From an Android developer perspective, this is a big PIA. Most of my apps are open source and distributed outside of the Play Store, to ordinary users who are savvy and motivated enough to check “Unknown sources” but wouldn’t know what developer mode or ADB is, never mind a custom rom.
I looked at the requirements, I will have to register EVERY app with Google if I want anyone to be able to install it apart from myself. It’s just crazy but it’s that or give up.
What are the apps? Chances are, you’ll have plenty enough of savvy userbase even without this BS.
So this will also affect Murena? GrapheneOS is crystal clear as I use it.
If Murena is down the drain as well… what was it With that Jolla Phone?
I thought they changed their minds and were going to allow non-store app installs after a 24 hour wait, because everyone complained. Did they reneg?
Edit: According to the article, no they did not. Fuck Google for this change, but why does this article make it seem llke changing a Developer Mode setting is some scary, dangerous thing? Enabling Developer Mode is literally the very first thing you should do when you get a new phone; it’s nothing to fear monger over.
not a perfect solution: but… SWITCH TO TERMUX
Or go Linux phone altogether. For the most part, it all works now!
This is not going to change anything. Google decided to become a bully and they’ll succeed.
It’s all a result of hardware manufacturers not bothering to create a common open source Android fork and keep giving more power to Google. Now even Samsung cannot operate their App Store without every single app in their store signed by Google.
How about we forget about Android and start using postmarketOS instead?
As a fellow postmarketOS user, it’s not fully ready for prime time, though it surely works.
If you need banking apps (not just bank in your browser), native popular messenger apps (Waydroid is there, but it’s way from perfect) and stuff like such, postmarketOS and mobile Linux in general are still not ready for you.
If you want to explore the alternative and ready to make some sacrifices in a quest for independence, you should absolutely give it a spin. Many well-supported devices (Pixel 3a, Pocophone F1 etc. etc.) are old and extremely cheap to buy on the secondhand market, and will offer you a decent experience.
Tried it. Except for a couple of fairphones, you really can’t use your phone even to make basic calls, etc.
Reporting from el cheapo, Pixel 3a: calls work flawlessly, had a little tinkering to make cellular Internet connection work with my provider. Looking at PostmarketOS Wiki, plenty of phones now work perfectly well as, well, phones.
It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out long term. Google absolutely will abuse this and consumers and regulators will catch on eventually. It might take some years, but the EU might step in when things get too lopsided.
The EU is far more concerned with forcing age verification into everything. Only allowing apps from approved stores helps them do that so I doubt they’re against this
EU politicans like van der Leyen are terrified of Trump, and do not have the backbone to stand up to American corporations.
No, they just don’t want to, they’re playing for the same team.
Google just has to keep it below the threshold of annoying ordinary people
Plan B if there’s no custom ROM for your phone:
- root and install App Manager (F-Droid)
- rip out play services
- Replace stock apps nagging about missing play services with FOSS alternatives
- flash microg if some of your favorite apps insist.
- install Aurora
- Choose your updates
You can’t flash microg on top of a ROM with google play services installed by default, even if you remove them
You can put the time until lockdown banner on your website if you have one, they have a guide for it and it’s simple.
How about LineageOS?
The alternative ROMS will be affected by this because many applications will require a Google account to function. There will be workarounds, but overall this effectively changes how the phone I spent my money on works: they are altering the terms of the deal.
many applications will require a Google account to function
Yeah, it might be a good time to stop using those apps. That’s privileged statement I know since I started using Lineage as part of my smartphone-purge, but when it comes to many every day tasks, I haven’t ran into any problems.
Note every day tasks don’t involve:
- Using Whatsapp*
- Taking Uber
- Going to any professional sports game
* I did find a way to bridge Whatsapp to Matrix-Synapse through an old iPhone and a docker container which is neat.
They do, however, involve:
- authorizing credit card payments
- accessing your medical data from your health insurance
Both involve apps with mandatory Play Integrity in my case.
Cards usually allow for SMS options.
And can’t you use a web browser for medical info?
No, a smartphone app is the only available options for MFA in both cases. Otherwise I wouldn’t have made a snide remark here.
I don’t have a Google account. I’ve had issues. The app for my CO2 sensor has the CHECK_LICENSE permission activated, which asks your phone for a Google account. I can’t use it with the new version of the apps. I’ve complained and the company responded that I should have a Google account so there is no issue. We shouldn’t need to make workarounds and bridges to use the gadgets we buy.
Just cracked the spine of Cory Doctorow’s Enshittification. I’m right there with you.
TL;DR: This will not affect LineageOS directly. But it may affect users running the stock ROM on their device.
— Lineage OS blog, Developer Verification: What it is, and how it affects you
So it looks like there’s just a small hurdle to get it working.
According to the blog post, LOS simply won’t include the AndroidDeveloperVerification package. If that’s really all (for now), people with custom ROMs who also mainly use F-droid don’t have much to worry about. It might actually bring a few more people around to degoogled Android.
