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[–] 130 points 5 months ago

TL;DR

  • Developers of open-source Android apps, including NewPipe, have begun warning users about Google’s upcoming sideloading restrictions.
  • NewPipe’s developers refuse to comply with Google’s proposed verification rules.
  • The app has started to inform users of ways to bypass hurdles, including the proposed 24-hour lockout period before installing “unverified” apps.

Also; fuck Google.

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  • [–] 30 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    How the fuck are open source apps a "legally grey area"!?

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  • [–] 21 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

    Yeah I am pretty pissed off that this article is conflating issues by even suggesting this.

    The legal grey area they are alluding to is ad blocking. I don't think it's grey but that has to be what they are saying.

    But the article is about third party apps and Google being a fuckwit.

    This waters down the discussion, and is a unnecessary diversion.

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  • [–] 21 points 5 months ago* (2 children)

    Ad blocking isn't even a legal grey area, it's legal (as it should be, ads are a major attack vector for malware and scams).

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  • [–] 9 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    I agree with you, yet I am sure there are lawyers who will argue that it would be against their terms of service.

    I am with the old school crowd: you put stuff on the internet however you like, and I will render it however I like.

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  • [–] 9 points 5 months ago

    side loading is a dumb word.

    Fuck Sundar Pichai.

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  • [–] 16 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Crackdown? Cracking down on installing applications? These articles perpetuate Google's bullshit framing.

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  • [–] 26 points 5 months ago (19 children)
  • [–] 35 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    Honestly, this still worries me. There is no telling how many apps I rely on will evaporate over the next year. Several devs have already announced sunsetting their projects.

    There are a number of projects that rely on on user installs, either because they are small passion projects (it costs money to be on the Play Store), or because they provide a function that is not permitted by Google Play. Without a vibrant community outside of the play store supporting them, it's hard to see how they will all survive.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago* (2 children)

    What if a proxy dev account offered to put up a bunch of devs' apps on the store? Could at least some of them be satisfied by pseudo-anonymity?

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago

    This is a double edged sword. You risk hostile takeover if the Dev has bad intentions and you risk suddenly being off the store if the Dev account gets blocked for one of the other apps. For me it would not be worth the hassle.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    I suppose if somebody could organize a team of volunteers to pay for the Play Store fees, and take care of the logistics for small devs to get their apps approved, then it might be possible.

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  • [–] 8 points 5 months ago* (3 children)

    Graphene is insanely good. It's even better than classic custom roms, since you can actually easily install google play. I'm avoiding Google's stupid crackdowns, getting additional security, all while having most of my stuff still work.

    Most apps just work. My games and paid apps still work. Google wallet doesn't work, but I just used my physical cards. McDonald's app doesn't work, but that might've been a benefit to my health.

    Overall, couldn't believe a security focused product had such good usability.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    I can't get any banking apps to work. I just use their web version in a pinch. Only loss I've experienced.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago

    My banking app works without use issue.

    I really haven't had any issues with graphene.

    Hoping that the Motorola partnership will produce some great phones by the time I need to upgrade.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (8 children)

    I'm confused. Has Graphene said they're not going to comply with Google's policy for installing 3rd party apps?

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  • [–] 20 points 5 months ago

    The policy is mandated for "certified" Android devices. Those have Google apps preloaded and pass Google's remote attestation.

    GrapheneOS is not certified and has no plans to be.

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago (6 children)

    This crap from Google requires Google Services (Play, etc) - OS's like Graphene and Lineage don't have those services pre-installed.

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    I'm not a GrapheneOS user (yet). However, as I understand it GrapheneOS does not obligate the installation of "Google Play Services" but does permit the installation of the service in a sandboxed environment (or separate profile).

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    I wonder how long it'll be before google services/play refuse to install on anything that is not "Google Certified".

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    It's already like that on Xiaomi phones for a while. They don't let you install anything outside of Play Store. Even if you install them via unlocking developer options and using adb, they just won't run.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    All hail @jolla and @ubports I guess...

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