this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2024
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I might have misunderstood this but is Android really trying to push this as tracking as a privacy upgrade, simply because it let's us choose which of our interests we want advertisers to have access to?

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[–] neatchee@lemmy.world 48 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (6 children)

Yeah, so, Google already has this data about you. What they're doing here is trying to reduce the specificity of information given to advertisers about your behaviors, and simultaneously give you the ability to never inform specific third parties about your interest in the specific topics you choose

I see this as a good thing. They were literally already getting and using all of this data. In that case I'd much rather have some control over who knows which things about me, rather than leaving it entirely up to Google

[–] peg@lemmy.world 96 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's not a good thing. It's performative and designed to trick people into thinking that Google cares about their privacy and overlook the fact that Google are using their browser/search monopoly to extend their control over the advertising industry.

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[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago

Yes google has this information - because we logged in and gave it to them - now they need our permission to wall it off from other businesses, thus creating THE revenue stream of the internet.

So, if you’ll just click this little button here.

This little one. Right there.

[–] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 9 points 8 months ago (2 children)

It also helps Google form more of a monopoly on your info, since it keeps companies like Facebook from forming as accurate of a profile on you.

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[–] Evotech@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago

It's a good thing for Google. Who now controls all the data.

It's good for consumers, if you trust Google and enjoy them having an effective Monopoly on ads

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[–] aluminium@lemmy.world 39 points 8 months ago (10 children)

Any App that shows any ads gets deleted right on the spot. Simple as that.

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[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 29 points 8 months ago (1 children)

"Privacy."

They keep using this word. I do not think it means what they think it means.

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[–] IDew@lemm.ee 28 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I might have misunderstood this but Android really trying to push this as tracking as a privacy upgrade

~~Android~~ Google

This may also be known as privacy washing, but as another comment said, this way might be better than just not getting this choice at all

[–] LiveLM@lemmy.zip 25 points 8 months ago

Oh fun, it's that garbage from Chrome now in Android

[–] delirious_owl@discuss.online 23 points 8 months ago

The ads I get are frequently in a language I dont speak. Thats how you know they can't track you.

[–] De_Narm@lemmy.world 22 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Well... I don't use any apps that show ads. I'd rather not use my phone at all. And if Android adds more tracking itself it may be time to give Graphene a shot.

[–] ugh@lemm.ee 28 points 8 months ago (1 children)

No ads doesn't mean no data collecting

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 29 points 8 months ago

No, but it does mean no ads. (That’s good.)

[–] Churbleyimyam@lemm.ee 21 points 8 months ago (1 children)

"Please just let me track you one last time baby"

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[–] Pantherina@feddit.de 20 points 8 months ago (15 children)
[–] delirious_owl@discuss.online 9 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I mean, yeah. Use Android AOSP without Google.

[–] Pantherina@feddit.de 13 points 8 months ago (3 children)

AOSP is not a usable product and it is full of Google stuff. GrapheneOS and LineageOS (and derivates) make it usable.

GrapheneOS was the first at complete degoogling, others followed, but still have no secure solution for apps needing Google Play. MicroG is proprietary Google code, ran unsandboxed and still unreliable and less secure.

So GrapheneOS really is the only usable OS right now, it is FOSS (even in the BSD way that companies could make their proprietary fork) and other projects should base on it and weaken its security to make it run on existing other phones. This is still better than alternatives, but it is a hell of maintenance as all that security causes infinitely more bugs than just using AOSP (which is rock solid) and adding some apps lol.

Please donate to GrapheneOS, the project is not yet fully sustainable and they are doing incredible work.

[–] delirious_owl@discuss.online 3 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Obviously by "google" were talking about proprietary blobs.

For example TOTP is great. There's no issue with the fact that it was developed by Google. Same with AOSP.

Any ROM doesn't have Google Play Services by default and therefore its google free in all the ways that matter

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[–] Zetta@mander.xyz 9 points 8 months ago (6 children)

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I wish but switching to Apple would be just as bad and I would want to die being forced to use their fisher price software for the tech illiterate.

Soon though, in the next 5 years I think Linux phones (I know Android is Linux, you know what I mean) will be in a good state. So hopefully I can switch soonish

[–] michael_palmer@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Google and SOC vendors are trying their best to stop developing of Linux phones. That's why available Linux phones use 10 year old chipsets.

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[–] The_v@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I am waiting for the same thing. The amount of shit you have to disable, block, or unistall on android is getting ridiculous. It's getting really old.

Most of the new "features" that either apple or google add anymore are absolute trash. I am constantly having to go through the settings and disable shit.

The stock android is so full of non-romovable crap that a launcher is required anymore.

It's the same for windows, win11 is only usable with a launcher like startallback.

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[–] toastal@lemmy.ml 8 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Fuck banking institutions & their apps. We are seeing them eliminate online banking now & cash is slowly not being accepted by vendors & in-person experiences are worse—instead everything is siloed to only Android or iOS & disallow any sort of modifications to your device with all these attestation assertions. If a user wanted to ditch their phone, go Linux, use an unGoogled phone, or get a dumbphone, etc. they will be disconnected from the banking network—to which most users would view as an immediate nonstarter. Apple is just a different data-collecting advertising business.

[–] boomzilla@programming.dev 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

The browser login of my bank needs a separate application that's windows only or an app. The Java(!) application Jameica saved my ass for the 6 years I'm on Linux now. It can manage multiple accounts. It offers statistics, saves all the transfers, deposits and balances ad infinitum on your disk, is searchable and has templates and schedules for transfers.

The protocol my bank uses is FinTS, I think. I'm logging in via a certificate file and a password.

I don't want to use an app, cause I trust my cutting edge Linux (Kernel 6.7.6) a lot more than my possibly malicious app riddled outdated android.

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[–] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 7 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Apple is terrible right to repair, and lineage has a bunch of weird bugs, so I'm kinda stuck with it

[–] N4CHEM@lemmy.ml 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Which bugs have you found in LineageOS? There's quite a big community behind it, so maybe you can find some help. There are also other LineageOS-based ROMs worth checking: CalyxOS, DivestOS, iodéOS, /e/OS.

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[–] stebo02@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Return to Nokia 3310 then I guess

[–] MigratingtoLemmy@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

DeGoogle your Android ROM/use a custom ROM. What exactly was so hard to understand in that comment that made you want to switch to a feature-phone?

[–] stebo02@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

I just want to buy a phone and use it without having to figure out all that

[–] MigratingtoLemmy@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago (6 children)

Not in this century, unfortunately. Even using a SIM card is going to let companies track you.

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[–] Pantherina@feddit.de 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Thats how you do it with GrapheneOS. Buy a pixel, take like 30min to install the OS, install F-Droid Basic and sandboxed Play and get your apps.

Degoogling Android is not possible, and LineageOS and other more difficult to install Androids are less secure.

GrapheneOS has a graphical installer, you just need a Laptop (Windows, Linux, Mac), a Chromebook or another Android phone and a USB cable, thats it. You can literally install it from one phone (using some variant of Chromium like Chrome, Cromite, Brave etc.) By opening a website and clicking 4 buttons.

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[–] vox@sopuli.xyz 19 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

well it's an improvement...
basically the tracking is still there but runs locally on your phone, so google only knows this

someone with ip 1.2.3.4 is interested in sports, cats and videogames and is looking to purchase a new monitor

(and the info is sent with every ad request, statelessly) google promises they won't associate these requests with ip addresses, but I won't trust them.

instead of a full log like:

user x with tracking id 12345 visited catworld.com at 10:34:56 PM and stayed there for 35 seconds
user x with tracking id 12345 made a purchase on website shoptech.com and was scrolling through the monitors page for 10 minutes.

it's still tracking but it sucks less i guess...
and making it a default is probably a great move

(I'd rather opt out of any form of tracking tho)

[–] heisenbug4242@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

And since only Google knows it strengthens their data monopoly even further, as if it wasn't bad enough already.

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[–] csm10495@sh.itjust.works 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

.. checks to see if catworld.com is real.

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 18 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Smartphones are Spyware and Data harvest devices by definition, all of them. I get goosebumps every time when I see people using their cell phones to payfor banking, discount apps from supermarkets, saving sensitive data in these gadgets. Almost all cases of large data leaks of sensitive data in the past are due to this, the unconscious use of these devices. They are surveillance devices of large companies for commercial purposes.

That they now offer you as privacy feature to choose who they are going to sell your data to, is more than ironic, they piss on your face and say that it is raining and people believe it.

[–] devilish666@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago

Although you can turn off the ads they can still track & harvest your data in all directions because it's google

[–] wrekone@lemmyf.uk 10 points 8 months ago

I do my best to set things up so that I don't see any ads (running DNS66 for example). But if I had to see ads, I'd prefer them to be irrelevant. That way they're easier to ignore. I don't need to do any favors for the corporate giants trying to milk me for every penny.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 6 points 8 months ago

Google offering privacy by profiling and sharing app usage info

There, I fixed it for you

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