Already using GrapheneOs on my phone, so fuck Google.
Is it good?
that spy app they were using a few months ago was just the first test.
Fuck google
Easily the most disgusting company in the planet and it’s funny that their old motto/slogan was ”Don’t be evil”.
Yeah well luckily for them, people don’t seem to know how to write anything but webapps anymore anyway.
And they can suckle upon my peener.
I’ll go to Graphine or something else before I let the company for whom “don’t be evil” was too bold a statement dictate my fuckin’ choices.
I already ditched Windows. Can’t be that hard to cut Google out too.
Graphene has locked itself to google hardware, and google can cripple them at any point by stopping bootloader unlocks. We need to go deeper, or aim higher as it were
Not that they locked themselves but other vendors locked and isolated themselves by not provideing enough hardware and software security measures so graphebne will be able to strenghten them
Can someone just do the needful?
chrome is at thier limits, since people can just use a different browser/
Librem profits +++$$$ It may be the end for u if u use a mobile for games… If not - Just buy some open-source phone like Librem or PinePhone, they also have Linux available:)
Literally do not
When reading cyberpunk lore, quickhacks didn’t make any sense to me. Some programs that break cyberware because of backdoors, but why would people install cyberware with backdoors?
Now I look at the sad state of mobile market and, yeah ok, that makes sense.
That makes sense and all but where does the poison come from??
I mean the cyberware is a direct neural interface so presumably it must be able to manipulate and alter the levels and balance of your neurotransmitters. Im sure increasing aome to insane levels would have pretty toxic effects, like serotonin syndrome for example.
just dont update your phone problem solved
This is likely via silent updates of Google’s Play Services.
Or forced updates
Yeah of the Linux phone, I guess.
The infuriating part of the Google enshittification process is that there is absolutely nothing the user can do about it.
Literally the only thing that motivates Google is profit. Controlling side-loaded apps will almost certainly boost their profits by a infinitesimal fraction of a percent, therefore it will be done. Even if consumer uproar causes Google to back down in the short term, they’ll simply implement this a few months later. Late-stage Capitalism sucks.
You can stop using all Google products. Now I understand their market share on the web means they’re going to continue to shape the web.
But make no mistake. There is something, however small, that you can do. De-Google.
You can stop using all Google products.
My public school – that my children are basically required by law to attend, remember – is badgering me to sign a consent form so they can have Chromebooks.
This fight is a lot fucking larger than mere individual boycotts!
And my kids school requires every parent to have a Google account to track progress and share information.
What happens if you refuse?
They kill you!
cant you give your child a cheap laptop, or they require thier inhouse shitty ones, use only?
I don’t know yet; I’m about to email the media coordinator to find out what happens when I refuse to sign the form.
My kids already have Raspberry Pi 400s (might upgrade them to 500s soon), and I have about half a dozen other computers (not including old retired stuff or my pile of other Raspberry Pis), all running Linux. This house is not at all lacking in technology, and I no longer tolerate proprietary shit in it.
What’s really fucked up is that the school district makes all these decisions basically unilaterally – not just for Chromebooks, but for other proprietary nonsense like ClassDojo and Remind and MySchoolBucks – and just assumes every parent will be cool with unquestioningly entering contracts with all these third-party entities. And even worse, most parents are cool with it!
its probably datamining material for google and all these propietary companies.
They require that the kids use the Chromebooks and use Google accounts.
At the highschool I went to, there was some standardized testing (act, ap tests) done in locked down software installed on the chromebooks. Like instead of logging into your user, it was before login with no browser or anything. It sometimes let you have desmos and a small place to take notes.
they mustve started using chromebooks in the 2010s, we dint have any of that nonsense in the 2000s, although it was not much better otherwise.
Mine too, so I do agree with you the issue is larger.
But I believe it can start with individual boycotts.
Honestly Googles products are terrible these days. I have been pretty lax about my privacy but after so much enshittification I switched my services to something that works and doesn’t harvest my data for the privilege.
When they kill off Graphene/Custom ROMs I’ll switch to a linux phone or brickphone.
De-Google
The complaint is side loading is being restricted and the only long term alternative Apple. Google already began the process of shutting down Graphene by cutting drivers out of AOSP.
https://www.androidauthority.com/google-not-killing-aosp-3566882/
Hang on, as somebody who knows enough to be looking into switching to graphene, but not entirely enough to know what AOSP is, what exactly is happening?
Am I going to fuck myself over? If I do end up switching to a custom rom? Should I just wait on the Linux community to build something better?
All I want is a working device that isn’t selling all my shit to Mark Zuckerberg
G is restricting the factory images/source (I believe) that graphene uses to build their system, so they are having to work backwards, take more time, etc. It’s a shitty thing to do but afaik it’s not a blocker. I’m typing this on a gos pixel 8 pro right now.
Linux phones are still in their infancy, and are pretty shit if you need anything more than the ability to call and text (sms) on specific carriers (limitations applies to the USA, AUS, and a couple more I believe). I have a pinephone 1st gen and it’s… Cool for messing with, absolutely, but jesus christ it’s painful to actually attempt to use. I bought that 3y ago and not much has changed, from videos I’ve seen (my pinephone screen is lifting and failing so…). From a developer - like, bringing Linux to the phone platform - sure, grab one. As a user, unless you understand that you very likely will not daily this device (or any similar device) because shit just doesn’t work/isn’t ready and are OK with that… No, don’t. A few more years, maybe.
GrapheneOS is still moving ahead albeit slower, as you said. They are also working on a deal with a phone manufacturer to bring a more secure phone to market. I dunno whether it will just meet the same security levels of the Pixels and ship with stock Android, or if it will be a full GrapheneOS Phone. I’m hoping for the latter, but it will more likely be the former. Fingers crossed.
Yeah, I’ve heard rumors about that in the works but it’ll take a while. I try not to get excited before any product is released, but it will be something I investigate if/when I can pick one up. It’s been frustrating that other similar phones are EU-only, so I hope that won’t be the case with their attempt.
You can stop using all Google products.
That may be true for you, but other people face different realities. When Google implements the sideloading block it will eventually be pushed to everyone who doesn’t use a custom ROM.
also not everyone is saavy enough to use obscure services too.
Not everyone cares enough to avoid Google. Some of us that want to do so are related to them.
I will help hand hold anyone who wants to build servers or services (to the best of my ability) to replace Google services with their own.
There are a lot of alternatives out there. What service or services are you stuck on?
For me, MitID in Denmark. 100% required for society and life here, requires Google Play Services now :(
I tried e/os on my Fairphone for a bit. I think I could make it all work okay enough besides that. I should write people at the government or something I guess?
Don’t use the app then? I have a key thing which works quite well. https://www.mitid.dk/en-gb/get-started-with-mitid/how-to-use-mitid/mitid-code-display/
Yes! Being active politically is always important.
Be civil and polite at first, you want these people on your side after all. But don’t be afraid to hold back if they respond with bullshit either. They are your representative, make them represent you and hold them to account if required.
Encouraging friends and family to write is usually a good idea too.
Not being politically engaged, I feel, is one of the main reasons for the downfall of democracy throughout the globe. Too many people think ticking a box every 4-5 years is all they need to do.
A good bit harder since I’m not a native Dane. In some more years when I’m a full fledged citizen I can start in earnest, but I’ll ask now at least
I don’t know myself, but Graphene OS (on Google Pixel phones) has a pretty impressive sandbox layer for the play store and the apps it installs. It might be worth looking into if you’re not aware of it currently. (But if you’re aware of the Fairphone, I’m guessing you probably know about Graphene).
graphene is only for pixels i believe.
I do, but as far as I was aware my Fairphone can’t run Graphene? I would love to keep using my Fairphone over buying Google’s hardware at this point
You are correct, Graphene only runs on Pixel phones. I know there’s a few open mobile OS options out there but I’ve not spent any time researching them. There is a very good chance if you absolutely need an identification, then you can’t get away from Android. Hopefully someone else sees your comment and has an answer.
I’ve never heard of that, so I looked it up. There definitely appear to be non-Google alternatives.
What? You can’t use an alternative app. It’s government issued identification and required for life here.
I (and as far as I can tell, all others) can’t get it to work outside of android
https://international.kk.dk/live/online-self-services/mitid/mitid.
- Android app
- Apple app
- “Code display”
- “Code reader”
Does not appear to “require” Android.
Got any advice on alternatives to Drive? I keep considering nextcloud, but people I know have said it’s a resource hog and finicky at best.
Sign up for 10 different free accounts of Proton Drive? It has 5gb free cloud storage.
Though I always prefer the simple physical backup to SD card and backup to PC.
I also have a simple sshd server and use sftp when I’m feeling frisky.
Sending from any device to any device using KDE connect is good too.
Syncthing
This is the answer unless you consider setting up a DIY home server fun, which often the kinds of people who recommend options for this kind of thing do… so just keep that context in mind here with recommendations.
Syncthing is a great solution and it is wayyyyy less a headache than any other DIY method I have done for replacing cloud/filesharing purposes.
Syncthing is what Dropbox was, before Dropbox became just another cloud data provider.
just be sure to check if the deletions sync timeframe suits your case. in the new 2.0 deletions are not remembered forever
people I know have said it’s a resource hog and finicky at best
Those people may be the kind who tell you formatting your hard drive and reinstalling windows every other week is the best way to keep it ‘clean’.
Ive been using Nextcloud at multiple businesses for years, its a rock.
Nextcloud definitely seems solid… but let’s be honest, it is definitely a resource hog. I tried deploying NextCloud on a VPS with 2GB of RAM, with most features turned off. The instance was empty. After a few minutes, I started getting alerts that I was using 100% of my memory.
Nextcloud isn’t gonna work the way you expect it to with 2GB of RAM. It doesn’t seem like you’d be able to run this on some cheap, low powered device.
Someone rewrite it in Rust! 😅
It’s 2025. Many cheap, low-powered devices have more than 2GB of RAM at this point.
The UI is a little crazy but I am a big fan of copyparty. I have moved my entire family off of Google Drive and we use copyparty, and it works great. Uploads are fast, lots of features, easy to stand up and doesn’t consume lots of resources. But like I said, the UI could be better.
If you’re looking to self-host, nextcloud is the way go. But if you’re just looking for a drive alternative, there’s plenty of simpler alternatives, like proton or kdrive.
You’ve got some good suggestions, I think most of the suggestions I can think of. Nextcloud is of course the big one but after using it for quite a while, I think it’s important to break down your needs. If you need file sharing/syncing only, there are better options that are easier and faster. If you only need chat/voice, rocket chat is really lightweight and easy. If you need file sharing, online office suite, chat, etc. Then Nextcloud is the right option. Just keep in mind, even if you think you need some of those things, will anyone but you ever actually use them? No, they won’t, because they don’t appreciate how cool it is to self host and how much effort you put into it.
Seafile is an alternative for self-hosting: https://www.seafile.com/en/product/seafile_on_premise/
I haven’t tried it. Seems to be more efficient than Nextcloud. It also has way less features. So. 🤷
I moved to pCloud + Cryptomator for general cloud file storage and Cryptpad for online document editing. These cover some of the main functions of Google Drive.
Syncthing is good if you just want files to show up on more than one machine, with no cloud services involved.
Bewcloud?
Email? Its about the only thing leaving me on googles platform ATM. I can self host (with mailinabox) but…I kinda dont want to? Its so much work and I would rather do other things with my time.
I use my web host for email. I looked into hosting it myself but it looked way too fragile. The service is included with the website so it’s not like I’m spending any extra money that I wasn’t going to already…
Maybe porkbun if you just need email?
But Porkbun charges per mailbox.
I pay for Tuta, and I have added my personal domain. It works as catch-all, allowing me to have an infinite amount of addresses, so I can use a different email on each website.
I wouldn’t self host email. But I would pay for a host and get away from Gmail. Wait until Black Friday and get free/cheap services from a bunch of places. Maybe even proton if you’re okay with them. Also, using your own domain for email is pretty cool (to me).
Mozilla foundation is putting together a paid product under the Thunderbird brand. Folks are excited for that, the Firefox people are good people.
I was thinking of switching to Proton. I use Gmail, Google Photos, Google Messages, Drive, Keep, Maps, Docs, Sheets. I pay $2 a month for 100gb and unlimited photos on Google. It’s a good deal. The fact that I would have to find out out to make a server, buy storage, piece meal a bunch of open source software that will inevitably not work without tinkering all makes it so easy just to pay the $2 a month.
i pay $20 a year for basically all of that and even more stuff but open source provided and maintained by a local server company in my country. of course i don’t use half of their offerings because some stuff has alternatives more suited for the platform or its simply not needed. but e.g. their service offers nextcloud which has most of the stuff you listed bundled into the platform by default. and then they have another 50 services added on top available for use.
Uhh… how do we stop using Android? I mean, these recent attacks by Google seem like they’re going to break GrapheneOS and friends, no?
What I wouldn’t give for a very simple linux phone. Not android based. That I can call/message from.
Closest I came across that was neat: https://www.wiphone.io/
While pretty neat, I’d have a hard time even calling the WiPhone a phone if it doesn’t have a cellular modem. You’re entirely dependent on having a wifi connection. I suppose it could serve as a replacement for a landline, but that’s about it.
Yep! Its so close.
Looks like they had plans for LTE. Dunno how hard it is to ser up. Probably very hard.
No idea.
Sent from my iPhone.
Oh, thank god Apple lets users install whatever software they want—hey, wait a minute…
The question wasn’t how to switch OSs without losing current capabilities, it was how to stop using Android. Switching OS is how.
Losing side loading is something being lost either way.
The question wasn’t how to switch OSs without losing current capabilities
This is exactly the question. The article is about Google taking away software freedom, forcing developers to dox themselves, and forcing users to only install software from Google’s approved list.
Apple is already there. How would that help anyone?
At the very least, the threat of losing a large number of users may cause Google to reverse their decision.
Ios is bad. I’d rather have locked down android with the official terminal, rather than go back to using the iSh[1] app for terminal on ios
[1] https://ish.app/
Now that AOSP is closing, what are we supposed to do?
Linux.
Don’t use it. Be smart.
What’s my better option at this point?
Lemmy fucking HATES Apple but I trust Apple more than Google tbh
I stopped all Google stuff like 15 years ago
Its about time an open standard happened for mobile OSes.
the best outcome for the short term would be to forcibly take away android from google and give it to an independent foundation. as I heard antitrust proceedings in the usa were heading that way a few months ago
not with trump around.
Such things are solvable with a bribe in the USA.
That’s what Android was and they keep trying to undo that any way they can
We need a new one that isn’t made by a for-profit company that only was good at the beginning to get total market saturation before flipping the enshittification switch to maximize those profits.
why do we need a new one? can’t android be salvaged? lots of things have been solved already in a way that makes a relatively good foundation.
All the non-Google entities that build stuff on Android need to start banding together instead of siloing themselves. If AOSP is being closed, they need to create a non-profit replacement for it.
Makes me curious if they think their monopoly or whatever they were called cases making them split their browser are going to go though. If you are going to have to sell parts of the company, now would be the time to hammer home any last minute bad things that would make the companies more profitable. Shows higher income for the sale, and gets it out of the way so the new purchaser doesn’t look like the ones who did it, but rather the ones who will make announcements on how they will review things to make them better for the user base.
Doesn’t mean they’ll follow through on them, but it takes the evil and sticks it with the old owners.
We need open bootloader and drivers for phones to make any real progress on this. This is what’s holding back all initiatives.
and many phone manfacterers, issuers(non google, samsung, or IOs) IS CONSIDERING locking down thier phones.
I wonder if the generic tablets with made up Asian sounding names that you see on the big marketplaces could work? They could have slightly larger or smaller screens if they’re cheaper than current phone screens, and could have Linux with something like Signal on them for calling.
They’d probably be lower quality to begin with, but could potentially get better if people start to buy them. They seem to have generic hardware, so might be able to offer the drivers and unlockable bootloaders too :)
I’d be worried about vulnerabilities.
FuriOS? Linux-based and runs Android apps.
Interesting. I’ve not heard of FuriOS, but if it is a Linux phone that actually can be used with US carriers, makes calls and supports SMS/MMS, and can do VoLTE that’s a actually a pretty big deal.
Whenever you see a linux phone advertise both security and android app support, you should be wary, since it’s likely waydroid or a waydroid fork, and their design goal of running android in a container instead of a VM has lead to some interesting security decisions.
Still using Android 11? Holy hell.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing!
Not bad, it looks like I have to buy their phone though. Which is not cheap, or performant guessing by the specs despite what the advertising says.
I saw someone else recommending it. I only hope they take this opportunity to release the OS for everyone, but since they’re for-profit, I doubt they will.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I got into computers at a young age because it gave me a sense of control over something. I didn’t understand everything, but I could do a lot of trial and error, read things and experiment, build cool things, and I shared a sense of community with some random internet strangers based on that knowledge.
In a world where we are so powerless in so many other ways, why did we insist on bringing that power dynamic into the new bright tech sphere? Why did we have to do that? (N.B. this is rhetorical questioning).
In the new Alien Earth TV show, 5 corporations basically run everything… unfortunately I suspect thats where we are headed as a species.
There are at least two generations of us who are disappointed at the contrast between tech’s possibilities as envisioned decades ago and the corporate surveillance crap we have to put up with today.
We, as in the average every day people, didn’t do shit. The corporations that make the shit we use are the ones who got us here. The only thing the people using the devices and software are guilty of is not making a fuss about losing control over the stuff becsuse the average person does not care that deeply about the tools and likely doesn’t even know about a good 75% of what was lost.
Sadly the majority of normal people don’t want control. They just want it to do some trivial task without any fuss at any cost.
they want IPHONES , macs, easy to use, not too complicated.
