So google now requires Id verification for submitting apps to android, what does it mean for Foss apps, for Foss stores like fdroid and for future development?
So google now requires Id verification for submitting apps to android, what does it mean for Foss apps, for Foss stores like fdroid and for future development?
Everybody switch to LineageOS and give Google the middle finger.
In the meantime anyway. The only real way forward is Linux phones and thankfully theyre a lot better these days.
Android will never be safe so long as it’s under Google’s thumb. They’ll just keep tightening the screws til it’s just a different looking iOS.
Android is open source. There’s nothing saying that we, as the community, couldn’t fork it away and use it as our own base, at least in the meantime.
That’s why Lineage is called Lineage, and Graphene is called Graphene, because Android is a trademark, but nothing stops you from just forking off, say Android 16, and not relying on Google at all anymore. Make your own security patches and everything else.
Instead of Android apps, we’d have lineage apps. And lineage apps would work on lineage devices and graphene devices only.
Instead of .apk it would be say .lpk and the conversion between the two would be seamless.
so that anybody who built an Android app could with just one single command also build the app for lineage or something like that.
The problem is no banking institution, etc. Would do that. They could simply ignore play integrity already but they don’t do that.
And with that, how long until there are no unlockable bootloaders? Then a fork wouldn’t matter at all and using a Linux phone with lineage likely wouldn’t even work due to lack of device drivers for android.
It is difficult to switch to custom roms when manufacturers like Samsung block bootloader unlocking or like Xiaomi make the process hard.
https://github.com/melontini/bootloader-unlock-wall-of-shame
Yes, you do have to do your research before buying a device. Otherwise, you will end up in this situation. What we really need is for graphene to start coming out with their own devices from a manufacturer so that we can say, go buy this device specifically. So instead of go buy this Samsung, it would be go buy this other thing and graphene would already be on it right out of the box.
Either that or we need a company or individuals to sell devices that they have installed, say, lineage or graphene on already, and put back in the box.
Yeah. Any way to switch my Canadian S10 or S20 to Lineage or similar? I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Except those of us who dont have a LineageOS compatible phone sadly.