Purism is sketchy btw:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKegmu0V75s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IjUryQOlgk
(Louis Rossman videos explaining how a customer was denied a refund for a “pre-order” and then they tried to coerce Louos to take down the video.)
Google Restricts Android Sideloading—What It Means for User Autonomy and the Future of Mobile Freedom – Purism
Submitted 3 weeks ago by excel24@feddit.org to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
hummingbird@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
As a person who experienced the customer support regrading preorders I can confirm this firm is extremly sketchy.
Canuck@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Never had an issue with them. Writing from my Librem 5
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
In parallel, Google has rolled out its Play Integrity API, which allows developers to limit app functionality when sideloaded, effectively pushing users to install apps only through the Google Play Store.
All of this while EU forbids Apple to do the same, what is the idea here? Measuring how EU reacts?
surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Is it the same though? Google is allowing the developers to choose to prevent sideloading. I thought Apple’s issue was that they prevented side loading completely.
0xD@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
…did you read the ad…? It quite obviously answers your question and calls out the difference. The large, glaring one. The one that probably even a first grader would grasp.
MolecularCactus1324@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This is an ad
Null_Ritual@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Its a straight ad
Zagorath@aussie.zone 3 weeks ago
Yikes this really doesn’t look good. Is there any reporting on it from independent journalists (or anyone else who isn’t also advertising their own competing operating system)?
rmuk@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
Not that I’ve seen and I’d take what Purism say with a grain of salt: they’ve acted like pretty shitty gatekeepers themselves. Nothing they mentioned in the article seems too egregious in truth and they’re exaggerating the scale of it: Play Store app DRM exists already, and the restrictions on browser-downloaded apps they mention can be bypassed (albeit by having to go into settings) and don’t apply to apps installed through other apps stores (F-Droid, etc).
Zagorath@aussie.zone 3 weeks ago
Nothing they mentioned in the article seems too egregious in truth
Doesn’t it? To be honest, if the article is telling the truth and not exaggerated, I find this pretty egregious. How you installed an app should be irrelevant, so the idea of an API to say “did this come from the Play Store” is fucking shit. And the ability to block installation of apps that call certain APIs entirely is even worse.
viking@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
This article is a thinly veiled ad paired with fearmongering to get gullible users to buy the shit phones they sell (or not, some people have been on “waitlists” for 5+ years after providing a full payment).
Granted, their phones are fully open, but have next to no apps.
Personally I’ll stick with Android 12, rooted, and see what the future brings.
Integrate777@discuss.online 3 weeks ago
In Singapore, lots of boomers are downloading scam apps from facebook lured by promises of discounts and free gifts, handing out accessibility privileges, and they’ll even argue vehemently against loved ones or bank staff when being confronted. When it all inevitably blows up, they blame absolutely everyone except themselves, including praising Apple for some reason.
Being the largest voting block, they managed to get banks responsible for reimbursing their losses and there was even an idea floated of getting everyone to contribute to a shitty scam insurance fund. Many major banking apps are paranoid af and block usage from simple things like usb debugging turned on.
Absolutely stupidity. And there’s nothing we can do about it when the politicians love them so much.
pineapplelover@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Usb debugging is sketchy as shit. You should almost never turn that on, and immediately turn it off once you’re finished with whatever it is you’re doing with that on.
mazzilius_marsti@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
agree completely. But I recently broke my phone screen, the usual Samsung green screen of death, and I wish I had that turned on to copy the data over lol.
interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
I have it on all the time in tcpip mode. I need it for file sync and remote streaming my phone with scrcpy. Especially when I use my phone as a wireless webcam.
Lyra_Lycan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
effectively pushing users to install apps only through the Google Play Store
I wonder what this will mean for Aurora and Fdroid etc., unless the author has no knowledge of these
thatradomguy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This is my immediate first thought seeing this. This fucking sucks. Part of the whole benefit of something like LineageOS or e (OS?) was being able to use Fdroid to stay away from Google as much as possible. Now this is going to potentially make things weird.
mybuttnolie@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
doesn’t do anything to f-droid, but probably kills aurora a bit. the developer can prevent their app from being sideloaded. why would one prevent that if they are distributing via f-droid too?
Emi@ani.social 3 weeks ago
I hope android has nothing to do with Google play store, thought they are their own store without connection to Google.
rikudou@lemmings.world 3 weeks ago
Well, both will be unable to install certain types of apps.
curbstickle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
That doesnt appear to be true, the restriction seems to be on apps being installed from file managers, web browsers, messaging, etc.
F-droid and the like are not part of that list.
This still isn’t good, but it doesnt stop you from having F-droid manage your messaging apps it would seem.
Vanilla_PuddinFudge@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
Aaaaand now I’m carrying around a laptop again, at least mini pcs are tiny now, maybe a small handheld would do…
10001110101@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Kinda depressing that all of big-tech seems to have given up “innovating” (finding applications for publicly-funded research), and have become rent-seeking dinosaurs.
stormeuh@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Capitalism baby
InFerNo@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
“Purism makes premium phones…” Haaaaaaaaa 😂
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Correction: purism sells mediocre phones for premium prices.
jjlinux@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Deflated0ne@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Why is it so hard to “Don’t be Evil”
interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
That would mean less money, at least in the short term, but also in the long term as it grants the user the autonomy of optionality, the power to choose some of Google’s edicts. Really it’s about the power to shape the choices of the users in the future. Take their power away. And in the future this will be conducive to leverage this power against the user for more money.
DeathsEmbrace@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I’m tired of this evil is related to money. When did our species die on the hill that money’s more important than humanity itself?
Mwa@thelemmy.club 3 weeks ago
The only reason why I got a Android
shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
From what I can tell, all of this shit is on Google versions of Android. If you are on AOSP such as lineage or graphene, from what I understand this has no effect whatsoever.
throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Apps who’s developers have enabled the Google Play Integrity APIs will not run on custom roms.
shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I’m sorry, but in that case, it wasn’t worth running the app to begin with. You can either find a third-party app that lets you access the same content, such as Newpipe and YouTube, or you can use it from a web browser, such as your bank, and if you can’t do either of those, then just don’t fucking use that service.
I was willing to totally switch banks because my previous bank required me to use a mobile app and I did not want to do so. If I must go through some annoyance to use something that works properly, I will.
For me at least, running as much open source as I can possibly do is worth more than the inconvenience caused by not being able to use these shit services.
GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
cool, any dev who requires that is acting in bad faith against my privacy and doesn’t deserve my support.
ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
The restrictions on apk access over the past 10 years have already been an annoying pita. Many of the best power user apks have had to gut themselves over their original functionality, all while obtaining root access over your owned devices has become harder or next to impossible.
altphoto@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Let them keep those. I hereby declare that if I don’t own the thing, I ain’t buying it. So no root, no $$$.
ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
Yeah, but I still really like my micro SD card slot and pen on my note 20 ultra. Dunno what I’ll do when I have to replace it.
kratoz29@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Degoogled ROMs are gonna be the bomb in the future.
anticurrent@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Maybe you should curb your enthusiasm a bit. have you seen what it take to unlock the bootloader from most manufacturers? you might even need your grandma’s birth certificate before you’re allowed to do so in the future
kadup@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Certainly depends on where you live.
Unlocking a Samsung phone is trivial here.
kratoz29@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
I am aware, but what choices do we have? I for one stopped using banking apps in my Android phone, not a big deal, we didn’t have banking apps there pre 2007 right?
I know not everyone can do it, but we can fight back in our own ways.
And voting with your wallet should be an obvious statement at this point.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Depends on the manufacturer. Ideally, they’re forced to allow choice, but until that happens, we can at least prefer phones that don’t lock you in.
Teknikal@eviltoast.org 2 weeks ago
Not bothered if necessary Il patch every apk before installing it, one more stupid American move that will ultimately give the entire market to the Chinese.
FourWaveforms@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
…in Singapore…
masterofn001@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
There is exactly one app I use that is available only on play store - my bank.
I don’t really need the app.
They have a website.
I have a few phones, just got one that now has grapheneOS.
I’ve been using it for a few weeks to see how it works before I switch over anything to use it as my main. it has a lot of very interesting privacy/security features to test out.
Either way, I don’t get anything from the play store anymore.
It’s F(L)OSS or a website.
As god intended.
Null_Ritual@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
😸
flop_leash_973@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Are they talking about the changes that were made that allow a dev to prevent their app from launching if it fails a Play integrity check?
If so I don’t see that as a big deal since it is up to the dev to use it. OSS devs that want to distribute their app via apk download won’t enable it, and anyone distributing cracked apks will just disable that along with whatever other changes they are making.
KingRandomGuy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Some apps only require ‘basic’ play integrity verification, but now check to see if they’re installed via the Play Store. They refuse to run if they’re installed via an alternative source.
This has been a problem for GrapheneOS, since some apps filter themselves out of the Play Store search if you don’t pass strong play integrity, despite the fact that they don’t require it. Luckily Graphene now had a bypass for this.
stsquad@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
From the article it sounds like the limitations come for some app types downloaded directly from a browser. I think this doesn’t affect alternate app stores like f-droid where you are effectively delegating approval to their process.
I have come across the other limitations mentioned with the Home Assistant companion app which I could only get matter registration to work with the version downloaded from the Play store.
bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 3 weeks ago
Well, but where do you get F-Droid? Or stuff like ReVanced Manager.
Or Epic’s stuff. Wasn’t Google just now sued for this shit and nobody understood why Google lost and Apple didn’t because you can easily sideload on Android.
manxu@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
I completely agree. Unless Google is forced to install more than one app store by default, or forced to have multiple app stores downloadable on Play Store, three is no realistic way to install a third party app store on a phone. In both cases, Google's cooperation is required.
stsquad@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
The article says it only applied to apps requesting certain permissions. I agree I’m an ideal world it would be nice to get f-droid directly from the Play store but at least according to the article the ability to install it isn’t being blocked here.
catloaf@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Maybe for the Singapore thing. For the play integrity thing, it applies to apps from anywhere except the play store directly. I use Aurora to install apps that say “not compatible with your device” for no reason. But a week or two ago ago, they started blocking access and saying I needed to install from the play store.
Fortunately I was able to downgrade and they kept working, but I don’t know how long that will last. At some point the server side will change the API.
throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
So you can’t use banking apps, or you mean like you cant even use F-Droid FOSS apps at all?
masterofn001@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
It’s funny because one browser I use is downloaded from the browsers website which I then use to install the update to said browser.
Google needs a Luigi.
Null_Ritual@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
This sucks, I don’t want a world where o have to carry around 2 devices (a private one and a standard spyware one)
propitiouspanda@lemmy.cafe 2 weeks ago
Censorship strikes again.
vala@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
K bye
dzajew@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
well, it sucks
Luffy879@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Eh, if you are still on a Gservices Version of Android you are lost anyway
So I just urge y’all to step back and watch at this clownshow.
p_kanarinac@retrolemmy.com 3 weeks ago
That sounds illegal.
elvith@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Depends. Are you from the EU or not?
p_kanarinac@retrolemmy.com 3 weeks ago
I am, that’s why it sounds illegal. :D