Google's sideloading restrictions seems almost like its perfectly timed... 👀
Anyways, Google can gargle my:
this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2025
1424 points (98.9% liked)
Technology
75738 readers
3842 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related news or articles.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
google also recently removed thier similar anti-ice app.
How to choose between this and GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, etc? I feel ready for the switch too.
Edit: Plus is it possible to get banking apps and Google Wallet to still work (easily) in these Android-based alternatives?
Mostly: Price
Are you willing to, either: (a) spend $500-$600 for a new Google Pixel? (the 9 that is, I don't think 10 is ready for GrapheneOS yet), or (b) willing to dig into the second hand market and potentially get not-unlockable phones? (those run rampant in the used market, note that Carrier Unlock does not equate to Bootloader Unlock, and Verizon ones are guaranteed to not allow bootloader unlocking, I'm unsure about other carriers)
(Also you are kinda supporting google if you get a new one btw.)
I personally don't wanna spend $500 since if it ever breaks, its hard to replace or even repair. And I hate dealing with the used market.
So for me, Graphene isn't an option.
I went for the cheapest new Moto that has custom ROM support, Moto G 5G 2024 for $140 (carrier variants do not unlock).
I'm basically still testing to see what wouldn't work, haven't really be using it as a "daily driver"
I've also come across the CMF Phone 1 which is OLED and supports e/OS its about $300
TLDR: Get Graphene if you can afford a pixel or willing to look for a used phone from a reputable source. I personally do not like used phones because I think there's too much risks IMO, you might assess the risks differently. Other options are Moto G 5G 2024 for $140 which runs both LineageOS and e/OS, or CMF (by Nothing) Phone 1 which runs e/OS and is an overall much better phone, but its more expensive, at $250 for 128 GB and $300 for the 256 GB.
Oh one last thing: Even "New" "Unlocked" cheap Pixels on sites like Amazon aren't guaranteed to unlock. I was looking at older pixels like the 6a, 7, 7a and checked the reviews and some comments indicate they are locked to Verizon because the reseller didn't unlock it for some reason, so I'm get the vibes that its unsold stock previously owned by carriers, so I don't know if they'll bootloader unlock, even if its SIM unlocked. Where as CMF never has carrier variants, so they all should unlock.
Edit: Also, the CMF phone needs the IMEI added in to carriers such as ATT and Verizon, since they use IMEI whitelisting, Tmobile is fine. For some countries like, Australia they also does nationwide whitelisting. Custom ROMs can break VoLTE, rendering it not work with cell service for csrriers that require VoLTE, Might wanna research about that.
In Australia it's a blocklist, not an allowlist. I think some VoLTE-capable devices may have been swept up in the blocking that occurred with the ending of 3G services, that you can manually have allowed, but it depends on carrier and device. Most though are fine.
Was this ever even available to non-US accounts? Was there ever an explanation for why it was georestricted?
It's an app about ICE, why would it be available to non-US accounts? It was pawbably georestricted by the developer, just like most apps that have a geoblock.
When I had an iPhone 3GS I got in a hot tub with it in my pocket and it died. I let it dry out. Then I very carefully took it apart and found all the little white stickers inside that turn from white to pink when in contact with water. I used a razor blade to remove those stickers without damaging them. I then placed a drop of bleach on each which turned them back to white and let them dry out. I used very tiny amounts of super glue to re-apply them to the exact same positions within the phone and then very carefully reassembled the phone.
Took the phone into an Apple store. Guy disappeared into the back for about 10 minutes with it. Came back out and said it must have just up and died but he doesn't know how and gave me a new iPhone.
Only Apple product I've ever owned.
Fuck you Apple.
nooice
remember when Tim Apple gifted tRump a golden statue? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
I remember him being gifted a golden pager and I'm still holding out hope that he gets the call.
load more comments
(2 replies)
This is cowardice from Apple, but ICEBlock was not a good app:
Apps used only for criminal activities should not be on the store. It’s insane that they even let it get on the store in the first place.
The only criminality involved with ICEblock would be that of ICE kidnapping and detaining people, even people legally in the country and including US citizens.
This kind of thing is coming for Android as well once Google has converted it to it's own walled garden bullshit.
This is why the web is way better than any app store, yes even with the problems of DNS (DIDs becoming more prevalent cant come fast enough though). Any future phones should have a first class web experience imo.
Edit: I wanna add that browser monopolies are a real threat too. Ladybird is legit on Charlie Kirk's side aka nonpolitical so not a fan of the outlook there. Would love to see KDE fork chromium/blink with valve money and recreate Konquerer and bring back KHTML (I like irony). Valve even has a fork of CEF (Chromium Embedded Framework, electron uses this as well) because of Steam and its ui being a big web app. KDE then has web apps and add them to Discovery, or you can build qt apps. Make it happen valve! And hire me to help lol
Cloudflare are now behind ladybird so I’m hoping it becomes a legit challenger.
It's how I browse Lemmy - I sometimes forget that my home-pinned app, Voyager, isn't actually from the app store.
Voyager is on the play store and App Store?
Interesting. I think when I first heard about it, it wasn't available there yet; so I'm still using that pinned version. Probably not much different.
load more comments
(8 replies)
I miss my Blackberry Curve. ☹️
Does anyone remember how the Devs from there didnt want to release for Android because ApPlE iS sOoOo mUcH mOoOrE sEcUrE
Get rekt.
load more comments
(30 replies)
Oh no
Was likely a honeypot the whole time..
This shouldn’t be on the app store. It gives the US government too much access to pull data from it, or order it pulled down. This should be a web app hosted outside the US that can be accessed by any device and can be obscured by VPN access so the regime can’t persecute participants. Apps pull way too much data from phones that ICE can subpoena.
load more comments
(3 replies)
the USA Goverment probably forced them to remove it
not probably; the doj forced apple to remove it and apple caved: https://www.404media.co/iceblock-owner-after-apple-removes-app-we-are-determined-to-fight-this/
load more comments
(1 replies)
They also caved into PRC government and they removed the apps that reported on HK police activity and added restrictions for airdrop to make information sharing harder.
They probably just hinted. These companies are eager to please Trump. Remember the trophy Tim Apple gave Trump? Capitalists love fascism.
not even a solid gold base, a cheap gold base, with a "glass sculpture"
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(3 replies)
And this is why having 3rd party app stores is important. It’s why it matters that Google is killing side loading, if two fucking companies get to decide what you can do on your phone, we’re in a bad spot technology wise
load more comments
(75 replies)
view more: next ›