How much the recent developments with android are gonna affect the Foss world?

a year ago by dontblink to c/privacy

So google now requires Id verification for submitting apps to android, what does it mean for Foss apps, for Foss stores like fdroid and for future development?

mugita_sokiovt 26 points a year ago

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aashd123 9 points a year ago

Yeah, but Google could make it so that development becomes really slow for such operating systems. Their ultimate goal is a slow death of FOSS phones-they don't maintain AOSP out of the good of their hearts.

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bjoern_tantau 7 points a year ago

I think with potentially lower userbase many foss developers might opt to get registered or stop supporting their apps.

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birdwing 13 points a year ago

Or they continue because they do know to believe in a better world and refuse to bend to Google's CorpoKnee.

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Eirikr70 24 points a year ago

Many devs of FOSS Android apps won't be willing to disclose their identity, and there will be no market left for them. Which means abandoning the maintenance of their apps.

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cyberpunk007 9 points a year ago

Exactly, which means we, the consumers, are losing.

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shortwavesurfer 22 points a year ago

Everybody switch to LineageOS and give Google the middle finger.

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timbuck2themoon 21 points a year ago

In the meantime anyway. The only real way forward is Linux phones and thankfully theyre a lot better these days.

Android will never be safe so long as it's under Google's thumb. They'll just keep tightening the screws til it's just a different looking iOS.

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shortwavesurfer 3 points a year ago

Android is open source. There's nothing saying that we, as the community, couldn't fork it away and use it as our own base, at least in the meantime.

That's why Lineage is called Lineage, and Graphene is called Graphene, because Android is a trademark, but nothing stops you from just forking off, say Android 16, and not relying on Google at all anymore. Make your own security patches and everything else.

Instead of Android apps, we'd have lineage apps. And lineage apps would work on lineage devices and graphene devices only.

Instead of .apk it would be say .lpk and the conversion between the two would be seamless.

so that anybody who built an Android app could with just one single command also build the app for lineage or something like that.

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timbuck2themoon 6 points a year ago

The problem is no banking institution, etc. Would do that. They could simply ignore play integrity already but they don't do that.

And with that, how long until there are no unlockable bootloaders? Then a fork wouldn't matter at all and using a Linux phone with lineage likely wouldn't even work due to lack of device drivers for android.

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shortwavesurfer -2 points a year ago

Why are you using an app to do your banking? Use www.yourbank.com

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Kroko 12 points a year ago

It is difficult to switch to custom roms when manufacturers like Samsung block bootloader unlocking or like Xiaomi make the process hard.

https://github.com/...

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shortwavesurfer 4 points a year ago

Yes, you do have to do your research before buying a device. Otherwise, you will end up in this situation. What we really need is for graphene to start coming out with their own devices from a manufacturer so that we can say, go buy this device specifically. So instead of go buy this Samsung, it would be go buy this other thing and graphene would already be on it right out of the box.

Either that or we need a company or individuals to sell devices that they have installed, say, lineage or graphene on already, and put back in the box.

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grey_maniac 2 points a year ago

Yeah. Any way to switch my Canadian S10 or S20 to Lineage or similar? I'd do it in a heartbeat.

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Kroko 1 point a year ago

You can't unlock samsung in canada/usa models. There are paid services but it isn't worth it. Nobody makes custom roms for locked devices.

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qweertz 1 point a year ago

They have Google in their

Proceed with caution!

The following manufacturers require an online account and/or a waiting period before unlocking.

section, despite you not having to do either of those to unlock your phone to install e.g. GrapheneOS?

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Kroko 2 points a year ago

True, the README needs some updates. Feel free to open issues or make pull requests.

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redhilsha 2 points a year ago

Except those of us who dont have a LineageOS compatible phone sadly.

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aashd123 22 points a year ago

While GrapheneOS is a good alternative, it is ultimately dependent on Google not declaring an all-out war on custom ROMs (which is a possibility, however unlikely). Ultimately, the only true way to have FOSS phones is Linux (yes, Android is Linux-based, but not exactly as free as the Linux of desktops)

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warmaster 5 points a year ago

My next phone will be running Linux. I just hope maps apps get good by then.

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umbrella 4 points a year ago

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aashd123 3 points a year ago

I agree that Google has done a lot to stop custom ROMs and many projects have declined as a result. However, they are yet to take more extreme measures such as requiring all boot loaders to be locked etc. (which would damage Google greatly, making this so unlikely as to make the probability of this happening negligible) My bad for not communicating this in the original comment.

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bad_news 15 points a year ago

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cerebralhawks 14 points a year ago

I hope we can elevate the discourse in the Android world to accept that Android isn't about FOSS. It is, at its core, about making Google more money by getting Google more of your personal data.

Ad blockers and apps with ad blockers are hurting Google's revenue and they're going to go after it.

Honestly it's not that much better (some argue it's worse) on my side, being an iPhone user. Like yeah, we can't sideload, but I've never really felt the need to. I think both platforms should have the option though. And screw these Apple guys who say "well you should buy Android if you want that," doubly so now that it's not guaranteed in the future.

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Auli 12 points a year ago

Android has tons of FOSS software compared to iOS. Probably the only reason I am on it.

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cerebralhawks 1 point a year ago

In theory or practice? Because there's nothing stopping any open source project from submitting binaries to either the App Store or the Play Store as long as it meets guidelines, and both stores have them.

I think the confusion may be in the existence of F-Droid, an Android-only repository of open source stuff that builds apps from source as you install from it, ensuring someone hasn't tampered with it. But nothing stops the developer from releasing on iOS as long as they follow certain rules. It's just the code is compiled away from you, so you don't really know what's gone into the binary the App Store serves up. That said, if you're a developer, you can compile yourself. You just have to re-sign every 7 days if you're a free developer, and you're limited to 3 installed apps at a time. You can remove those restrictions by paying $100 a year, and some people do that, mainly for the sideloading.

There's also the fact that Android is based on an open source project itself (AOSP), but Android as it exists on Pixels is not itself open source. GrapheneOS and others are based on AOSP, and they may be (I think they are) open source.

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dessalines 12 points a year ago

A month ago I just bought a xiaomi tablet for my main work machine. Full android, with no google play / google play services, and it runs f-droid and all the apps fine. Haven't missed any app on the google play store, or that require play services.

If google keeps on alienating people, people will move over to HarmonyOS, or a lot of the larger chinese companies making android devices will maintain their own AOSP fork, and google will be as irrelevant worldwide as apple is.

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merde 4 points a year ago

do xiaomi let people unlock bootloaders?

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anon5621 9 points a year ago

Generally no then yes,Depends from region and cpu ,nine circle of hell ;) https://github.com/...

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umbrella 2 points a year ago

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m33 10 points a year ago

In the long term it’s pretty much the end. Not only because of the move, because many services rely on apps that need certification and trust.

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Ulrich 7 points a year ago

Probably mostly dead, honestly

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umbrella 7 points a year ago

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CodingCarpenter 4 points a year ago

You know what really sucks that banking apps are all but required now and your basically can't have them unless you're using a locked in version of typical Android.

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krunklom 2 points a year ago

.....why?

Credit cards still work and I don't think I've ever had to pay a bill or move money around so urgently I couldn't do it from home.

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HiddenLayer555 1 point a year ago

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Zeon 1 point a year ago

Reject cell phones. Use Libreboot desktops/laptops and a FOSS OS.