblockers from working and a short time later implemented those changes anyway? Why TF would Google start caring about what users want now, especially since this issue is way less visible to most people? Google want’s people to think they have a voice about what happens with Android, not to actually give them one.

    No matter what noises Google is making now they will move forward with blocking side loading within the next few months, guaranteed.

    • henfredemars@lemdro.id
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      1 month ago

      Google has far too much power. We should not be subject to the whims of a company that does not and cannot have our best interests at heart. For this reason, my next phone will be a Fairphone or, I hope, the new Graphene phone when it comes out late next year.

    • tiramichu@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      Exactly. They’ll back down a little bit to reduce some of the bad publicity, and then later they’ll quietly expand the remit until the same end is reached anyway.

      The frog is boiled slowly.

  • minorkeys@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    What’s the problem with side loading apps? It might mess up my own shit, that I bought and own, and can fuck up if I wish?

    • henfredemars@lemdro.id
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      1 month ago

      That’s the problem; handset makers don’t believe you own the phone. They think it’s their phone that you’re paying to use temporarily.

    • smeg@feddit.uk
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      1 month ago

      Because we, the techies, are a tiny minority. There are billions of comparatively clueless users who can apparently easily be scammed into installing malware. Governments and banks will be exerting significant pressure on Google to make their phones “secure”, and they can actually threaten them. I don’t see this as some grand conspiracy to destroy the hobbyist scene, Google just doesn’t care about the individual.

      • There are billions of comparatively clueless users

        It’s worse than simply “doesn’t bother with customizations”, people these days just watch short-form videos algorithmically fed to them with zero interaction. These are my parents, WeChat short-videos, on loud speakers in the livingroom. You can hear it upstairs. Also, there are occasional horizontal videos they watch in portrait mode. The fuck? Who watches a landscape video in portait? 🤣

        Boomers and Gen Alpha are actually quite similar (well my parents aren’t “boomers”, but they have boomer mindset)

  • shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip
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    1 month ago

    A one hour cooldown period, a scammer would not want to be on the phone with you for over an hour to try to wait for the timer to run out, and any experienced user will enable it when they very first get their phone, so won’t have to ever deal with it again. LOL.

  • ook@discuss.tchncs.de
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    1 month ago

    Let’s wait and sew how that’s supposed to work. Inb4 you have to verify yourself as experienced user to be able to do this…

    • AGuyAcrossTheInternet@fedia.io
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      1 month ago

      In this day and age, I’d be not at all surprised if you had to pay a monthly “developer fee” or similar to get access to sideloading.

      • deliriousdreams@fedia.io
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        1 month ago

        I was just talking to a friend of mine last night over beers about how he’d pay to not have all these companies foist AI on him, and my response then was what it is now. Don’t give them any ideas.

        • AGuyAcrossTheInternet@fedia.io
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          1 month ago

          Oh no, I’m going to try and attract Murphy, hoping that his law still holds.

          Oh I suuuuure wish we would have to pay a subscription for sideloading! I suuuure would hate if we got the feature for free permanently! Man, I soooo want to pay a subscription for this basic feature soooooo baaaaad!

  • Carighan Maconar@piefed.world
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    1 month ago

    Honestly if they add a test you have to pass to install anything even from the Play Store and this test blocks my mum, I’m all here for it. 😑 Some people ought to just not be allowed to install apps.

  • jerebear39@slrpnk.net
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    1 month ago

    Why google is doing this? I just want to download apps from F-Driod. I just want to install software on a device that I own!

    • Rooster326@programming.dev
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      1 month ago

      Because they are mad about Epic winning the right to operate they’re own play store on Google. They want ALL not most of the money

  • atrielienz@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    I am concerned that they haven’t explained how they’re going to implement this for (and who counts as) experienced users.

    I am also concerned that they have probably found a work around to get what they want while paying us lip service.

    • Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz
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      1 month ago

      I suspect it will be you have to register and every month you press a button at midnight to have a shot at getting an unlock code.

    • reptar@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Blast from the past. I had a tablet I loved that I think I upgraded from gingerbread to honeycomb (?)

      Don’t think I was around for froyo or whatever and before. Didn’t have a smart phone yet!

    • 0_o7@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 month ago

      On another article I read, according to Google:

      Anyone who’s not gullible enough to turn off multiple protections, by following directions of someone scamming you.

    • LemUrun@pawb.social
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      1 month ago

      Installing a custom ROM is rookie numbers. Removing a faulty wallpaper through TWRP (sRGB palette was not supported on Android 9 or something), THIS is the real skill xD

  • FiskFisk33@startrek.website
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    1 month ago

    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. It will also include clear warnings to ensure users fully understand the risks involved, but ultimately, it puts the choice in their hands.

    That sounds great actually! Lets see how they actually implement it though. After how they communicated this previously, I’m hesitant to get my hopes up.