4 ms·

Android doesn't do this. Everything is opt-in. Granted they require you to opt-in in order for the photos app to be usable & if you go out of your way to avoid

Android doesn't do this. Everything is opt-in. Granted they require you to opt-in in order for the photos app to be usable & if you go out of your way to avoid opting in they make your photo-browsing life miserable with prompts & notifications. But you do still have to opt-in.

nine_k 2y ago
A number of good third-party photo-browsing apps make it non-miserable, even if you never open Google Photos or even uninstall it.
- lucideer 2y ago
  I've seen a lot of people saying this generally but no specific recommendations. I've used Simple Gallery Pro before but it's not very good. Currently using Immich but that's not really a general photo app - it's got a narrow use case - so I still use the Google Photos app alongside it quite often. Specific alternative recommendations that aren't malware welcome.
  - marmight 2y ago
    It depends which features you need, but interestingly Google has another, lighter weight gallery app called Google Gallery that does not have any cloud features built in.
  - ckae 2y ago
    Fossify Gallery (on Fdroid or Google store) works quite nicely for me as a nice and simple photo viewer and management app.
  - nine_k 2y ago
    Simple Gallery Pro is what I use, and it seems fine to me. What do you think should be added to it, or altered? Just curious how other people see UX.
  - pertique 2y ago
    I can't personally vouch for it as I'm still stuck in Google Photos and would prefer to self-host it, but Ente may interest you. Open source, end-to-end encrypted, self-host or cloud.
    - lucideer 2y ago
      I'm really happy with Immich & not looking for a replacement. Evaluated it vs Ente in the past & went with it instead - as far as I could tell their apps have the same features & limitations (focus on remote backup & display rather than on local on-device photo management & basic markup/editing). If (like me) you don't need e2e I can highly recommend Immich for its use-case though.
  - dvngnt_ 2y ago
    > I've used Simple Gallery Pro before but it's not very good. It's rock solid for me. you can browse folders move, copy, hide small edits. you can't search 'dog' which is a plus, it doesn't scan faces.
    - gnuly 2y ago
      you might want to look into fossify.org as simple tools(of which simple gallery pro was a part of) has been sold to an israeli adware company. see: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/General-Discussion/issues/241 https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/General-Discussion/issu...
      - dvngnt_ 2y ago
        im aware. i believe i transferred
  - gnuly 2y ago
    i use aves[1] which has many features. especially useful if you travel and take pictures a lot. [1]: https://github.com/deckerst/aves https://github.com/deckerst/aves
    - lucideer 2y ago
      This looks potentially great, thanks. I'll give it a try.
- Ghoelian 2y ago
  > or even uninstall it Unfortunately google's camera app will only open google photos if you click the image preview after taking one. Just doesn't respect the default gallery app setting at all.
  - lucideer 2y ago
    The camera app opened Simple Gallery Pro for me no problem back when I used it. I've been back using Google Photos for a while now so perhaps the camera app has regressed since.
    - Ghoelian 2y ago
      Yeah, unfortunately nowadays all you get is this: https://i.imgur.com/QVkvrH9.png https://i.imgur.com/QVkvrH9.png
alex7734 2y ago
Google loves doing this. If you dare turn off Play Protect for example, you will be asked to turn it on every time you install or update anything. Never mind that you said no the last thousand times it asked.
- diggan 2y ago
  > Google loves doing this. Tech companies love doing this. Apple does the same, so does Microsoft. If you know some choice isn't right for you (now or forever), the company is feeling extra beautiful today, and you're in luck, you'll get a "Do this now, or I'll remind you later" choice. But then sometimes they just decide that "This is how things are now". I've had this happen in every environment except Linux, where I get to shoot myself in the foot whenever I want, and sometimes a bit more.
Enginerrrd 2y ago
It says it's "opt in" but as someone who hasn't opted in, I still get the notifications and I can see a split second preview of all the stuff they're not supposed to have computed before it asks me to opt in. So there's DEFINITELY shenanigans ocurring.

nine_k 2y ago

A number of good third-party photo-browsing apps make it non-miserable, even if you never open Google Photos or even uninstall it.

lucideer 2y ago
I've seen a lot of people saying this generally but no specific recommendations. I've used Simple Gallery Pro before but it's not very good. Currently using Immich but that's not really a general photo app - it's got a narrow use case - so I still use the Google Photos app alongside it quite often. Specific alternative recommendations that aren't malware welcome.
- marmight 2y ago
  It depends which features you need, but interestingly Google has another, lighter weight gallery app called Google Gallery that does not have any cloud features built in.
- ckae 2y ago
  Fossify Gallery (on Fdroid or Google store) works quite nicely for me as a nice and simple photo viewer and management app.
- nine_k 2y ago
  Simple Gallery Pro is what I use, and it seems fine to me. What do you think should be added to it, or altered? Just curious how other people see UX.
- pertique 2y ago
  I can't personally vouch for it as I'm still stuck in Google Photos and would prefer to self-host it, but Ente may interest you. Open source, end-to-end encrypted, self-host or cloud.
  - lucideer 2y ago
    I'm really happy with Immich & not looking for a replacement. Evaluated it vs Ente in the past & went with it instead - as far as I could tell their apps have the same features & limitations (focus on remote backup & display rather than on local on-device photo management & basic markup/editing). If (like me) you don't need e2e I can highly recommend Immich for its use-case though.
- dvngnt_ 2y ago
  > I've used Simple Gallery Pro before but it's not very good. It's rock solid for me. you can browse folders move, copy, hide small edits. you can't search 'dog' which is a plus, it doesn't scan faces.
  - gnuly 2y ago
    you might want to look into fossify.org as simple tools(of which simple gallery pro was a part of) has been sold to an israeli adware company. see: https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/General-Discussion/issues/241 https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/General-Discussion/issu...
    - dvngnt_ 2y ago
      im aware. i believe i transferred
- gnuly 2y ago
  i use aves[1] which has many features. especially useful if you travel and take pictures a lot. [1]: https://github.com/deckerst/aves https://github.com/deckerst/aves
  - lucideer 2y ago
    This looks potentially great, thanks. I'll give it a try.
Ghoelian 2y ago
> or even uninstall it Unfortunately google's camera app will only open google photos if you click the image preview after taking one. Just doesn't respect the default gallery app setting at all.
- lucideer 2y ago
  The camera app opened Simple Gallery Pro for me no problem back when I used it. I've been back using Google Photos for a while now so perhaps the camera app has regressed since.
  - Ghoelian 2y ago
    Yeah, unfortunately nowadays all you get is this: https://i.imgur.com/QVkvrH9.png https://i.imgur.com/QVkvrH9.png

alex7734 2y ago

Google loves doing this. If you dare turn off Play Protect for example, you will be asked to turn it on every time you install or update anything. Never mind that you said no the last thousand times it asked.

diggan 2y ago
> Google loves doing this. Tech companies love doing this. Apple does the same, so does Microsoft. If you know some choice isn't right for you (now or forever), the company is feeling extra beautiful today, and you're in luck, you'll get a "Do this now, or I'll remind you later" choice. But then sometimes they just decide that "This is how things are now". I've had this happen in every environment except Linux, where I get to shoot myself in the foot whenever I want, and sometimes a bit more.

Enginerrrd 2y ago

It says it's "opt in" but as someone who hasn't opted in, I still get the notifications and I can see a split second preview of all the stuff they're not supposed to have computed before it asks me to opt in. So there's DEFINITELY shenanigans ocurring.