this post was submitted on 03 Nov 2025
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[–] mikey@sh.itjust.works 22 points 19 hours ago

Holy shit, this article is garbage... the base premise that Play Services can access anything is true, but so many bad claims.

Google Play Services is a system app on phones that ship with Google services, and is the case on the author's phone too, since he could only disable the app, not delete it. System apps can still be updated separately from the system, if their signature matches the updated version's signature.

Also, I don't think they dedicate enough time to describe just how much data Google gets through your device, like how it logs your location for Google Maps' business popular times indicators and traffic metrics, or how they use all of your data to give you hyper-targeted advertising.

As for microG, it also runs with elevated permissions on most custom ROMs, and for some features (eg. integrity checks) it downloads & runs Google-made programs (eg. DroidGuard) with strong privileges. DivestOS (now discontinued) used to run microG in a sandbox.

There are ways to run Play Services as a normal app if the custom ROM has a compatibility layer for it, like GrapheneOS, where you can selectively enable permissions for Play Services. Of course, if you refuse some permissions, some features will break (eg. refuse SMS/call access and RCS will break), but it's a mostly usable situation.

[–] flemtone@lemmy.world 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I have GrapheneOs installed which sandboxes any google bullshit needed for specific apps to run.

[–] mjr 95 points 1 day ago (12 children)

De-googled phones exist, but they’re rooted or using a custom firmware. Usually, these phones spoof Google Play Services, replacing that layer with something called MicroG.

So root and flash your phone today!

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[–] CallMeAnAI@lemmy.world 30 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Holy shit this is rage bait. What a title.

[–] 1984@lemmy.today 3 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

I dont understand... Its describing what android does. How can that be rage bait?

Nobody will rage over any of this. Its common knowledge already. Its the same thing that has been discussed for years.

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[–] tabular@lemmy.world 71 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

It bitches very often when you disable Google Pain Services.

You can't delete the 1GB malware either.

[–] TheBat@lemmy.world 31 points 1 day ago

Google Pain Services

Not sure if typo or intentional joke

[–] the_q@lemmy.zip 32 points 1 day ago (6 children)

From a strictly privacy standpoint is an iPhone a better option for non-techy folks?

[–] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 37 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I'd say that depends on exactly what you're trying to protect. They're both large American companies with control over your data and your data and metadata will end up in their respective clouds. Push notifications will be handled by Google services if you use Android, but there's an equivalent mechanism for iOS just that it uses their servers. They handle some details differently, but I don't think any of those options deserve the word privacy.

[–] cabbage@piefed.social 32 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

There are some user friendly Android based alternatives out there, since it's based on open source. Personally I'm running a device with /e/OS, which you can either install yourself or buy a phone with it pre-installed. There are also some other user friendly options out there such as the Volla Phone.

But yeah, iOS is probably a better bet than stock Android, as Apple has a history of being abusive towards their customers in other ways than by selling their data. But crucially both Google and Apple are American companies, so you should avoid depending on their cloud services to whatever degree possible. There's no such thing as safe data if it is stored by an American company.

[–] Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone 24 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

You're just changing the bucket which the data is dumped into and the interface used. It's an unfortunate reality that you need to research and be willing to take charge of your devices to proactively prevent spying.

GrapheneOS, /e/ OS, and other community ecosystems are mandatory to have complete data security. Google and Apple will never directly grant you the permission to turn all the data taps off.

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[–] chrash0@lemmy.world 23 points 1 day ago (8 children)

i’d say so. i was a professional Android dev for years, and security and privacy are definitely one of the reasons i prefer iOS. i don’t have time to play with my phone so much for my personal device. Apple is the lesser of 2 evils since their business model doesn’t depend on this kind of tracking (even if they do it as well albeit to a lesser extent)

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