The EU would like you all to bend a little lower and gag
https://github.com/eu-digital-identity-wallet/av-doc-technical-specification/issues/18
Maybe this would be a push for a real open source based phone. GNU/Linux phones needed this push to really get more popularity
You can’t sideload on Linux.
…because why "sideload"when frontload works directly? I guess…maybe it’s your cuckold fetish to watch someone else nerd your box…
Don’t even try to get me started on windoze until the fucking Epstein files are releeased.
I hope this means the resurgence of cheap flip phones. I have no use for a pocket computer that I can’t use like a computer. I went with Android because iOS was useless, and now Android is about to be made equally useless.
Will be interesting to see how many people move over to iOS now that Google is trashing Android’s redeeming feature.
I’ve enabled the advanced protection and it’s so easy to turn off to install a single app and turn back on but I haven’t seen it as an issue. Is there something new now? Because I’m not seeing an issue here.
Yes they are, for all intents and purposes, making it impossible to turn off advanced protection. The only way to install unverified apps will be via developer mode and if you turn that on a bunch of apps refuse to run until you turn it back off
Can’t you just switch off Play Protect entirely?
The only way to install unverified apps will be via developer mode and if you turn that on a bunch of apps refuse to run until you turn it back off.
Wait, when did this become a thing? I’ve had developer mode turned on on my phone for ages without any issues.
Not sure when exactly but some banking apps in the UK refuse to run if they detect developer mode is enabled and, given the general trend towards locking everything down, I expect many other mainstream apps to enforce these checks at some point.
I guess one could run two phones, an official phone for banking etc and another one with dev mode for pissing around but these rules will reduce the number of people who install unverified apps to a very small number
Take the one thing Android has over Apple away. Why go Android then? Might as well go with the device that has close ties to the hardware. Guess we are going back to the days when only nerds that knew how to flash better roms will be using Android.
Many are going even further. Both my friend and I are planning to get dumb flip phones next. Forget also this smartphone always online stuff
no option for secure messaging on a flip phone
You would be surprised. Most modern “dumb phones” run KaiOS which has an App Store.
I found the app selection on KaiOS to be disappointingly limited because they broke compatibility not long ago with older OS version, dropping a bunch of app support. But, it depends on what the user needs. I tried it and it wasn’t for me.
Modern flip phones can often tether.
carry… TWO devices?! Like some kind of insane asshole!?
the horror
I mean, yeah.
Why would I carry one device that does everything and one device that does less and isn’t really more private, doesn’t make much sense.
Because Android is ran by a capitalist corporation that spies on you 24/7 and seeks to restrict and control their platform.
If I could make it convenient, I’d carry a flip phone and a laptop. I trust both far more than Google, and slightly more than GrapheneOS.
Downvote all you like. I’m not telling any of you to do anything. You want security? Toss your phone out of a moving car and get a notebook.
That’s not a bad idea.
Why not completely divorce your phone from your portable computing device?
Before smartphones, they were getting pretty small. You could probably make a phone that was just a voice activated earbud now. Then have a device that was everything but the “phone” bits. You wouldn’t have to accept the locked down aspects that the cell providers demand, you could have all the variety and functionality of your home computer or laptop.
I’m looking forward for a Sailfish OS device tbh
In the U.S you can’t buy any of these devices because the cell networks are privately owned and one of the unofficial conditions of you getting access is that you have to have government surveillance and soon censorship on your device, as well as locked bootloaders with signing and stuff. They are currently spending tons of money in Europe to get rid of freedom of thought over there as well. You guys might have 10 more years.
In the U.S you can’t buy any of these devices…
No. My Father in Law has one and they’re available from Verizon, AT&T, and others.
…and one of the unofficial conditions of you getting access is that you have to have government surveillance and soon censorship on your device…
Where are you getting this disinformation from?
I like the idea, but there’s a lot of things that I truly want on my phone. Like Google Maps and the Garmin app for my watch.
you can use sandboxed google maps on GrapheneOS
I don’t even know what that means, honestly.
you create a google account that is only used inside the sanboxed container and prevent your data from being mined and sent to google. you can turn off its internet access at any time in the permissions which isn’t possible on stock Android
Guess we are going back to the days when only nerds that knew how to flash better roms will be using Android.
Will we even have that? IIRC, Google’s changing the open source model for Android so its going to be a lot harder from ROM devs to keep up to date with security patches, and then more importantly, access to device drivers
this is honestly my ideology at the moment… like freedom was the main reason I’m on android. Price wise it’s already getting close, and most flagships have removed microSD card support by now. I’m seriously debating my next phone being an iphone just because most of my family uses them, and my convenience being on android is being actively removed anyway.
I can’t even imagine that transfer, I’ve been android my entire life but, every time I talk to my family I list what I want in a phone, and every time I talk to them it seems apple has marked another issue off the list with an update.
I went Apple for a bit around iphone 6. then back to Android. But Apple has solved most of my OS complaints since and I’m still Android mainly because it’s open. I already know Google is making bank off my info, if they do this bullshit, I’ll go Apple until Linux is baked.
TBF, I could also see myself with a mobile access point and a small linux tablet but I don’t see much in that realm either. .
Guess we are going back to the days when only nerds that knew how to flash better roms will be using Android.
Google is closing those gates as well. Pixel 10 drivers aren’t in the new AOSP build. Graphene has been updated to the Android 16 core, but as Google tightens the leash, it will be more difficult. Google’s plan to combine ChromeOS and Android into a MegaBloat will further make it so AOSP is useless.
Every time Google releases a new app for the core OS, they stop supporting the open-source flavor of it, which is why apps like the AOSP messaging app can’t do RCS. Eventually all that will be left of AOSP is a mostly useless husk.
Google’s intended use case for AOSP going forward is for vendors to be able to test pre-release things, primarily in an emulator environment.
Couple that with things like Samsung’s Qualcomm phones can’t be bootloader unlocked, and less and less phones in general can be bootloader unlocked, it is going to be an uphill battle for alt OSes.
Hopefully, this will drive enough dev time towards getting a proper Linux-based mobile device in the works, but even that will be problematic as most modems/chips available for that kind of project are inferior, slow, do not support all the bands/modes of modern carrier networks, and even after all of that, the carrier can still reject to certify the device for the network.
It isn’t hopeless, but everyone is going to have to get creative and driven if we have any intention of retaining free and open mobile devices.
Well said, and you’re right, it’s not hopeless. Most people don’t need the latest superphone, personally I want to carry around a good music device, that I can read books on, and preferably have maps. Many like cameras, but I like the idea of a devoted one. The communications (/surveillance) device is a separate thing and perhaps we should think seriously about breaking these things apart, hotspot that you turn on when needed for example. How about a nice general purpose pocketable linux gadget and a secure simple telecom to give it a connection?
GrapheneOS said they are working with an unnamed OEM to make devices compatible with GOS. Hopefully they are good, because Pixels may indeed be a dead end.
It’s nearly impossible to even flash a rom these days, they made sure to cover that first. They want to make sure you are only allowed to watch or read what they approve of. That’s what it’s all about. Next time they get a democratic in, they won’t even give trans people their rights back, they are just going to go after gun rights hard. Mark my words.
Maybe there’s a silverlining of the custom rom scene interest growing again like when Android first came out among enthusiasts. Lot over the years just stopped flashing roms, since phones got “good enough” that it stopped being worth the hassle.
But, losing easy sideloading without need for adb is a pretty big deal for enthusiasts that more might start looking into custom roms again.
Android’s future goes bleak as updates passby.
This linux phone by Liberux seems like the most promising option in the near future. The crowdfunding campaign failed this summer but the project is still moving forward, just waiting to hear more from them @Liberux
Also GrapheneOS but not sure how far along any of this is: “We plan to partner with OEMs to have devices produced meeting all our requirements, providing additional privacy/security features beyond them and ideally shipping with GrapheneOS rather than massively lowering our standards.”
Edit: here’s a recent post from GrapheneOS from August 2025:
That Liberux phone looks pretty cool, though I’m not sure how Linux apps would work. Does it just use Android apps? I can’t imagine too many Linux programs would work well on a phone, both because of the size as the screen as well as battery usage/background sleep.
Linux phone OSes can usually run Android apps through a VM but generally you want to avoid it for performance and privacy reasons.
There are apps available for mobile Linux that are optimized for small screens and touch. Just not a ton understandably due to low userbase.
Good to know, thanks!
While it sucks at least they say adb install will continue to work (for now)
https://developer.android.com/developer-verification/guides/faqCan we update without adb? If updating all the apps also require ADB, this will get annoying fast.
If EU doesn’t step in, I’m moving to custom ROM
Build up graphene and Linux phones!
GrapheneOS is probably not long for this world with how much Google has been fucking with AOSP’s source code releases. We need full-fat mainline Linux on our phones, with no Android code included.
Lineage OS works for me
it is not secure for modern threat models… even of basic normie. unlocked bootloader with ice around is unacceptable.
Can you explain why? Does your threat model involve nation state actors compromising your phone physically?
The core problem isnt nation state actors. Could just be your local police department searching your phone with tools built by those nation-state actors. Cellebrite documentation gets leaked from time to time, and iOS is safe if it’s off and gos is safe with default settings, everything else is breakable.
And that is local podunk cop who just takes a interest hooking up your phone to a cracking tool…
Now every police contact becomes a opportunity to leak all of your digital life
- traffic stops
- DUI checkpoints
- boarder crossings
- witnessing a crime (phone is now evidence)
Sounds like I’ll be using a “phone” with Ubuntu Touch or similar with a VoIP SIP app running. As long as I have 4G/5G data, that’ll probably work as well as anything I’m willing to use.
For me, this has the added bonus of being able to configure my VoIP service however I want. Mine lets me do custom menus and such, easier to filter out robots that way.
Let’s see if I have an old Pixel 3a around…
I have my Pixel 9 pro with GrapheneOS. Google ain’t telling me shit about what I can or can’t install.
Are the banking apps still blocked? How’s the camera? It’s been a while since I installed grapheneos…
Pixels are made by Google? You’re supporting this hot mess? They can lock the bootloader any time?
Cans and string are about to make a comeback?
My 320 EUR Pixel 7a is running GrapheneOS.
It’s just Android. You’re as subject to this as anyone else is, if not moreso.
It is an a degoogled by default open source Android fork. I am writing this on a Pixel tablet running GrapheneOS with zero Google software sources on it. Google Play has no power here, and is running sandboxed if you choose to install it.
One day you’ll wake up to the news that Graphene is ending support at a certain Android version because they can’t get sources.
Your privacy depends on Google allowing Android to be open. It isn’t anyone’s decision but theirs.
It ain’t today. Relax.
Has the update dropped yet? I’m checking before I update my phone, once it does I’m off for good
I disabled OS updates on my phone, we’ll have to see how long that lasts.
until google remotely enables them again. Fuck google.
In my case, it’s Samsung and if the code’s not already there to do it, they’re not going to be able to push the code to do it ;)
I have three wide spread of ADB’s / networks that are disabled and dumped the Samsung logins.
Lol this is old news brah 😅
Still waiting my Moto G 5G 2024 to have the “Allow OEM Unlocking” option to become un-greyed… it’s currently day 2/7 I think?
(supposedly it takes 7 days after being connected to the internet, even tho I already got the unlock code… 🤷♂️)
Would you mind letting me know if it works out? Was thinking of getting a Moto G, I’m using an elderly Samsung and no way will I replace it with another Samsung.
YAYAYAYAY! 😁 (Today is Day 6, didn’t even need the full 7 days)
I feel like a Hacker right now.
Now I just need to flash Lineage.
Good luck, my friend. Moto G 2024 is only like $140 (on discount) right now. Do not get carrier versions, those don’t unlock. Get the full retail price version. Its XT2417-1.
Great news! Congrats mate, and thanks for updating me.
I’m not sure if the same issues are present in the phone you guys are referring to but I had a terrible experience with a G35. More here https://samartean-rares.com/moto-g35-terrible-software-decent-hardware-117 . Idk use your own judgement ofc but perhaps be wary that what you buy won’t be hot garbage. That G35 that I had truly was hot garbage, but it’s an entry level phone I guess.
Thanks for the heads up. Yeah it’s hard to know what’s going to be a pile of shit. I had a good experience with a moto previously - but that was maybe ten years ago, a lot could have changed since then.
Good luck. Can’t really advise as i never had a phone that expensive but maybe consider one that is compatible with a more private OS like GrapheneOS.
My last phone was Moto G 5G and it got destroyed…
Did you drop it, or are you saying its motorola’s fault?
So what happened is the dumbest thing ever. Yes it did have a small Crack on the screen… but that didn’t do anything for months until it rained and then ONE drop landed on a spot that busted it. No joke. It seemed to return to life a long ass time later but the screen still died and is non functional.
I mean a “small crack” is a big deal tho. Even if it was a pixel, that “small crack” would’ve ruing the IP rating.
But unlike a $500 pixel, the Moto G 5G 2024 only $140 so you could just easily get a replacement.
Maybe I will buy another one once my current phone is paid off… which will be next summer!
