KDE Connect is also available through Google Play and most likely signed with a different key as the F-Droid Version. Since Play Protect checks the App signatures, it probably detected this discrepancy and determined the App was fake. Not really an Assholedesign as this is a valid concern if a normal user downloads an app from the internet.
It could just ask before removing shit. Remove the permissions, freeze the app, prompt the user to confirm they meant to install it from somewhere other than the playstore. Hell, since it can detect F-Droid is installed, maybe use some context clues and ask the user to confirm this app was installed from there?
More importantly, can you tell it to ignore certain apps? I don't know, I've had Play Protect turned off forever. If not, that's absolutely asshole design.
Imagine doing a business if Google one day start to hate you.
No listing on most popular and the only search engine that counts. Most popular browser gives a big red warning for your website. Even with different browser it won't connect due to Google being the most popular DNS provider. No app on the only widely used app store on Android - the only OS phone manufactures use besides Apple. Your app is automatically uninstalled on >99% Android phones. Your calls gets blocked by Android spam detector. Your e-mails get blocked by Gmail. And besides that, Google would pumps all of your competition up.
That much power over the market is very dangerous and should not be legal.
Its scary
There was a similar thread where Play Protect blocked installation of Signal. As it turned out, said copy of Signal was indeed fake, as op downloaded it from F-Droid, where it's not being distributed.
Maybe it's the same case here?
Sad to see so many upvotes for bad information, no. Signal is a special case (it's their choice to disallow any open source client which they did not build) and does not follow the same rules.
KDE Connect is hosted on Gitlab, advertises install from F-Droid and is just as real from F-Droid as it is from the Play Store. Play Protect routinely tries to save me from this other harmful app (their words not mine) called Squawker.
Play Protect trying to incorrectly remove F-Droid apps is nothing new.
Google and Amazon need broken up. Change my mind.
If they break up Microsoft will buy them and force them to create Master Chief Funko Pops.
Add Apple, Microsoft, and Disney, and we are OK.
This is why the Web Integrity API is terrifying to me.
Yeah and imagine if Google decided they don't like your small business and ruins your livelihood overnight.
In no time you'll lose your house to a bank, all because a company that you have little association with chose to.
I can’t even imagine what pernicious elements they can add to it to bog down someone’s website too. They don’t even have to introduce it on purpose, if it’s just a byproduct they can shrug and not worry about it. It’s shocking how much traffic you lose if your website takes three seconds to load.
Everyone should switch to Firefox/Mullvad
Hilariously, Google Play Protect is one of the worst tools on Android at detecting malware and triggering false positives, and consistently scores poorly in independent tests like AV-Test and AV-Comparatives. You can find links to these tests on the AMTSO website.
Plot Twist: The purpose of GPP is not to remove malware…
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ⌐■-■
(⌐■_■)
- (open) play store
- (tap) your profile picture
- (open) Manage apps & device
- (open) Google play protect
- (tap) settings icon at the top
- (disable) scan apps with play protect
- congratulations, google will babysit us less than before
- install kde connect again
Optional:
- send a hate email to google support but do not abuse the employee reading it, because he is probably under pressure 25h a day by google
Why would anyone enable Google Play Protect? You want them combing through your personal data with the ability to delete anything they disagree with?
I don't think they waited on Google Play Protect to comb through your personal data
This is great design for the average user. Just bad for the power user
LMAO I guess Graphene's approach of removing google play's system app status was a good thing
Not only did the same thing happen to me, now that I've disabled Play Protect and reinstalled it I'm having trouble getting it to re-pair with my PC. Thanks for fucking up my property, Google. 🖕
Where's the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act when you need it?
Interesting. But should this apply to many apps on F-Droid? I also have an app published on both the Play Store and F-Droid and I don't recall having seen requests to change the application ID to avoid clashes between stores.
KDE Connect is likely a special case; as it is a PC integration app, and a very feature-loaded one at that, it accesses a whole bunch of sensitive stuff like notifications, clipboard, direct file access, SMS functions, keyboard inputs and more.
More than any other non-root-accessing app, you do not want a trojanised version of KDE Connect on your phone.
If the signature matches, Google probably won't care where they are installed from. I suspect that the KDE Connect in fdroid is signed with a different certificate than on google play, causing it to be flagged as an impostor. This could probably be easily prevented by using the same cert or different app identifiers (to cause them to be treated as different apps).
GrapheneOS is the real answer.
Great app!
Strongly advice you to just turn off Play Protect. It sends your list of installed apps to Google (not that the Android as a whole will stop doing that even after you turn it off). They don't do shit.
And this is why Play Store is disabled on my device!
Disabling just play protect works too, but it occasionally shows popups asking for it to be re-enabled ☹️
