You're not alone: This email from Google's Gemini team is concerning

Sailfish OS has it.

Unfortunately the project has some closed source bits which, imho, aren't an issue when you look closer (some parts of the UI). Maybe I'm naive but I trust this EU company.

I use it as my daily driver. It certainly is frugal compared to recent Android versions, but fully functional.

It's an actual Linux OS (as opposed to any Android version). Things work the same way they do on my laptop & server.

Can you get by with web access? That's what I do and it's fine.

Unfortunately banking apps are only going to get harder to run on software uncertified by Google.

PostmarketOS is cool, but as an actual phone replacement it is tough, at least last time I tried.

That’s pretty cool, I’m working now, but I’m checking out its Android app compatibility.

If it can run my work stuff, I’ll be so happy.

Android is Linux… sure.

But it’s not what anyone means when they say they want a Linux phone.

Linux had reached idiot parity with windows at least. Idiot proof OS is a fable that cannot be reached.

It's mostly lemmy. In real life people go from amused to indifferent. I have never met anyone as hostile as the lemmy consensus seems to be. If a feature is useful people will use it, be it AI or not AI. Some AI features are gimmicks and they largely get ignored, unless very intrusive (in which case the intrusivity, not the AI, is the problem).

Obligatory Lemmy is social media response

The majority of people eat at McDonalds. It doesn't make it a good idea on your finances or health. Sheep gonna baa.

If you for some reason think that megacorporations and big tech aren't monetizing the literal majority to the fullest extent of every single law they can break while getting away with it, you need to wake the fuck up. Big time. I don't know if this is some psyop from leddit or what but my doors stay closed, my android plays tablet mode with no sim. Thanks tho.

The companies keep preloading it on new tech, updating old tech so its there, preventing the option from disabling it from even being there, and disabling tech that can't use it.

This. Shit. Can. Fuck. All. The. Way. Off!

Just searched degoogle in Lemmy

https://lemmy.world/c/degoogle@lemmy.ml

There are levels to it. The advanced level is using a custom Android ROM for your phone that has no Google play services/apps on it and that'll depend on what's available for your phone from community ROM makers. You can see if any of these support your phone or plan any future phone of yours around these

https://itsfoss.com/android-distributions-roms/

An easier first step is just starting with non-Google apps. You can start with replacing Google apps like replace Maps with Organic Maps or something similar. Replace Gmail with something like Proton Mail. Same with calendar and cloud storage. Proton has alternatives. They even have an okay Google docs feature. Use a different search engine like duckduckgo rather than Google.

F-droid as an app store. Instead of Google authenticator use Aegis. Instead of Chrome use Firefox or a fork of it.

It's difficult so a process over time of lessening dependency on Google applications

Just saw there's a sort of large Lemmy degoogle community

https://lemmy.world/c/degoogle@lemmy.ml

Personally I think it's a good start to just replace Google applications. Organic Maps over Google Maps. Proton Mail/Drive/VPN/Calendar over Google stuff. Firefox and forks over Chrome. Duckduckgo over Google search. After that you can maybe find an old old Google Pixel phone and then start flashing ROMs off XDA forums as practice before you try a newer more expensive phone

You can remove most apps using ADB. Universal Android Debloater is helpful for this, just make sure you read the comments for each app so you dont remove something you need.

You might be thinking of the normal Google Assistant

X is blocked on network level here, could you please copy&paste?

Long enough for GOS to port Android 16 or get their own OEM, I hope

I can also recommend CalyxOS. Locked bootloaders, open source emulation of all Google's play services (meaning an open source binary running on your phone, filtering requests to Google's servers with absolutely minimal/random info).

Basically I have anonymized access to the play store, and any apps I install other than Google pay work, no issue. I believe even Google's secure features work. There's a reddit post about MitID: https://www.reddit.com/r/CalyxOS/comments/w2ordg/a_proven_way_to_use_calyxos_and_banking_apps_etc/

E: having read through the technical comments on graphene's forums, looks like play integrity prevents MitID from running. The service offers free code generators which hang on your keys though.

how do they make it mandatory? what happens if you don't have a smartphone?

is it strictly mandatory, or is the alternative intentionally very inconvenient?

I'm asking because it is very weird to me. but also, in my country also in the EU, there's this misunderstanding that it is mandatory, while actually it can be replaced with any 2FA code generator app. and then it has a bunch of administrative features in one place for convenience

I do have it disabled, but this article suggests that it will ignore that and it will be integrated in apps that I really really don't want it in. I could stomach it if it was search and other functionality like that only, or even if it 100% ran local with no ability to phone home and train on my data, but it doesn't. Not that it can be listening to calls, reading messages, etc, I'm definitely hard out.

I should rephrase. They don't make cheap bad products. I think iOS, Mac OS, and their walled garden approach makes their hardware a bad product. Compound that with being exorbitantly expensive for what you get, and that's always been too much to overcome for me to support. Now they are/have becoming the less bad option.

Last year's tech for next year's prices.

I was never a "Mac" person. But I took the leap to escape windows with the Mac studio ultra. I use video and photo edit tools a lot. Used my existing peripheral devices. Expensive but the most silent and powerful machine I've ever owned. Software is my only complaint at times but I'll live with it. I'll definitely continue down M series for my main device.

In context of the larger thread, I need to figure out how to get graphene on my current phone. I nerfed the AI crap Samsung was forcing on me. But who knows if I got everything. I'll assume I didn't. Fdroid or graphene... That's my summer project.

If you want you can install Pixel Camera (official Google camera) from Aurora Store, and deny it Network permissions and any other permissions you want. It still works pretty well for point and shoot but I can't speak for every single feature. Also you can install simulated services that the Gcam requires to function, without having to run Play Services.

Hey, what camera do you use? My phone is showing its age and I was thinking of getting a secondhand pixel, but I've also been looking at cameras to stand in for the phone camera.

I was thinking I should go for beginner friendly and small.

minds well

/c/boneappletea

For sure, as long as that's a viable option for me, I'll do it, but if I don't have that option...

Seize the means of production

Problem is that if you have a critical application (like banking) that relies on Google services you're SOL.

It's Apple or Google at that point.

You're right, I'm an abuse enabler because I made an observation about companies being shitty. Very well said.

Consumer activism, by itself, has rarely, if ever, accomplished anything.

The best recent examble was Tesla, but that wasn't a mere non-buying action. Tesla action involved vandalism and a massive word of mouth campaign.

Basically if we want to fight for a future we believe in, we must stop playing patty cakes and fight like it's a life and death struggle.

Symbolic resistance is not enough.

Don't get me wrong, I still avoid buying Nestle products, and have for years, but I know this is not the way to real change.

I want us to stop suggesting consumer activism as a valid pathway to change.

Nextcloud sucks in many ways, but it is functional and works for me.

Google Wave was actually pretty awesome. Google just had no idea what to do with it and it was too heavy for phones of the time.

Right. They have an opt-out for Gemini storing your in-app activity, which I believe is a requirement to get the assistant to be able to do things in the app. This seems to say you may be able to interact with some messaging apps even if you opt out (presumably they would have a rebuilt way to interact with those that doesn't store any of your data?).

Same. My only use is accidental.

Guess I'm should get around to disabling it.

Doesn't the motorola phone have a settings screen for defining what the button does? For Samsung they like to re-purpose the power button.

First of all, it brought up bixby. I turned it back to powering off the phone and disabled bixby.

Then, with the new update they re-assigned the power button to gemini. So, I turned it back to powering off the phone and disabled gemini too.

However, the problem these days is that I'm never completely sure I've turned off all of the AI nonsense on my phone.

I was writing a comment that my device is unsupported and all the supported pixel phones are flagship priced. Then I decided to check my work and look it up.