- 2 Posts
- 10 Comments
Armand1@lemmy.worldto
Open Source@lemmy.ml•Paying without Google: New consortium wants to remove custom ROM hurdles creating an open source alternative to Google Play Integrity
10·17 days agoI agree it would be good to have third party integrity checks to not require Google Services etc. as part of the chain.
In GrapheneOS, many Google Play integrity check pass, but payments still do not work. You are notified when an app uses the integrity API, but probably only because they have spent a bunch of work sandboxing Play Services. This is what you see when you look at those details:

I guess the obvious problem is that so many apps rely on Google Services, such as for payments, opening the store, checking for integrity etc. On stock android, you can’t pick and choose these services separately or use third party ones, unlike using a third party keyboard, for example. Everything is one big proprietary, data guzzling lump.
Armand1@lemmy.worldOPto
Privacy@lemmy.ml•Q: Whatever happened to our promised Signal - WhatsApp compatibility?
4·18 days agoWhoever promised that?
Updated the description to clarify.
The economic incentive from Signals point of view is that it allows them to steal users. Its a lot easier to switch if you don’t have to drag 100% of people you know off a platform to remove their app.
Look up adversarial interoperability if you’re interested. It’s how Facebook got big in the first place.
As for Meta, the only thing they would gain is less scrutiny from regulators as Gatekeepers.
Armand1@lemmy.worldto
Privacy@lemmy.ml•I am super nervous, so close to jumping to GrapheneOS.
1·21 days agoYeah it’s nice to have PhotoSphere back!
Armand1@lemmy.worldto
Privacy@lemmy.ml•I am super nervous, so close to jumping to GrapheneOS.
1·22 days agoYep, though losing your wallet and phone at the same time would be rough.
Armand1@lemmy.worldto
Privacy@lemmy.ml•I am super nervous, so close to jumping to GrapheneOS.
20·22 days agoMade the jump last week.
The only thing I miss is Android Pay, but it’s not a big deal. Cards are fine, you’ll just need to remember your wallet.
I did find I had a problem with my work 2FA app, but that’s their problem to solve, not mine. Maybe they’ll give me a 2FA USB key.
A few pieces of advice:
- Don’t forget to back up any apps with local data that support it. You won’t get your app data back from the play store. Many FOSS apps have built-in backup optioms to files etc.
- Back up your phone logs and SMS if that’s valuable to you, and ideally make sure the backup works on another device.
- Install GCam to keep the same level of camera quality and features as the original app provides. I recommend BigKaKa’s versions for good compatibility with Pixels, though they can get a little cluttered.
- Do install both the Play Store and Play Services if you want to use any Google app like YouTube or Maps (even some non-Google ones will need it). Then use a more private app store like Aurora and remove all permissions from the Play Store to strike a good middle-ground.
- The Fossify apps are great alternatives to the imo not very good stock apps preinstalled on LineageOS.
I don’t trust anything this government does. They always find a way to pick the worst choice for everyone but themselves and their rich backers.
Even if they never abuse these powers (unlikely, given their track record), what’s to stop the next government from abusing them?
Armand1@lemmy.worldto
Open Source@lemmy.ml•Recommendations for an open-source screen reader alternative to Windows Narrator that is AI-powered and has a more human voice.
4·1 month agoThe one I hear is good is NVDA by NVAccess, but it doesn’t have AI.
Website: https://www.nvaccess.org/about-nvda/
Source code: https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda
I would be fairly surprised if you found an open source screen reader that had AI built-in.
It would likely have to run locally if it was open source.
Typically companies don’t make their stuff open source, and non-profits are unlikely to host an AI for you because of the cost. It’s unlikely to run locally as the cost for that model to run and download size may make it unusable or impractical for some hardware. Typically screen readers need to be accessible to everyone, and therefore need to run on very old and / or cheap hardware.
Armand1@lemmy.worldto
Privacy@lemmy.ml•One billion identity records exposed in unsecured ID verification database | Biometric Update
18·1 month agoThe source for this article is another article, which tbh is a better article:
https://cybernews.com/security/global-data-leak-exposes-billion-records/
That article does not itself have a source link, but it does show some redacted sample data and a breakdown of what countries are affected.

Armand1@lemmy.worldto
Privacy@lemmy.ml•Banned Mullvad VPN TV ad criticizing United Kingdom escalating censorship and mass surveillance “And Then?”
20·1 month agoIs this actually targeted at the UK?
It’s a super American ad. Everyone sounds American, we don’t really have drive thru’s like this etc.
In terms of message it’s spot on for both the UK and US though. Especially prescient given the Flock stuff going on in the US right now.
EDIT: From the article, it sounds like this has been used in a few places, but the UK is the only one that has banned it. The reasoning behind the ban is laughable.
It looks like there’s a longer version available on the site, but it’s broken for me.

I was trying to figure out why people still use Axios, when the built-in
fetchworks just fine. Is it because people are still sending XML requests?