I honestly wish for the responsible people to die. A natural, painless death, but let it be quick. All of silicon valley is so evil it would be deemed unrealistic for a movie villain. They are selling out our freedoms and planet for what? They are already stinking rich.
I guess it’s time to buy a linux phone
Last I checked, unverified software didn’t run the risk of making my phone fly itself into, and bring down, a skyscraper.
Only thing I care about, how will this impact my streaming devices that rarely get is updates
I’d also say, it’s likely rooting your phone would work around this, though I don’t recommend that from a security perspective.
Wtf is this
The Android ecosystem has been feeling more like an invasive chaotic advertisement machine the past few years. The play store is a cesspool, the weather app switch was poorly executed, Google Podcasts went to the graveyard, and Google pay getting shut down meant I had to switch back to vomits Venmo.
I still have Android gaming handhelds, but why wouldn’t I just get an iPhone the next time I go to replace my phone? I can’t believe I’m even saying that after being so die hard Android so for years.
why wouldn’t I just get an iPhone
Jumping from the frying pan straight into the fire.
Exactly this. Just left iOS and got a pixel8a and flashed grapheneos on it. Apple is doing the same shit. GOS might be a pain in the ass sometimes but I feel much better knowing that Tim Apple isn’t reading my texts and monitoring my bank apps so they can target me with ads.
I feel much better knowing that Tim Apple isn’t reading my texts and monitoring my bank apps so they can target me with ads.
That’s some Grade A crack you’re smoking there, my dude.
I can’t do Graphene because of work. I am an IT manager, and one of our guys did graphene and had a host of issues with the work apps. I really can’t risk any issues.
I have GrapheneOS for work, everything works fine. The only app that I had trouble with was the Westjet app, it needs a certain capatibily setting turned on and basically wants full access to the phone. Ironically the banking app was fine LOL
This is the unfortunate hell I am in too. I’m debating an iPhone and I fucking hate Apple with a passion.
It sucks that at this point both systems suck. Apple is not great but at least it’s been pretty stable. If Apple allowed side loading that would be the dream.
Yeah, Apple is also a very proprietary ecosystem in a walled-garden style presentation. I don’t want an appliance. I want a computer.
I’m sure we all have a different perception, but my current view is that Google sells you a phone that they need to push ads and harvest vast amounts of data from you in order to make money on the phone, and Apple somehow needs to do this less.
Which company do you feel takes privacy more seriously? From what I understand, Google primarily makes their money from advertising.
I’ve never owned an iPhone, but I 100% agree with you. The reason I choose android is because of the freedom to use my phone how i want (for the most part).
Apple is a walled garden, but their security is good, they’re not an advertising company in the same way google is and don’t have as much of an incentive to harvest and sell your data. If android is going to be a walled garden like iOS, I trust apple more than i do google and If in the future I can’t find a phone that has all the features i want anyway, then i may as well just get an iPhone.
Yeah that’s what I’m thinking too. Android’s only advantage over the Apple ecosystem is being able to install apps. If that goes away there’s no reason for me to stay.
They also managed to remove a feature from the fucking clock app. It’s not much, but seriously, it’s like a headless chicken running toward a cliff from the business end.
Google pay being shut down is news to me. I still pay contactless with Google pay and also for paying on websites…
https://www.androidcentral.com/apps-software/google-wallet
They migrated people over to the wallet. What was shut down was the app called “Google Pay”
Yes, sorry I should have clarified. The biggest loss was the person-to-person payments are now gone. I never understood why they had multiple apps that did the same thing. I seem to also remember a time where there was a Google pay and gpay app that lived side by side, so there were a total of three apps when there should have been one.
Google pay is being shut down?
Seems like Curve pay could be an alternative
Sorry I should have clarified. Google pay moved the payment features to Google wallet, but the biggest loss was the person-to-person payments are now gone. I never understood why they had multiple apps that did the same thing. I seem to also remember a time where there was a Google pay and gpay app that lived side by side, so there were a total of three apps when there should have been one.
oh, I didn’t know this
Google Pay is different in America, right? To me it’s just contactless.
uh, not sure, I’m in Europe as well
I was thinking about NFC payments, yea
Well. They will try anyway.
Google says it’s no different than checking IDs at the airport.
Fucker, if I own the airport, own the planes in the airport, am the only person using my own planes in my own airport, then nobody is asking for my ID.
Our phone, our software choice.
Read the contracts you sign when you buy your phone and you’ll understand how wrong you are. The problem here is we have very little choices. Monopolies kill consumer choice.
Read the contracts you sign when you buy your phone
Contracts? Unless I’m buying a subsidized phone where a mobile phone plan is required, I’m not sure what other contract I’d be signing. I never got one from Samsung, OnePlus, Google, any used marketplace, or Amazon.
They get paid, and I get hardware to do what I like with it. If I can’t do what I want with it, then I’m renting, and I should be paying a rental fee, not a “full price”.
99% of those contracts are not enforceable. And I bought my phone used. No paper, no contract.
I didn’t sign a contract. Also just flashed the Pixel to GrapheneOS, and bye bye google
Fucker, if I own the airport, own the planes in the airport, am the only person using my own planes in my own airport, then nobody is asking for my ID.
Okay, but what if Google owns the airport, the planes, and thinks it’s entitled to own the people flying on them, to boot?
Our phone, our software choice.
There it is, haha.
Gave me a good chuckle as i’m with you here.
I have a similar sentiment when it comes to ads, my device, i pay for the internet and the device is inside my home. I’ll decide if you get to show me ads.
For ads at least the argument can be made that the content you consume is not yours and as such you should not be allowed to choose how it is monetized.
Google unilaterally deciding this is like Firefox or chrome adding ads to websites. Which is like no… They’re the medium through which content is consumed.
But what if you owned nothing and were happy about it?
The minimalist in me would love that. But while I am paying for this shit, it’s mine to do what the hell I damn well please with it!
The phone I have now is half way paid off… I will say it. It is a Samsung S23. I didn’t want it. It is just my other phone literally died from a single drop of water! I won’t get into the details. But I want grapheneOS or the most private OS I can.
Right now I have been carrying my phone less than before. I used to take it even to grocery store trips, but I am just getting sick of the endless monitoring, even if I am a terminally online person. I literally cannot leave my apartment without being on camera since my landlord has all the corridors and exits/entrances on 24/7 surveillance.
I know that a phone can be tracked even when on a private OS. And the EU’s rules on wanting a copy of every single message sent out from all messaging apps (including signal) will still affect non-EU people, too. It fucking sucks.
Fuck Google
Lets build a Raspi phone
so no modded apps, no emulation, no unauthorised chat apps. hopefully some root mod will make this irrelevant.
I wouldn’t be so sure they will allow you to do it. First they implemented chrome restrictions for adblockers with manifest v3, then restricted AOSP sources. Looks like they are pretending to be Apple now.
Two things especially worth noting from the article.
If you have a non-Google build of Android on your phone, none of this applies.
This means that at least GrapheneOS will be unaffected for now. Other ROMs without gapps will be unaffected only as long as you don’t install gapps. Since Graphene has a sandbox for them, I’m assuming it’ll be fine. That is, unless Google decides to lock the bootloader entirely.
In September 2026, Google plans to launch this feature in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. The next step is still hazy, but Google is targeting 2027 to expand the verification requirements globally.
So most users worldwide still have at least 1.5 years until it’s implemented. Plenty of time to get a Pixel and install Graphene on it. Or to figure out some other plan.
Don’t get me wrong - this is insane, unreasonable and horrible news for everyone. We should push back as hard as physically possible against it. However, at the very least we still have some time to figure things out before the policy rolls out.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Google stop allowing BL unlocking soon… Following Samsung and Xiaomi (although Xiaomi technically can be unlocked, in reality you’ll not be able to do so nowadays unless you pay someone to do it via remote USB shit for you)
I’m getting Huawei
Literally just as bad lol
Yes. Would be a protest buy.
I would spend more money and get Chinese os to just not fund Google.The way I see it this is the last drop in the bucket for android openness anyways.
Fair enough- at least you’re not under any illusions that they’re less restrictive and scummy.
Consider a Volla Phone with UBPorts.
UBPorts can also be installed on Fairphone.
I am toying with the idea of creating a PDA of sort from a raspberry pie, touchscreen and a powerbank. Case can be 3d printed, it would be bulky af and equipped with Tails or some other secure OS.
https://lilygo.cc/products/t-deck
only problem is it’s just an esp32, but you can add GPS
Why not just get a PinePhone?
Or FairPhone??
That’s good if you want a phone with an Android fork pre-configured and live in the EU. But the experience here in the US isn’t great.
Neither sell their phones in (or ship to) my country.
Because they are cool and build phones from scratch
Got it, you want a project more than a finished product. I can respect that. :)
Well, sort of…
