Is this even legal in the EU? The majority of phones in the EU are Android phones so this effectively gives Google control over what apps can be installed to the majority of phones. I thought the Digital Markets Act was designed to prevent exactly this.
I think some recent EU proposals that make Google responsible for ensuring users can’t install malicious apps is what has caused this to happen though. I could be wrong but I think I remember hearing about that.
This is the final push I needed to switch to GrapheneOS. Thanks Google! Now, if only I didn’t have to give Google money for the Pixel so I can install GrapheneOS.
This will kill the FOSS app ecosystem regardless. Android forks of any form should be abandoned. GrapheneOS can be a decent stopgap though.
Sorry for the downvote, but I see this take repeated here on Lemmy so often and it just makes no sense. This will not kill the FOSS app “ecosystem”. Nothing whatsoever changes for FOSS ROMs like LineageOS or GrapheneOS. And as long as there are FOSS operating systems, apps will be developed for them. If anything, this could drive mainstream adoption of free/libre Android forward, re-invigorating the scene through public outcry.
And to the people who propose fully jumping ship from Android to “Linux phones” because of Google’s recent changes, you would only make the app support matter worse. As someone who daily drives both a phone with LineageOS and one with postmarketOS (mainline-ish Linux), mobile app support is endlessly worse on Linux than the fallout from Google’s developer registration could ever be. That is not to say that Linux phones will not eventually get to a point of reasonable maturity, but it is way too early and frankly utterly irrational to bury AOSP Android or needlessly hate on it.
Normal people aren’t flashing custom ROMs. The audience for some FOSS software will shrink by several orders of magnitude.
But the pain really kicks in when your government/bank/streaming apps require attestation of a signed boot chain and Google Play services running.
No need to apologize. I can differentiate disagreement from attack.
However, consider that this action raises the bar to run FOSS apps from:
- Disable the toggle.
- Install the app.
To:
- Purchase a phone that can run an OS that allows you to do the above.
- Disable bootloader unlock.
- Connect your phone over USB.
- Flash the OS.
- Do the above.
OR:
- Do the above.
- Connect your phone to USB or enable wireless ADB.
- Run a command to install the app (repeat for every app install)
The new barrier to entry is going to inevitably catch a whole lot of people who would otherwise be willing to go out of their way to install FOSS apps. Development will also suffer as a downstream consequence of this.
I use postmarketOS too, and it is a much more pleasant experience to use than having to break out a second device to update or install software. It has a large number of issues, but it’s more comfortable to use than your comment implies.
i love how google will basically destroy the worlds most popular mobile operating system just to protect youtube premium revenue
Honestly at this point they actually likely need to be EVEN MORE strict to deal with how bad the app store is and how many scam apps are floating around.
My grand father has been given like 30 scam apks to install via email that we’re just crypto ransomware basically, and he’s had to reformat his phone at least 10 times this year from installing scam shit from the playstore it self too.
Both the playstore AND scammers are target android like crazy
There’s basically no way to crack down on it short of what they are doing and frankly it’s still not enough.
Anyone who thinks this is just Google being evil is massive fucking out of touch with the reality of what elderly and less it savvy people have to deal with. It fucking SUCKS.
And I fucking hate these changes too, but even I cant say it’s enough. There’s too many fucking shit bag assholes ruining all the good things.
They should just display more warning’s or safeguards, they don’t have to remove it completely. There’s several apps that I use that google would never let register. :(
They also already have installation from external sources turned on by default.
Why the hell are we babying people who turn it off? They read the warning, they know the risks.
i agree
