• Fair Fairy
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    243 minutes ago

    EFF - is this the only org that fights these excesses? Anyone else in US?

  • @FriendBesto@lemmy.ml
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    52 hours ago

    They never explained why. We all know why. So thankful that I am not a gamer and as such I do not even sign up to Google on my phone via Playstore or even Google Play Services. I can get away with either Aurora or just FOSS apps.

  • @7rokhym@lemmy.ca
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    97 hours ago

    I use FolderSync. Works well and I prefer one app synchronizing files than 6. I still use the Nextcloud app for files I don’t sync that I need access to, but overall it’s really bad. The camera upload erased a ton of my pictures on a vacation. I deleted the synced pictures on my phone storage and the Nextcloud app overwrote the images as the new photos had the same file name.

  • m-p{3}
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    6413 hours ago

    That and the process of being audited for your app to gain access to Google Drive is apparently a nightmare on top of being super expensive.

    No wonder so many apps don’t even bother adding the ability to sync files with like Joplin.

    I hope the EU eventually crack down on that bullshit.

    • @Wispy2891@lemmy.world
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      32 hours ago

      When I saw the process to add Google drive support to an app I thought: “wouldn’t be easier to just discontinue the public APIs?”

      If I was a dev I would immediately remove the integration instead of paying the required thousands (yearly!) to keep it. Then in the app explain the situation to the customer, add a referral link to Dropbox, onedrive or other competitors

  • @Zak@lemmy.world
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    13915 hours ago

    They bullied Syncthing the same way. Fortunately, Syncthing-fork is still developed and available on F-droid.

    I understand a well-curated app store (which Play Store is not) placing some limits on apps getting all files access. In a modern security model, that’s not a permission most apps should have, however synchronization and file management apps obviously should have it.

    • @brot@feddit.org
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      11115 hours ago

      And if you grant access to your own apps, but deny them to your competitors, that is totally a monopoly abuse

    • Brickfrog
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      12 hours ago

      Was going to comment the same, this issue has existed for some time for other apps. LibreTorrent ran into the same issue and now the F-Droid version is their full-featured app while the Google Play version is restricted due to Google.

      Interesting that Nextcloud managed to last this long on Google Play without running into the same limitations (until now that is).

        • @finalarbiter@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          3 hours ago

          How do you think torrents work? They basically just download a file, but from multiple people instead of a single server. It needs access to the file system so it can save the files.

          Edit: my bad, misunderstood. I thought the comment above was asking why it needed file access in general, not all file access.

          • @ripcord@lemmy.world
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            126 hours ago

            It needs access to the file system. But why would it need access to the whole thing? Just download to its own storage, no? Then use something else to copy elsewhere.

            Unless this is to support saving to any folder, or built in smb support or something.

  • @JustARaccoon@lemmy.world
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    4114 hours ago

    This and the fact gallery cloud provider API stuff is locked down to whoever Google gives permission to should get a lawsuit.

    • Fair Fairy
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      67 hours ago

      And not even eff interested? Or probably drowning with other issues

  • @skip0110@lemm.ee
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    13016 hours ago

    Just switch to the F-Droid version.

    Better: make sure all the apps you use come from F-Droid

        • @Wispy2891@lemmy.world
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          42 hours ago

          You get apps a couple days earlier

          But it comes with a huge downside: if dev goes rogue or gets hacked, you could install a malicious version of the app that doesn’t match the source

    • @Blip6338@lemmy.ca
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      10116 hours ago

      This works very well for tech enthusiasts and people who self-host nextcloud at home.

      The issue is when you are a government or university, it becomes harder to get all your users (which are probably not all tech savvy) to install a third party app store deal with the Android warnings about installing from third-parties, etc etc.

      And this is probably the user base Google are targeting with this move (assuming it’s malicious) . When the higher ups complain that their files are not syncing and need to install things with a special procedure they sometimes wonder why they are not using M365 or Google which seems hassle free.

      • Pika
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        2915 hours ago

        Not to mention the “see this big alert saying this isn’t safe? Well for this one time it /is/ safe so do so” While curbing the mentality of “oh it was safe last time so it must be safe this time”

    • Gibibit
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      12 hours ago

      It’s not as simple as telling people to use F-Droid. People with non-rooted phones won’t get automatic updates via F-Droid which is a big hurdle. Unless I’m misremembering? I wouldn’t know because I run rooted CalyxOS now. Last time I used F-Droid on a plain Android phone is a while ago for me.

      • @SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org
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        42 hours ago

        My phone is not getting CalyxOS updates anymore. Gotta wipe it all and move to lineageos now. Man I hate mobile operating systems. I need good linux phones right now. Android can go to hell.

        • exu
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          514 hours ago

          In the Basic version only, last time I checked the “original” F-Droid couldn’t do it. And there’s also some minimum API level an app has to target to be eligible for automatic updates (found that out through updating microg and having to click “update” still)

      • m-p{3}
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        13 hours ago

        People with non-rooted phones won’t get automatic updates via F-Droid which is a big hurdle.

        Not true if the app to update targets a high enough API version (I think API 34 or 35) and if you use F-Droid Basic.

        NOTE: The Basic version of F-Droid Client has a reduced feature set (e.g. no nearby share and no panic feature). It targets Android 13 and can do unattended updates without privileged extension or root.

      • @idefix@sh.itjust.works
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        1314 hours ago

        I have automatic upgrades on my non-rooted phone. I use droidify but i’m pretty sure the official F-droid client works the same way.

    • sunzu2
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      516 hours ago

      YAS KING!

      As side note, for the uninitiated, it is a process. Check Fdroid first for all your apps. Many are there but some are not. This should prompt you to look for alternatives.

      It is a journey but remember denying corpo parasite engagement and profit is the direct action any one can take today!

  • LeTak
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    2614 hours ago

    Google be Like : just use Google Drive

    What if , no….