5 ms·

Got any actual proof? About stuff that can't just be toggled off that is

Zhyl 2y ago
So literally just now I opened the Google photos app and it came up with a nag screen to turn on auto-backup which I had already explicitly turned off. The message was worded to make it sound like they were doing me a favour and it was difficult to close the banner (I just exited the app because what I needed to do was possible with a less invasive version). I would not go so far as GP as to say that this dark pattern is better or worse than what Microsoft is doing, but I think it is a fair point that a Google/Microsoft account is needed on the biggest mobile/desktop platforms respectively and their attitude to privacy and user agency is somewhere between laissez-faire and contemptuous. With Android there does at least feel like with F-Droid, different OEMs, alternative apps, the web and even Other android spins that these aren't quite the lockdown that Windows is, although it's fair to say that in either case you shouldn't really be constantly on your guard for the next way that your operating system is going to try to trick you into giving away more of your stuff to them.
- beeboobaa3 2y ago
  Google is naggy, which is annying, I agree. But as far as I know they let you turn everything off.
  - Zhyl 2y ago
    Can you download apps and use the app store without a Google account? That's probably the biggest analogue to TFA here.
    - beeboobaa3 2y ago
      Sure, it's not convenient for normies but you can just download the apk from somewhere and then install it, just like you can do with an .exe or installer on windows.
    - weberer 2y ago
      You can use Fdroid and sideload apps, but Google makes it impossible to run most apps without Google Play Services running in the background.
      - beeboobaa3 2y ago
        > but Google makes it impossible to run most apps without Google Play Services running in the background. It's actually the developers of the app doing that. I make sure to minimize such dependencies.
- rubenbe 2y ago
  I agree, the dialogs are getting increasingly frequent and harder to "click" away. I'm open for suggestions for an open-source Android image gallery app.

Zhyl 2y ago

So literally just now I opened the Google photos app and it came up with a nag screen to turn on auto-backup which I had already explicitly turned off. The message was worded to make it sound like they were doing me a favour and it was difficult to close the banner (I just exited the app because what I needed to do was possible with a less invasive version). I would not go so far as GP as to say that this dark pattern is better or worse than what Microsoft is doing, but I think it is a fair point that a Google/Microsoft account is needed on the biggest mobile/desktop platforms respectively and their attitude to privacy and user agency is somewhere between laissez-faire and contemptuous. With Android there does at least feel like with F-Droid, different OEMs, alternative apps, the web and even Other android spins that these aren't quite the lockdown that Windows is, although it's fair to say that in either case you shouldn't really be constantly on your guard for the next way that your operating system is going to try to trick you into giving away more of your stuff to them.

beeboobaa3 2y ago
Google is naggy, which is annying, I agree. But as far as I know they let you turn everything off.
- Zhyl 2y ago
  Can you download apps and use the app store without a Google account? That's probably the biggest analogue to TFA here.
  - beeboobaa3 2y ago
    Sure, it's not convenient for normies but you can just download the apk from somewhere and then install it, just like you can do with an .exe or installer on windows.
  - weberer 2y ago
    You can use Fdroid and sideload apps, but Google makes it impossible to run most apps without Google Play Services running in the background.
    - beeboobaa3 2y ago
      > but Google makes it impossible to run most apps without Google Play Services running in the background. It's actually the developers of the app doing that. I make sure to minimize such dependencies.
rubenbe 2y ago
I agree, the dialogs are getting increasingly frequent and harder to "click" away. I'm open for suggestions for an open-source Android image gallery app.