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Not good enough. If they cannot be uninstalled it means they are part of the base operationg system, which means that: 1. They represent a constant security ri

Not good enough. If they cannot be uninstalled it means they are part of the base operationg system, which means that: 1. They represent a constant security risk, since the disabled version does not get updated 2. Other apps can rely on Google’s components; they actually warn that by disabling them you can run into misbehavior of other apps Also, last I tried you can’t disable Google Play Services, which is actually the most important piece.

vetinari 8y ago
It is good enough. They cannot be uninstalled, because they are part of a partition that is read-only. It is read-only, because it doubles as a recovery/factory reset. They do not represent security risk, because system ignores them. They do not get loaded, no process is ever created for them and they are not considered when broadcasting intents. You cannot disable Google Play Services, because it is actually a framework, not app. Your only reasonable way to have it disabled is only after you persuade all the app authors not to use it. Good luck with that.
- bad_user 8y ago
  > They cannot be uninstalled, because they are part of a partition that is read-only. So Google is lying in its press release, proving my point? Also, I do not care on what partition they are installed. That’s a technical detail which cannot serve as justification for locking in users. What isn’t a technical detail however is the fact that regular users do not know how to disable apps, because that option is hidden in the Settings menu and comes with scary warnings. Also, there is no app uploaded on https://f-droid.org/ https://f-droid.org/ that depends on Google Play Services, so the point on persuading all app authors is obviously stretching it, since some of them have been persuaded already. Also this being about choice it’s pretty obvious that if I want to disable Google Play Services then I also want to avoid any app that depends on it. On the security risk, I don’t know if those components get loaded or not. As long as that code is on my phone, I cannot trust it not to be executed at some point in time. What if I enable that app by mistake? What if it gets enabled via the dozens of exploits that happen every year? Do you promise that it won’t ever be executed again? That’s not how security works.
  - vetinari 8y ago
    > So Google is lying in its press release, proving my point? Please point out where in the PR they are lying. To make it easier for you: > you can easily disable or delete them, Note the "disable or". Which is exactly the FIRST line of my first comment in this thread. The /system partition is also not about locking in users. It has a specific technical reason. But I get it, you are not interesting in constructive debate, you want to "win". Find someone else to discuss then, I'm interested only in rational discussion.

vetinari 8y ago

It is good enough. They cannot be uninstalled, because they are part of a partition that is read-only. It is read-only, because it doubles as a recovery/factory reset. They do not represent security risk, because system ignores them. They do not get loaded, no process is ever created for them and they are not considered when broadcasting intents. You cannot disable Google Play Services, because it is actually a framework, not app. Your only reasonable way to have it disabled is only after you persuade all the app authors not to use it. Good luck with that.

bad_user 8y ago
> They cannot be uninstalled, because they are part of a partition that is read-only. So Google is lying in its press release, proving my point? Also, I do not care on what partition they are installed. That’s a technical detail which cannot serve as justification for locking in users. What isn’t a technical detail however is the fact that regular users do not know how to disable apps, because that option is hidden in the Settings menu and comes with scary warnings. Also, there is no app uploaded on https://f-droid.org/ https://f-droid.org/ that depends on Google Play Services, so the point on persuading all app authors is obviously stretching it, since some of them have been persuaded already. Also this being about choice it’s pretty obvious that if I want to disable Google Play Services then I also want to avoid any app that depends on it. On the security risk, I don’t know if those components get loaded or not. As long as that code is on my phone, I cannot trust it not to be executed at some point in time. What if I enable that app by mistake? What if it gets enabled via the dozens of exploits that happen every year? Do you promise that it won’t ever be executed again? That’s not how security works.
- vetinari 8y ago
  > So Google is lying in its press release, proving my point? Please point out where in the PR they are lying. To make it easier for you: > you can easily disable or delete them, Note the "disable or". Which is exactly the FIRST line of my first comment in this thread. The /system partition is also not about locking in users. It has a specific technical reason. But I get it, you are not interesting in constructive debate, you want to "win". Find someone else to discuss then, I'm interested only in rational discussion.