4 ms·

Stop buying Android and what? Buy an iPhone that's even more locked down or live like an outcast that can't access essential services? Because those are the rea

• busymom0 1y ago
  What if people stopped buying brand new Android phones and instead bought used ones and then installed alternative Android versions and app stores.
  • out_of_protocol 1y ago
    Can't access banks, ticket systems etc. unfortunately we are in the era of tightened screws, the freedom is running out :(
    • eraviloi 1y ago
      Lol all these things work via the web. You just log on via the browswer. Not everything needs an app.
      • deleted 1y ago
        [deleted]
      • achrono 1y ago
        Other than banks & ticketing, there is a whole host of things that do in fact need an app. * Mobile payments * Navigation * All manner of IoT devices * Wearables! * Digital versions of ID (Mobile Passport Control) etc. So no, you can't just use the web.
        • A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 1y ago
          But, and I hesitate to point it out, because I am finding that people think it is somehow minimal entry stakes, one does not need any of those things..
          • homebrewer 1y ago
            You wouldn't get very far without WeChat and AliPay in China. Last time a good friend of mine was there, many merchants simply refused to accept cash. The few that did had made it known how much they were inconvenienced by doing that. Same for basically every interaction with locals, for accessing government services, or even just using the public transportation. It's pretty similar for locals AFAIK. And before anyone replies that he didn't have to travel there — no, he did, unless he was willing to look for another job (which are very sparse here, you hold on to a good job for dear life).
      • goda90 1y ago
        Aren't there attestation frameworks under development that they could start using too?
      • nunclieh 1y ago
        @achrono (I cannot reply to the other post, I don't know why). Yes, you can use just a web browser. > Mobile Payments They work with a card, no smartphone required. Moreover, cash didn't cease to exist. > Navigation Again, physical maps are a thing. Google Maps or OpenStreetMap are accessible by browser. Having a physical map and having to follow road signs can be a beautiful experience. If one is addicted to a machine that tells them where to go, navigators are still a thing (no smartphone required) >All manner of IoT devices Don't put an IoT device in your house if you don't know what it does and how it works. If the only way to interface to it is via an app... then you don't know what it does and how it works. Don't put it in your house. >Wearables I don't even know what are wearables: if I write it on Firefox it underlines it in red. By doing a quick search, I can see images of watches. Watches can work without an app. Moreover, watches that work without an app are usually less expensive than the other kind. >Digital versions of ID (Mobile Passport Control) Don't. I know that some governments are pushing this crap thinking it's the future. Simply don't. Imagine you're at the airport and you accidentally drop your passport. You pick it up, nothing lost. Imagine you drop your phone and it stops working. You lost: - Your documents - Your money (if you rely on your phone for paying and don't have cash with you, which seems a growing trend among people I know) - All your ways to contact people for help Instead: - Your wallet is stolen: you lost all your money and your cards, but you have your documents (at least the passport because it surely does not fit a wallet). - Your phone is stolen: you lost all the ways to contact people, but you can buy another one - Your passport is stolen: you can contact your embassy. Smartphones are becoming a SPOF (Single Point Of Failure) for our lives.
        • Y_Y 1y ago
          > physical maps Are you for real? I'm totally on board with using free and open alternatives, but if you're not going on a mountain trail then a physical map is going to be drastically worse than any navigation software. Also FWIW I have a card-sized passport that I can easily get stolen with my wallet.
          • nunclieh 1y ago
            Ok, I admit I do not own any such passport (for now). But for navigation... I use a mixture between physical maps and directions and online data. Specifically, before departure, I simply use OpenStreetMap to look at the route. If the route is very long I know I will be traveling by highways, so I rely on noting down only some keypoints. Then at the end of the route (near the destination), where I know I will get lost, I screenshot the map and I print it out (or have it on my laptop, it depends).
      • homebrewer 1y ago
        In your country, maybe. Over here you're dead in the water without a smartphone — can't access banking except by going to the branch and standing in the queue for an hour or two, can't access most government services. Limit your selection of goods (like electronics, but not only that) by something like 90% (and also increase prices by 30-50%) because brick and mortar shops sell old crap at much higher cost than it was ever worth, and the only real solution is buying from a major marketplace which is only available as a mobile application. This concept originated in China and is spreading. Beware.
        • _ache_ 1y ago
          Can I ask which country? You said originated in China but is it China or another east Asia country?
      • kovac 1y ago
        The 2FAs require their mobile app sometimes.
    • GuinansEyebrows 1y ago
      you can usually just use the web-interfaces for those services. less convenient, sure, but the options are there.
    • hsbauauvhabzb 1y ago
      What types of tickets are you referring to here? I’m not familiar with that restriction.
      • endgame 1y ago
        He's talking about concert tickets and similar entertainment events, where several of the major providers no longer provide PDF tickets and instead only send them to a phone app. It is possible to make enough of a stink and collect tickets on the day, but that option is increasingly difficult to find.
• itsanaccount 1y ago
  > live like an outcast in all things. I would encourage you and everyone who reads this post to stare down this option with realistic consideration. In a society this broken, it is the solution to more and more things. To checkout, to accept the hard mode because to pick the path of convenience is to be exploited. Again, and again, and again.
  • 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 1y ago
    I've been doing it. That's why I'm vegan.
    • rockemsockem 1y ago
      I'm sorry, this is such a funny follow up comment, I literally lol-ed when I got to it.
    • itsanaccount 1y ago
      I respect at least your choice but I'm not growing tofu on the farm. Veganism is one of those protests that while i appreciate going after factory farms, you're only enabled to do so by large corporations.
      • echelon_musk 1y ago
        > _I'm not growing tofu on the farm_ What else are you growing?
      • platevoltage 1y ago
        You've never tried growing tofu? It pops out of the ground in little cubes. Super easy, barely an inconvenience.
    • platevoltage 1y ago
      Eating on hard-mode is what we do.
• logicchains 1y ago
  Buy Apple; the point is to hurt Google. If enough people do it, Google might reconsider. Show them that the open ecosystem is the only value Android added, and if they refuse to bring back the open ecosystem then their platform will slowly die. Won't be long until Google's as locked-down as Apple at this rate, so all Android gives you is a power-hungry OS that protect your privacy even less than iOS does.
  • vachina 1y ago
    Not sure why this is downvoted. The entire value proposition of Android is the semi-open OS. For things you can’t do with Apple devices, you use the myriad of Android devices out there. A locked-down Android is pointless.
    • homebrewer 1y ago
      Yet most of the world runs Android. Its main value proposition was always wide selection of hardware for however much money you're willing to spend, not its relative openness. I make relatively decent money by our standards, and I wouldn't even think about dropping $700-1000 on a phone (which isn't even officially sold or supported over here). For the vast majority of people it's their whole income over 2-4 months. I don't know or care how much you make, let's say it's $10k per month. Imagine if you had to pay $20-40k for a phone which is good for maybe 5-8 years. And most of the world is like that.
  • thyristan 1y ago
    You've got to be kidding. Doesn't work, Apple is even more locked down than what this article announces. No sideloading whatsoever, signature checks ala Play Protect are mandatory and cannot be switched off, no alternative app stores, etc.
    • outofpaper 1y ago
      You can side load three apps at a time outside the EU and unlimited inside the EU.
  • 1y ago
• jazzyjackson 1y ago
  Flip phones can access essential services just fine, if some business or government office is only allowing something to be done via smartphone app, that’s a problem.
  • hsbauauvhabzb 1y ago
    A problem for who? Go ahead and raise it, I’m sure the government office will get right on fixing it.
• fluoridation 1y ago
  For years I've been buying middle-of-the-road Android phones because they provide pretty good bang for the buck, but if I can't use a computer I paid for however the fuck I want, I'm just going to start getting the cheapest crap I can get away with and use it as little as possible. "Vote with your wallet" doesn't have to mean total abstinence.
  • opan 1y ago
    I think getting a flagship device that's a few years old probably makes for a better experience. I check the LineageOS supported devices list, then search eBay for something from there.
• nunclieh 1y ago
  >live like an outcast that can't access essential services? I don't own a smartphone and I am happy as ever. I used to own one a while back, but it wasn't worth the effort and the rage when it was slow. If a service can be accessed only with a smartphone, I complain (which is of little use).
  • kovac 1y ago
    Do you not have to use a 2FA app for things like banking? In Singapore, they are phasing out 2FA options other than the banking app. The banking apps only work on iPhones and Google-approved Android phones. It's pretty bad.
    • 9cb14c1ec0 1y ago
      It's kind of stupid when you consider the number of people who don't have screen locks (or else have easily guessable ones) on their phones.
    • nunclieh 1y ago
      Wow. My bank provided me with an external token to do 2FA. If I have to guess, however, the code that generates the OTP code (assuming that is a code that is requested) should be easy enough to reverse engineer. I admit, though, that being forced to RE a f**ing android app just to do banking is grounds to change the aforementioned bank. Isn't there any other alternative in Singapore?
• endgame 1y ago
  It really isn't that bad. I've never owned a smartphone, and can do everything I need through websites and the occasional phone call.