Opening my weather app this morning I was greeted by this warning:
Google has announced that, starting in 2026/2027, all apps on certified Android devices will require the developer to submit personal identity details directly to Google. Since the developers of this app do not agree to this requirement, this app will no longer work on certified Android devices after that time.
It’s the first time I hear about this, seems to be about:
Cirrus app: Github
Was this a big thing I somehow missed? I hope more devs will follow suit.
Yes, you must have missed it. And so it begins.
Google is moving to make Android less open source. I’m not sure more devs following suit is going be good for them or their users. The G doesn’t give an F.
What we need is an OS fork that gets maintained. If not that, some other workaround that fools the Google servers. Because you can bet money that nobody made from flesh and blood is going to look at this inside Google.
Maybe devs can band together and form Middle Finger Corp. and designate one willing person as their contact to serve as registered dev for a gazillion apps. Follow the letter of the law, not the misguided spirit of it, in a manner of speaking.
If you are sitting on a mobile OS and you were afraid to fail like Windows, maybe now is the time to give it a go?
GrapheneOS
e/OS too, if Graphene fails or isn’t available. Or Murena.
Murena has had questionable policies…
And what policies would that be?
Kids these days won’t search answers on the internet…
I’m an adult, and promise you I’ve been using computers longer than you’ve been alive, and I still don’t care to waste what little time I have on this planet to look into shit that sounds completely made-up.
Put up, or shut up.
Kids these days is a classic thing to say. Nowadays it doesn’t impjy that the listener is a kid
Edit: I can offer you https://grapheneos.social/@GrapheneOS/114880919351954282 and https://sopuli.xyz/post/21908818
Okay, so backing up your claims with other peoples unbased claims. Thanks! What does EU funding (once again no source for this claim) have to do with policies?
The one point that speaks against /e/OS is the slow updates yes, but that’s not a “policy” thing.
I searched for Murena’s policies and found a privacy policy page, and it seems fine?? You give them information for transactions, they don’t sell your information, and you can delete your account which will delete the information they have on you.
What more do you want?
You’re the one stating something as a fact, so you should have already provided the sources for your claims, especially if its something not in the major consensus nareative…
are you kidding? only available for google phones. are we supposed to give money to google for this situation?
I think they are looking to partner with a phone manufacturer to move graphene platform to other brand of phones.
Specially since it’s unlikely that google pixels will keep providing the spec info and openness that GOS need to work.
Well yeah, since device trees are no longer available going forward from Google, they’d be dead in the water otherwise.
LineageOS has good support for other devices
We will need to wait and see, I think. Whether they take the last AOS that doesn’t require this and move forward on their own. Or if - for various valid reasons - they go back to an AOS release and can’t excise this registration check. The proof will be in the pudding.
Hopefully this leads to a lot more development of and for Ubuntu Touch. Biggest issues it faces are lack of compatibility and lack of apps. I think the core is solid though. I used it for a week when switching from iOS (so no Android background) and enjoyed it, but a few too many minor issues built up and I ended up going to Calyx.