You're not alone: This email from Google's Gemini team is concerning

Submitted ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨PrivacyDingus@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.androidauthority.com/gemini-apps-activity-email-july-7-3570651/

Google’s Gemini team is apparently sending out emails about an upcoming change to how Gemini interacts with apps on Android devices. The email informs users that, come July 7, 2025, Gemini will be able to “help you use Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, and Utilities on your phone, whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off.” Naturally, this has raised some privacy concerns among those who’ve received the email and those using the AI assistant on their Android devices.

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Adderbox76@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
In the absence of being able to switch to Graphene (Don’t own a pixel), I’ve done everything I can to replace Google Apps with FOSS alternatives, and disabled Google Assistant on my device entirely.

I know none of that will stop a determined Google eventually fucking with me, but at least I’m trying.

I’m so damned tired of the modern corporate world.

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Fedditor385@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
Gemini depends on the Google app, disable it, and it dies.

Have you noticed how the Google app, the one that supposedly just does search and list news articles, has like 400 MB? Over time it accumulated 2GB cache… how?

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phoenixz@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Dammit don’t make me switch to apple phones, I hate apple. I hate Google too but FFS all you need to do is stay out of my way and the one thing you continuously do is stand in my way…

GTFO of my way! Piss off with that AI crap that nobody asked for

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- Griffus@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  An ungoogled android variant has to be a lot lesser of an evil, no?
  
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  - EarlGrey@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨56⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
    Problem is that if you have a critical application (like banking) that relies on Google services you’re SOL.
    
    It’s Apple or Google at that point.
    
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- Evotech@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
  The apple who recently put AI as the core element of their os?
  
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EarlGrey@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
Apple has been seriously underperforming on their AI strategy.

Really makes it easy to keep using their devices.

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Sunflier@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Dear tech bros,

We, the people, don’t want to use your AI shit. Please stop shoving it down our throats. Thank you.

Sincerely, -The people

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- Tiger666@lemmy.ca ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Hahahahhshahahahhahahahhahahahahahahahaha.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Tech bros.
  
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- dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Is it really the people or just a subset of people that use Lemmy, the vast majority of people seemingly don’t care as is evidenced by the sheer number of people using things like social media.
  
  What might be important to use in this echo chamber isn’t reflective of society on the whole.
  
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  - Vanilla_PuddinFudge@infosec.pub ⁨11⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
    The majority of people eat at McDonalds. It doesn’t make it a good idea on your finances or health. Sheep gonna baa.
    
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  - Tja@programming.dev ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    It’s mostly lemmy. In real life people go from amused to indifferent. I have never met anyone as hostile as the lemmy consensus seems to be. If a feature is useful people will use it, be it AI or not AI. Some AI features are gimmicks and they largely get ignored, unless very intrusive (in which case the intrusivity, not the AI, is the problem).
    
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  - nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
    it’s mostly just talk
    
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  - SupraMario@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    It’s mainly tech savy people who don’t use it. Tons of people in companies use this shit. The number of people who use “ai” to take auto notes in meetings is insane. It’s a massive security risk but they do it anyways thinking it won’t be stored.
    
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  - MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Obligatory Lemmy is social media response
    
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- baguettefish@discuss.tchncs.de [bot] ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  yes but what if a company has the ability to create billions of close friends who can recommend sponsored products to you? why would it care about whether you want that or not?
  
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- Boddhisatva@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  But the AI people that the tech bros can now create outnumber real people by ♾️:1. The opinions of real people have ceased to matter even the tiny amount that they once did. So open wide and try not to gag.
  
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- doodledup@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  You don’t want to use it.
  
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  - Sunflier@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    The companies keep preloading it on new tech, updating old tech so its there, preventing the option from disabling it from even being there, and disabling tech that can’t use it.
    
    This. Shit. Can. Fuck. All. The. Way. Off!
    
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some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
“We spent a lot of money on this, so you’re going to have it.”

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Opinionhaver@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
This headline format makes me irrationally annoyed.

They shouldn’t be making assumptions about what the reader thinks. It almost feels like they’re planting a bias first and then presenting the facts - instead of just laying things out and letting people make up their own minds.

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neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Linux has become good enough to replace desktop operating systems.

Now, we are back at square one. I’ll be the first to inaccurately declare, “This will be the year of the Linux phone.”

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- Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  All I need is a good enough emulation of android apps to fool them (eg for banking).
  
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  - rakeshmondal@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Unfortunately banking apps are only going to get harder to run on software uncertified by Google.
    
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  - zqps@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
    “Hello there.” - Play Integrity API
    
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  - A_norny_mousse@feddit.org ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Sailfish OS has it.
    
    Unfortunately the project has some closed source bits which, imho, aren’t an issue when you look closer. Maybe I’m naive but I trust this EU company.
    
    I use it as my daily driver. It certainly is frugal compared to recent Android versions, but fully functional.
    
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  - sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Can you get by with web access? That’s what I do and it’s fine.
    
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- Tja@programming.dev ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I use Linux since debian 3.0 and I don’t think Linux is ready to replace desktop os yet. The universe has come up with bigger and more powerful idiots.
  
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  - JcbAzPx@lemmy.world ⁨23⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
    Linux had reached idiot parity with windows at least. Idiot proof OS is a fable that cannot be reached.
    
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- Squizzy@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Looking at postmarketOS for my phone too, so sick of this shit
  
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  - xiwi@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    PostmarketOS is cool, but as an actual phone replacement it is tough.
    
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- kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Isn’t Android using a Linux kernel already?
  
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  - loutr@sh.itjust.works ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Yes, but everything above it (including drivers) is custom-made and tightly controlled by Google.
    
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  - balder1991@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Yeah, but the kernel is a low-level module that handles hardware, memory, and processes—it’s not what users interact with directly, so sharing the same kernel doesn’t make it all that similar as you’d think.
    
    What makes Linux feel like ‘Linux’ to users is the stuff on top: the userland—bash, coreutils, package managers, X11/Wayland, etc. Android replaces almost all of that, so even though it uses the Linux kernel, it doesn’t feel like Linux.
    
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  - GreenMartian@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Yes. IIRC it’s based on latest LTS kernel with Google patches. So it’s been “year of the Linux phone” for a while now.
    
    It’s unfortunate that the slop they put on top of it is such a privacy nightmare. PostmarketOS is trying to change that and supports Plasma, Gnome, etc. But it’s early days yet and still rough around the edges from what I’ve been reading.
    
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- pfr@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Behold, the Linux phone:
  
  liberux.net
  
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  - cenzorrll@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    That looks far too polished with locked in specs for them to not have any prototype. I’d trust companies that have actually made a product that has a janky Linux implementation that’s improving, than one that doesn’t exist yet relying on crowdfunding.
    
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- A_norny_mousse@feddit.org ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  This is my fourth comment shilling SFOS here, but it just might be what you’re looking for. It is my daily driver.
  
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  - neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    That’s pretty cool, I’m working now, but I’m checking out its Android app compatibility.
    
    If it can run my work stuff, I’ll be so happy.
    
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Krudler@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Remember when Google+ was the future?

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- nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
  no
  
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TheFriar@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
“Google is making it easier for Google to pry into your personal data.”

“Water is making it easier for water to make you wet.”

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KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Just… Disable it. You can switch to the old assistant.

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- muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  until google decides thats not allowed either
  
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  - CalipherJones@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    That’ll be the day I switch phones.
    
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  - KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Yup, but for now it’s a solution
    
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- Hawk@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
  I wish I knew how. Did this several times already, it always magically turns back on after a couple of weeks.
  
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peteyestee@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
I with we could get a Linux os.

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sidereal@lemmy.ml ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
so this has got me looking at alternative OSs, but it’s all a bit confusing. which one is most mature and would still let me run android apps (I want my bank apps and stuff like that) but is also somewhat de-googled? I appreciate any advice

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TingoTenga@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Pls break Google up. Kthx

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- Lemminary@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Why stop at Google? Break then all up!
  
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  - pappabosley@lemm.ee ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Seize the means of production
    
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turtlesareneat@discuss.online ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Few years ago I got a Nest Secure to go with my other Google Nest gear. One day Google emailed me to tell me Assistant was now enabled on my security system. Oh, by the way, it has an undocumented microphone!

That’s when I realized what a privacy nightmare Google really is. I know Apple isn’t great but come on.

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besselj@lemmy.ca ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Laughs in GrapheneOS

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- Akip@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  but for how long x.com/GrapheneOS/status/1933177989480456365
  
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  - MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    X is blocked on network level here, could you please copy&paste?
    
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  - besselj@lemmy.ca ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Long enough for GOS to port Android 16 or get their own OEM, I hope
    
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- kratoz29@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Why is this a Google Pixel only ROM? Anything special with the Google Pixel?
  
  I even consider Chinese phones a better hardware dela than what Google does, and I know Google software (I mainly use AOSP ROMs, Pixel OS in this case) but if we are swapping right away the ROM of the Pixel and the hardware is subpar what’s the deal with it?
  
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  - sic_semper_tyrannis@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Pixel phones have an extra security chip in them called the Titan. Other manufacturers lack this.
    
    androidauthority.com/titan-m2-google-3261547/
    
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  - steal_your_face@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Check out this thread. They go into detail about it.
    
    xcancel.com/GrapheneOS/…/1936420921931084075#m
    
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- harcesz@szmer.info ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Nervously chuckles “im in danger” while clicking through to the Graphene rom.
  
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randint@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
It’s conforting that I wasn’t the only one who found this concerning. But anyways I don’t have Google (the app; I do have some other Google services installed) or Gemini installed.

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yournamehere@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
thats what you get when using software from US corpo. all your reasons to have apple and google are fake. convenience and laziness are the reason we use them. i mean if you use whatsapp youre a subhuman why care about gemini. thats the path to idiocracy.

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rumba@piefed.zip ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I guess my next phone is going to run NixOS.

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RejZoR@lemmy.ml ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I’ve not received any mails or notifications. Though I don’t use Gemini at all. Or Google Assistant. Or any assistant.

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- Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I don’t use them either, but still got the email.
  
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  - swearengen@sopuli.xyz ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Same. My only use is accidental.
    
    Guess I’m should get around to disabling it.
    
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A_norny_mousse@feddit.org ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
What about LineageOS?

My guess is the problematic parts here aren’t open source so they should never show up in Lineage OS?

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shneancy@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
is gemini on all androids? i remember there once was something called bixby, now when i accidentally hold the home button for too long it tells me to enable “circle”. i’ve disabled all of those “smart” features but fuck knows what is going to get automatically installed in an update next week

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- Hexarei@programming.dev ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Bixby is/was Samsung’s assistant thing. Unrelated to Google’s Gemini
  
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- Engywuck@lemm.ee ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Bixby is, or used to be, on Samsung phones.
  
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  - Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Gemini replaced Bitchxby on the latest Samsungs.
    
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vane@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
So it’s still Your device not Gemini device. I’ll wait couple of years.

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ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I don’t feel very concerned… That’s kind of the point of the service.

Good that there’s an opt-out.

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- gian@lemmy.grys.it ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  
  Good that there’s an opt-out.
  
  A supposed opt-out
  
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  - ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Well, yeah. I haven’t actually seen this email yet in my personal inbox, nor have I found the opt out personally. Google is kinda weird with their staggered rollouts but I figure it’ll turn up.
    
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