Post AxYnEB5E1rCi79lRDs by grote@chaos.social
(DIR) More posts by grote@chaos.social
(DIR) Post #AxYnDvECygsmwNqO0G by grote@chaos.social
2025-08-25T17:28:54Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
Google won't allow you to install Android apps whose developers' identity Google hasn't verified. Starting in 2026 in some countries and in 2027 everywhere: https://www.androidauthority.com/android-developer-verification-requirements-3590911/
(DIR) Post #AxYnE2xqDQXmvwFQbQ by grote@chaos.social
2025-08-26T10:05:16Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
We need to fight Google's new ID requirement for app developers. It isn't like showing ID at the airport. More like showing it at the printing press and only IDed authors are allowed to print books.What Google doesn't talk about is that they build this ID system to ban developers and their apps.
(DIR) Post #AxYnEB5E1rCi79lRDs by grote@chaos.social
2025-08-26T10:08:46Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
Unfortunately, developers on Google Play are already used to this system and people have accepted Apple, so I this will be a hard fight. Digital ecosystems being closed "to keep us safe" isn't seen as a bad thing.
(DIR) Post #AxYnEJXAbqJKK8trtI by grote@chaos.social
2025-08-26T10:17:54Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
People saying "But I use a degoogled custom ROM, so I won't be affected" are missing the point. Apps not on Google Play are already a niche. Banning them on most people's devices is a big issue, even if some people can still escape.Also the general trend of Google becoming more closed may make even custom ROMs impossible eventually.
(DIR) Post #AxYnERZaij07Fy5um8 by grote@chaos.social
2025-08-26T10:22:15Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
In the past, when books were censored and forbidden, people could still print them in their basements and spread them. Everybody who got their hands on one, could read it. This won't be possible anymore in our new digital age.
(DIR) Post #AxZIpCQ37dfpYEdauu by grote@chaos.social
2025-08-26T13:29:09Z
0 likes, 4 repeats
Under-reported detail: If you don't pay a fee to Google, they limit how many people can install your apps and how many apps you are allowed to have.Source: https://developer.android.com/developer-verification/guides/android-developer-console
(DIR) Post #AxZIpDwLT36MGgkttY by grote@chaos.social
2025-08-26T13:43:45Z
1 likes, 5 repeats
Google asks what we think of their plans to block Android app installs outside of Google Play (unless the developers let Google verify their identity and pay a fee).Want to tell them your opinion, just submit this form:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfN3UQeNspQsZCO2ITkdzMxv81rJDEGGjO-UIDDY28Rz_GEVA/viewform?usp=dialog
(DIR) Post #AxZz3rYZARAtGWIPUe by mcc@mastodon.social
2025-08-26T19:57:53Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@grote Hello, where did you find this URL? How can we confirm Google is the one who owns this Google Doc?
(DIR) Post #AxZz57QndBJAn1GJDU by mcc@mastodon.social
2025-08-26T19:53:26Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@grote Seems to clearly indicate they'll be tracking which devices run which apps? So Google will know every time I open an app on my own phone…?What if I'm installing something that a government somewhere considers illegal, like an emulator, or a period-tracking app? Does Google have that information? Could they derive it from information they do have (for example if they know the app developer I ran but not the app, but the developer only has one app)? Will they report it on subpeona
(DIR) Post #AxbC5o60Uw2bfq9fLk by ilumium@eupolicy.social
2025-08-26T20:41:40Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
Thank you @grote for sharing this. In addition to telling #Google that locking down #Android is bad, I'd also recommend every app developer to write to the @EUCommission's #DMA enforcement team and tell them that this practically circumvents Article 6(4) of the #DigitalMarketsAct, which was supposed to *enable* 3rd party app (stores).The EC is discussing the same question with #Apple atm and they have to understand what happens if they let this happen.Contact form:https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/contact-dma-team_en
(DIR) Post #AxbCpEKvmZCG5anLZQ by nigger@detroitriotcity.com
2025-08-27T15:24:45.650451Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@grote f-droid is already where anything worth using is to be found. the equivalent apps on the play store are trash
(DIR) Post #AxbCw3ZmBjPWk7zfw8 by fknretardlol@decayable.ink
2025-08-27T15:25:59.927885Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
https://pine64.org/devices/pinephone/
(DIR) Post #AyMRrJReX7ngUAMN60 by grote@chaos.social
2025-08-26T23:59:17Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
The @commonsguy has some uncomfortable Questions About Android Developer Verification for Google: https://commonsware.com/blog/2025/08/26/uncomfortable-questions-android-developer-verification.html
(DIR) Post #AyMRrKJXImtzBHZP5E by grote@chaos.social
2025-09-18T23:46:05Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
Android published new APIs that seem to confirm that your phone will phone home when you install apps. It will refuse installation when you are offline or developer got blocked by Google: https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/pm/PackageInstaller#DEVELOPER_VERIFICATION_FAILED_REASON_NETWORK_UNAVAILABLE
(DIR) Post #AyMRrSIPcqkxw76cRU by grote@chaos.social
2025-09-18T23:54:08Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
The documentation also talks about a "developer verification policy" that may allow "the user to bypass a verification failure caused by network issues".Also, there will be a "lite version of the developer verification", but what this means is still unclear.
(DIR) Post #AyNKUNtZJfGd6eUsdc by AlexanderMars@mastodon.social
2025-09-19T11:25:45Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aleksandrayulia @grote @GrapheneOS unfortunately at the moment grapheneOS is also at the mercy of google for hardware, as no other company both meets their security requirements and allows un/re-locking of the bootloader.
(DIR) Post #AyNKUPGIEf2TLQ8XhI by tomjennings@tldr.nettime.org
2025-09-19T20:36:44Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@AlexanderMarsI've often wondered why grapheneOS doesn't run on pine phone and other libre phone projects. But I haven't asked, either. Is there any stated reason? @aleksandrayulia @grote @GrapheneOS
(DIR) Post #AyNPrkRu7xIRUFW8au by AlexanderMars@mastodon.social
2025-09-19T21:36:57Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@tomjennings @aleksandrayulia @grote @GrapheneOS it mostly comes down to hardware security concerns, that platforms like pinephone simply never intended to address. I’ve read a few threads where @GrapheneOS lays out the technical issues, and I’m sure there’s a blog post if you wanted a deep dive. Suffice to say, pinephone is about fostering a maturing Linux ecosystem for mobile than a secure platform for GrapheneOS.
(DIR) Post #AyO2KhF8vE4YCTmMHw by GrapheneOS@grapheneos.social
2025-09-20T04:47:59Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@tomjennings @AlexanderMars @aleksandrayulia @grote@chaos.social PinePhone and Librem 5 are not libre phone projects. They're closed source hardware with closed source firmware. The reason they're not supported by GrapheneOs is because they have extraordinarily poor security. It's not possible to provide a reasonably private and secure device on top of hardware with very low security components. They're not working towards what we are and are misleading people about what they provide to sell devices.
(DIR) Post #AyTiR644iVJyml8VM0 by AlexanderMars@mastodon.social
2025-09-22T13:04:27Z
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@DanielDNK @tomjennings @aleksandrayulia that’s one of the core goals of the pinephone, to eliminate the blobs and foster community FOSS hardware.
(DIR) Post #AyTiR7RrZXwZ4pH14S by GrapheneOS@grapheneos.social
2025-09-22T15:57:35Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@AlexanderMars @DanielDNK @tomjennings @aleksandrayulia PinePhone is closed source hardware with closed source firmware. It doesn't eliminate blobs. Not updating them from the OS is not eliminating them. It's falsely marketed as being open hardware when it's nothing of the kind. SoC has closed source hardware and firmware, as do the radios, storage, touchscreen, memory and everything else. It's a hardware product and as a hardware product it's not open despite it being marketed as being open.
(DIR) Post #AyTiR8alJwekciRda4 by GrapheneOS@grapheneos.social
2025-09-22T15:59:09Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@AlexanderMars @DanielDNK @tomjennings @aleksandrayulia Pine64 is a for-profit company and PinePhone is a product sold by them for profit which is misrepresented as being open when it isn't. It's not a community project and it's not community hardware or open hardware.Beyond misrepresenting the device as open, they spread a lot of misinformation as part of their false marketing. They misrepresent the cellular radio as more isolated when it's much less isolated and extraordinarily insecure.
(DIR) Post #AyTiREJc2cVGNGT1gO by GrapheneOS@grapheneos.social
2025-09-22T16:01:48Z
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@AlexanderMars @DanielDNK @tomjennings @aleksandrayulia It's a highly unusual cellular radio with a very outdated Qualcomm cellular radio with outdated firmware combined with a whole extra CPU running a proprietary fork of an ancient Android release and cellular drivers/services. That exposes adb with full root access and fastboot via USB. Being able to replace this strange extra OS running on a strange extra CPU has been misrepresented as open source baseband firmware for marketing the device.
(DIR) Post #AyTyd6PIrsySaZoPdA by GrapheneOS@grapheneos.social
2025-09-22T15:05:02Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@jawsh @postmarketOS @AlexanderMars @tomjennings @aleksandrayulia The Terminal app currently requires that the profile you're using it in doesn't have a VPN because there isn't yet an exclusion for the interface used internally for communicating with the VM from the app running in the profile. It sounds like you're trying to use it with a VPN. It's technically already possible to use it with a VPN with VPN lockdown enabled but it's best to just use it in a profile without one for now.
(DIR) Post #AyTyd85sb4cpoujvdI by tomjennings@tldr.nettime.org
2025-09-23T01:34:47Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@GrapheneOS @jawsh @postmarketOS @AlexanderMars @aleksandrayulia Please remove me from this conversation.
(DIR) Post #AyTydCY22LWNdNwT4K by GrapheneOS@grapheneos.social
2025-09-22T15:07:23Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@jawsh @postmarketOS @AlexanderMars @tomjennings @aleksandrayulia It only takes a few seconds for it to initialize, there's no reason to wait that long. The upstream Terminal app currently shares the Download directory from shared storage as a proof of concept but that will be replaced with a saner approach since it shouldn't be giving unconditional access to a directory that's already used for other purposes. It should end up getting support for dynamically sharing specific directories.
(DIR) Post #AyU3L6n1Ct1YKk8z3o by GrapheneOS@grapheneos.social
2025-09-23T01:55:50Z
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@jawsh @postmarketOS @AlexanderMars @tomjennings @aleksandrayulia It's an upstream Android bug and we've had too much higher priority work to fix it. You can just put Terminal in a secondary profile without a VPN for now and it's still an experimental feature.Android 16 had changes which broke the basic GUI support a fair bit but we expect that to be resolved soon once we port to Android 16 QPR1.Pixel 10 GPU has GPU virtualization support instead of needing VirGL or the newer gfxstream.
(DIR) Post #AyU3L7dq2VH6yYrAOG by tomjennings@tldr.nettime.org
2025-09-23T02:27:34Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@GrapheneOS @jawsh @postmarketOS @AlexanderMars @aleksandrayulia Please take me off this thread. Thanks.
(DIR) Post #AyU3LCNiPsLhg0LrSC by GrapheneOS@grapheneos.social
2025-09-23T01:59:30Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@jawsh @postmarketOS @AlexanderMars @tomjennings @aleksandrayulia NVIDIA calls that vGPU and it's a proprietary feature with a licensing fee. AMD has MxGPU for free now. It's a feature which was not even available for desktops in general and is now available on a phone. Qualcomm cares a lot about virtualization support and our hope is that we can have similar functionality on Snapdragon-based devices. They're also finally shipping MTE for their custom cores with their new SoC launching soon.