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Some of these comments are wild.
The OS should not at all stop me from doing what I want to do. Ever. Not even if that means I can fuck it up.
They can warn me when I attempt to do things that could fuck shit up. They can make it a bit harder to navigate to certain things so I'm less likely to fuck shit up. But it's my god damn hardware. I should be able to run and configure the software on it as I see fit.
But we subsidised the cost of your phone so we could make sweet sweet recurring revenue off your usage habits and targeted advertising!
You wouldn't want to take that away from us would you? Won't SOMEBODY think of the shareholders?!
I'm getting really sick of products being only available subsidized by a level of invasiveness that should be illegal.
The government should need an individualized warrant to purchase my data. And honestly Google should need one to collect it
We really really need an open OS for mobile phones that is actually competitive with commercial offerings.
I don't think the OS is the problem - it's that some of the critical service/apps people rely on (government ID, banking) only exist for the closed systems. Third party OS's try to "solve" it through various container approaches running the official apps, but since they see that as a security problem it's not something you can fully trust to be working at all times.
That's the only reason I'm still on android. If I install a different OS I won't be able to login to do anything government related. I won't even be able to pay with my credit card online. I could get a physical code device from the government, but I'm not gonna lie, I really like the ease of access of having an app for that stuff, instead of a seperate device I have to have on me at all times.
The number of people I encounter, even on Lemmy, that genuinely believe and rigorously argue that being able to install or distribute software on devices you own is actually bad because “security” is beyond horrifying to me. They have been brainwashed into thinking that corporate monopolies are not only acceptable but desirable because you can completely and blindly trust Mom’s Old Fashioned Robot Oil to make all your decisions for you, for a modest fee and no opting out, of course.
This is why society is collapsing.
Dude, I've been fighting this fight for over 10 years starting on reddit.
The amount of people, even supposedly?!? tech savy people that bootlick and excuse corporate behaviour is maddening. To the point makes you want to be conspiratorial and think they are saboteurs.
What I will never EVER understand is being loyal and "loving" a company. No matter if it's Apple, Samsung, Google they ARE NOT your friends. In fact they are the exact opposite and will make your life worse if it means they can squeeze an extra cent out of you.
You know, it's true - I have never heard a Linux user refer to something as sideloading, even though Linux is the platform that originated official software repositories.
The key thing to understand is that there's a big fucking difference between a "repository" and an "app store." One is designed for the convenience of users; the other is designed to exploit them.
This does feel like a bit of a double-standard to me. I’ve hated how Microsoft and Apple have introduced app stores on Windows and macOS and try to push people to only install from there instead of directly from the developer. And yet on Linux the advice seems to be never ever download directly from the developer; you should only download from the package repository provided by your OS (which sure feels like an App Store). And that package probably wasn’t even provided by the developer or the OS but some random volunteer that you just assume has good intentions.
The key difference is that one is advised, the other is enforced.
If you used Linux before the repos were fully developed then you understand why they were created.
Who else remembers "dependency hell?"
Corpos just took the same idea and twisted it into something else.
It may feel like a double standard but it's not
Most Linux stores are created and maintained by volunteers
Those stores aren't limiting software they host based on what makes them the most money. Money isn't involved.at all
Linux won't stop you from adding more stores
Linix won't stop you from manually adding any other software, either as a package or even manually building it from scratch
They claim this is about security but when your system is compromised there is fuck all they will do to help you.
Fucking hypocritical, control-hungry pricks.
It's about the security of their brand. No sane company wants people walking around, talking about shit their phone is because it keeps getting infected.
This isn't a fight over security, or even the control to form a walled garden. This is to eliminate privacy, the ability to run anonymously written code. This forces every bit of code to be tied to a name and face. It shortens the legal legwork needed to pin down who made what, this will be used to eliminate anonymous groups compiling their own E2EE communication network. Time is important when your trying to use a compromised member of a group to make a honeypot trap.
Megacorps gonna megacorp.
Monopolies gonna monopoly.
We can fight these giants by not using their services & products.
It only gets harder to fight them the more we give in.
I can't even get people to switch to LibreOffice, not cuz they use some advanced MS Office feature but because the interface "looks dated". So they'd rather pay a subscription for life to use software that spies on them than download free software that does what they need but has a 2010s style interface.
Humans suck so much.
I had to 'sideload' the secret of mana port because play store would refuse to validate the license offline after purchase. If I can't play offline a single player game that i bought, than what should i do.
I also have an apk of wayward souls, because it was removed from the store and i like that game. Also a premium game. So yes. Running software as i see fit.
nudging the EU with a stick Come on, do something
They are, they are banning bootloader unlocking, a requirement to get out of corporate hell.
They can piss off, there is no way I'm dowloading Google's ad ridden garbage apps of of their store. I'd rather stop using mobile phones alltogether
I finally want to switch to android and boom: Custom ROMs and "sideloading" gets swept off the platter. Well ok I guess I‘ll just wait for a good linux mobile OS
I can only hope the EU will set Google straight, the way they did Apple.
Is this the context? https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/115091392102147470
arstechnica@mastodon.social - Google will block sideloading of unverified Android apps starting next year
Google says it's no different than checking IDs at the airport.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/08/google-will-block-sideloading-of-unverified-android-apps-starting-next-year/?utm_social-type=owned
No difference from checking IDs at the airport? So Google wants a government body to handle their platform on their behalf and to ensure a common playing field where at the airport I can choose whatever vendor I’d like?
Not only we have basic right taken from us, the available software made by corporations is much buggier and less usable than ever. I am grateful that I am actually going away from tech/IT and pursuing other hobbies/interests, because I am less frustrated that way.
And I've decided to switch to Linux (Debian with KDE btw), because aside from its learning curve, it's much easier to manage than Windows installation.
I think that, with the current state of OSes like Windows and Android, there should be some minimal amount of friction to enabling installation of non-vetted apps. Maybe some switch that can't be enabled accidentally, or without understanding that there's risk involved (or at least a switch that can be disabled and password protected) for the sake of children or the elderly.
On the other hand, though, an OS should be built with enough security and sandboxing that no single application can brick your entire device without at least tapping through and giving it a ton of permissions; which means that the only remaining risk to the end user would be access to disinformation or other harmful content, or the risk of personal information exfiltration (i.e. phishing). At that point, a simple block list (or even just an allow list) maintained by a trusted guardian or third party would be sufficient to keep children or the elderly from harmful content, and whoops we've just invented the internet again.
I am once again begging for Boot2Gecko to become a thing.
