this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2025
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The infuriating part of the Google enshittification process is that there is absolutely nothing the user can do about it.
Literally the only thing that motivates Google is profit. Controlling side-loaded apps will almost certainly boost their profits by a infinitesimal fraction of a percent, therefore it will be done. Even if consumer uproar causes Google to back down in the short term, they'll simply implement this a few months later. Late-stage Capitalism sucks.
I think they are more conscious than to be driven by small margins (another example of such underestimation is Lenin's "they'll sell us the rope we'll use to hang them").
It's like boiling frogs - a very slow process of attracting users, slowly killing competition and diversity, slowly making the ecosystem more and more controlled, then slowly making "neutral" systems not neutral anymore (like those features of Chrome making security exceptions for Google services found a few years ago), and slowly desensitizing people to leaps of faith they do trusting Google (and other companies), while the trust accumulates into total control.
You can stop using all Google products. Now I understand their market share on the web means they’re going to continue to shape the web.
But make no mistake. There is something, however small, that you can do. De-Google.
My public school -- that my children are basically required by law to attend, remember -- is badgering me to sign a consent form so they can have Chromebooks.
This fight is a lot fucking larger than mere individual boycotts!
And my kids school requires every parent to have a Google account to track progress and share information.
Earlier in my school years, we had to use Microsoft Office products. Then later on we were expected to use Google Drive, as they wanted to teach us what we can use without paying Microsoft.
At one point it was also mandatory to have a blog because the teacher was big on Web 2.0, and they of course pushed blogspot (Google). I think I went with managed wordpress instead, but may remember wrong.
cant you give your child a cheap laptop, or they require thier inhouse shitty ones, use only?
I don't know yet; I'm about to email the media coordinator to find out what happens when I refuse to sign the form.
My kids already have Raspberry Pi 400s (might upgrade them to 500s soon), and I have about half a dozen other computers (not including old retired stuff or my pile of other Raspberry Pis), all running Linux. This house is not at all lacking in technology, and I no longer tolerate proprietary shit in it.
What's really fucked up is that the school district makes all these decisions basically unilaterally -- not just for Chromebooks, but for other proprietary nonsense like ClassDojo and Remind and MySchoolBucks -- and just assumes every parent will be cool with unquestioningly entering contracts with all these third-party entities. And even worse, most parents are cool with it!
As someone from Russia, I grew up seeing movies where you all over there sue each other over unfortunate rude word.
Perhaps that last paragraph is where you really should try suing someone, no jokes.
its probably datamining material for google and all these propietary companies.
They require that the kids use the Chromebooks and use Google accounts.
De-googling will break banking apps, since most baking apps rely on Play Integrity checks and bootloader status.
I feel like this isnt always true. I had a GrapheneOS pixel for a while and it never had problems with banking apps
GrapheneOS, so far, is Pixel-only. Degoogled, yes, but you're still giving your money to Google, and a lot of it.
Buy used
Device is paid for, even if you buy from a re-seller (of any sort)
Then don't use the apps? Do your banking through the browser.
The complaint is side loading is being restricted and the only long term alternative Apple. Google already began the process of shutting down Graphene by cutting drivers out of AOSP.
https://www.androidauthority.com/google-not-killing-aosp-3566882/
Hang on, as somebody who knows enough to be looking into switching to graphene, but not entirely enough to know what AOSP is, what exactly is happening?
Am I going to fuck myself over? If I do end up switching to a custom rom? Should I just wait on the Linux community to build something better?
All I want is a working device that isn't selling all my shit to Mark Zuckerberg
If you get a device and install Graphine now, it should be fine. It’s your future device options that will probably not include an AOSP alternative os. Hopefully Linux will be an option then, but there might be a bit of a dark age in between.
You will have years of Graphene so don't worry about what might happen in the future.
G is restricting the factory images/source (I believe) that graphene uses to build their system, so they are having to work backwards, take more time, etc. It's a shitty thing to do but afaik it's not a blocker. I'm typing this on a gos pixel 8 pro right now.
Linux phones are still in their infancy, and are pretty shit if you need anything more than the ability to call and text (sms) on specific carriers (limitations applies to the USA, AUS, and a couple more I believe). I have a pinephone 1st gen and it's... Cool for messing with, absolutely, but jesus christ it's painful to actually attempt to use. I bought that 3y ago and not much has changed, from videos I've seen (my pinephone screen is lifting and failing so...). From a developer - like, bringing Linux to the phone platform - sure, grab one. As a user, unless you understand that you very likely will not daily this device (or any similar device) because shit just doesn't work/isn't ready and are OK with that... No, don't. A few more years, maybe.
GrapheneOS is still moving ahead albeit slower, as you said. They are also working on a deal with a phone manufacturer to bring a more secure phone to market. I dunno whether it will just meet the same security levels of the Pixels and ship with stock Android, or if it will be a full GrapheneOS Phone. I'm hoping for the latter, but it will more likely be the former. Fingers crossed.
That's barely a viable option without using apples own walled garden.
I will help hand hold anyone who wants to build servers or services (to the best of my ability) to replace Google services with their own.
https://lemmy.world/c/selfhosted
That may be true for you, but other people face different realities. When Google implements the sideloading block it will eventually be pushed to everyone who doesn't use a custom ROM.
Yes, many at risk programs and housing programs and even Medicare and Medicaid provide phones and other devices to members and those device contracts with Google or via a cellular provider are for hundreds of thousands to millions of people depending on the state or federal program doing the purchasing. There isn’t a reality where those contracts will ever not be for first party devices. Even if we wanted to we couldn’t buy people one plus or other non-Google branded android devices and laptops in these programs because the companies selling them don’t meet various regulatory standards required by the programs.
These people are literally the most at risk and don’t get individual choice for their devices. The devices are being provided in the first place because too many modern systems require internet and phone access. Id.me, login.gov, MFA for your library app, your epic or Athena portals for healthcare, etc…
I wonder if it's economically plausible to make a FPGA-based all-in-one system. In a "smartphone" box, maybe far weaker than most Android phones, but far less tall in expertise needed to do anything, for a low start to be possible without humongous investment and expected minimal parties. Something graphical Lisp-based as an OS. Perhaps with an interface to use it as a tablet when attached to a bigger box, or a laptop when attached to that box.
Focusing on having the necessary modules and input-output devices, with the FPGA itself being configured with something simple-enough RISC-V based with tagged memory, for example.
Like when you need a portable computer with cell connectivity and a battery, and want to have some choice, but are not too attached to specific platforms and popular places.
It seems that for militaries using FPGA is already an established practice, turns out to be more convenient and even cheaper. And with anything trying to fight big companies, it seems using FPGA will make more sense.
I mean, Sun Tzu wrote about "when you know your enemy and know yourself", all that. Knowing myself I'm certain that trying to take on anyone bigger and smarter than me using things on their level of complexity is a failure from the start. Knowing them is beyond my ability in general, but we definitely know that those companies are led by very intelligent people who just won't make the simpler kind of mistakes. And he also wrote a bit on the "death grounds", where if you leave a path for retreat, that's not a death ground. I think paths for retreat like alternative Android versions and such are all intentionally let be, so that you'd not resist too much.
Or, this is sort of a fewer dream, or bipolar psychosis to be more specific.
Honestly Googles products are terrible these days. I have been pretty lax about my privacy but after so much enshittification I switched my services to something that works and doesn't harvest my data for the privilege.
When they kill off Graphene/Custom ROMs I'll switch to a linux phone or brickphone.