Privacy

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Can't we do anything as google is killing AOSP and custom ROMS (programming.dev)

submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by Timely_Jellyfish_2077@programming.dev to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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It feel like we’re losing to Google, day by day. They aren’t killing AOSP directly, but they are making it useless step by step.

Now it’s Google Play Services, Play Integrity checks, installation source checks… more and more apps just refuse to run without GMS. Banking apps? Most of them don’t work. And it’s only getting worse. I run vanilla AOSP on my main profile, no Play Services. I keep GMS only in my work profile for the apps that absolutely need it. But now even some regular apps that don't need any play services won’t work on my main profile anymore. They simply block your from running , like le chat.

Maps is google's most important app there is no way to run without play services. Sure we can use webview or gmaps wv, but they don't provide turn-by-turn directions. Earlier maps used to work without play services, but two years ago, an update stopped it from working. Now that old version is out of date and no longer works.

Google is slowly making GMS very important to run. The problem with GMS is they require to run as system app and has to have all the permissions by default.

Hope EU puts pressure to make google allow apps to run independently without GMS or atleast install them as user apps(like graphene os sandboxed play services).

If we keep going on like this, AOSP can only run fdroid apps in the future.

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[–] JillyB@beehaw.org 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I mostly agree with what you're saying. But it's really easy to make an argument for why an alternative works perfectly when you say "you don't actually need that" every time something comes up that doesn't work.

[–] blindsight@beehaw.org 2 points 3 days ago

With a web browser and user agent spoofing, that's basically how it works. I don't want any Facebook/Meta apps on my phone, so I use a desktop Google Chrome rule for all Meta URLs in my browser and user the web versions. Mobile is slowly taking over, but most things have a web version.

Unfortunately, that doesn't work for everything. The Quest 3 requires an Android or iOS device to set up. At least an old cell phone on a throwaway Google account works for most of these, since they don't need to be used often.