The Play Integrity API has made it easier for apps to check whether you installed or bought them from Google Play.
    • KomfortablesKissen@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      54·
      3 个月前

      So no banking apps for you? I agree that this is shit, but pretending we are not hit by this is not helping.

      Also, I don’t really use banking apps anyway because they already pull similar shit and I can get around it. For now.

      • Ghoelian@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        20·
        3 个月前

        Fortunately so far I haven’t come across a bank here in the Netherlands that wouldn’t work because my phone was rooted or because I’m running grapheneos. Hope it stays that way too.

      • themachine@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        3 个月前

        Correct. I’ve never used banking apps in the first place anyway. If my bank doesnt have a functional website then I would change banks.

        And i say this not to be difficult or contrarian. I just really hate using apps for every business in existence and simply refuse to do so. Yes I have absolutely sacrificed convenience on many occasions due to this principal.

        • KomfortablesKissen@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
          1·
          3 个月前

          Very good. I don’t like using apps for every little shitty website like discord or WebEx either.

          Just know that this is a step forward in the direction of making it technically possible to force people to usw the app. Ask yourself if you trust them to not try and profit from this.

          • themachine@lemmy.worldEnglish
            3·
            3 个月前

            Just know that this is a step forward in the direction of making it technically possible to force people to usw the app.

            I disagree. There is nothing stopping that as it is. What this really does is remove one more level of control from the end user on their device.

            Ask yourself if you trust them to not try and profit from this.

            Im not sure what you are getting at here. Of course i don’t trust “them”. Nor do i trust any corp. It’s those reasons among others why i have completely removed google from my computing life and almost exclusively use open source software as well as self host functionally all network services.

            • KomfortablesKissen@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
              1·
              3 个月前

              I disagree. There is nothing stopping that as it is. What this really does is remove one more level of control from the end user on their device.

              That is exactly what I meant with that. Less control for you means more control for the banks/app creators.

              I myself also want to let go of the likes of Google. It’s a pretty bumpy ride, but better than a future where the Tech Bros are in control.

      • henfredemars@infosec.pubEnglish
        2·
        3 个月前

        With banking apps in particular this lock down is ultra-stupid.

        Like, I have to use your super secure app, or I can just… visit your page in a web browser running on god-knows-what with whatever extensions in any computing environment or OS of my choosing? But not using Google Play is where they draw the line.

  • Ghoelian@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    70·
    3 个月前

    Not a single app on my phone was installed through Google Play, it’s all Aurora. Guess if apps really do this i’ll just have to stop using them, cause I’m not installing the play store.

    • Mwa@lemm.eeEnglish
      12·
      3 个月前

      I wish i can degoogle my phone but its a few months old so no rom support and its a samsung :<

      • ReversalHatchery@beehaw.orgEnglish
        11·
        3 个月前

        this is the reason phone selection for me is based on what it supports.

        but samsungs are ruled out anyway. their service centers desttoys your phone if you have asserted your ownership of it, their software is way too unnecessarily complicated (not the part you see, but the low level part that complicates the flashing process), and they are generally a garbage company.

        • Mwa@lemm.eeEnglish
          2·
          3 个月前

          oh yeah you have to use their own software to flash but i never had samsung destroyed by them and they killed samsung dex pc app for mac but i think in a few years rom support for my phone will improve and there is also gsi roms you can use

      • Raptorox@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        1·
        3 个月前

        How is it being a samsung making things worse? I’ve never flashed a samsung phone before so I may be very wrong, but isn’t unlocking the bootloader easy?

        And now that I think about, does samsung have their own system file format or something? Is that the issue?

        • Mwa@lemm.eeEnglish
          2·
          3 个月前

          its bcs they use their own flashing method which got leaked

          • Raptorox@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            2·
            3 个月前

            Omg I completely forgot they had a proprietary flasher, yeah that makes it much worse.

            E: wasn’t there an open source implementation called Heimdall?

            • Mwa@lemm.eeEnglish
              1·
              3 个月前

              E: wasn’t there an open source implementation called Heimdall?

              I Would rather use Heimdall then the leaked odin flasher honestly

    • cordlesslamp@lemmy.todayEnglish
      3·
      3 个月前

      Quick question: what is the advantage of using Aurora to get apps instead of the Play Store?

      I have Aurora but i don’t understand that, afaik both use the same APKs and can update interchangeably?

      At first I thought Aurora remove some of the app’s tracking beacons but that’s not the case.

      • OutsiderInside@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        3 个月前

        At least for me, Play Store impulsively updates itself. I would even say that some apps got updated even though I’d disabled auto updates.

        I installed Aurora and disabled Play Store altogether. So I update apps manually whenever I want to.

  • cleverusername@lemm.eeEnglish
    69·
    3 个月前

    What if I sideload purely to downgrade a bugged app? Just seems like yet another kick in the teeth by Google.

    • Chozo@fedia.io
      11·
      3 个月前

      Google’s only providing the option, it’s up to individual devs to enable it on their app. If the app developer has chosen to block sideloading, then they probably have a reason for going out of their way to do so. Whatever you find that reason to be should inform your decision whether or not to continue using their app.

      • doctortran@lemm.eeEnglish
        60·
        3 个月前

        Their reasons mean nothing. It’s my device. I shouldn’t have to worry about an application installed on my device being policed because the developer got a hair up their ass about people downgrading.

        The phrase “more secure” is becoming meaningless as it keeps being used as a blanket excuse for literally every user hostile change.

        • Chozo@fedia.io
          13·
          3 个月前

          Sure, it’s your device. But it’s their app. Ultimately, it’s the developer’s call to make. You don’t have to use their app.

      • Virkkunen@fedia.io
        25·
        3 个月前

        Explain to me what would be the good reasons McDonald’s has to block their app from running on a rooted device because it doesn’t pass SafetyNet or whatever Google is calling it now

        • Chozo@fedia.io
          4·
          3 个月前

          Why would I explain something that has nothing to do with this discussion? This has nothing to do with rooted devices.

          • Ghoelian@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
            22·
            3 个月前

            It’s the same system, it’s all part of play integrity. And that also applies to this bullshit, why does McDonald’s care if I didn’t install their app from the play store?

            • limerod@reddthat.comMEnglish
              3·
              3 个月前

              Can’t you use the website instead? Is the MCDonalds app necessary for orders? I use hermit to sandbox webapps for services which do not require a app.

              • Ghoelian@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                7·
                3 个月前

                Oh I don’t know if mcdonald’s specifically does this, I’ve never used the app, I just used it as an example because that’s what the guy above was talking about as well.

              • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyzEnglish
                2·
                3 个月前

                IIRC they did coupons exclusively in their app a few years ago where I lived (haven’t checked since), and they hiked the price of everything, so if you don’t install the app, you get a 20% surcharge in effect.

                That goes for every single shitty chain store as well.

            • Chozo@fedia.io
              1·
              3 个月前

              Why should I know? I’m not a McDeveloper.

              If I had to guess, I’d assume it’s because there’s a payment system in their app and they don’t want people monkeying around with it and stealing food.

              • Ghoelian@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                10·
                3 个月前

                McDonald’s was just an example, the point is most apps don’t need to do that at all.

                I do happen to know how payment systems like that work, and thankfully those are all cloud-based, the only thing the app does is start transactions and check with the server if they’re paid. If they implemented it well, as I suspect a big corpo like McDonald’s probably would, their own order screen also checks server-side if orders are paid. Not much you can do from the app side to mess with that.

                • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyzEnglish
                  1·
                  3 个月前

                  the only thing the app does is start transactions and check with the server if they’re paid

                  Yeah, but the whole PCI DSS thing means that the app must still be secured. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be tied to Google Play, but explain it to them.

              • sunzu2@thebrainbin.org
                1·
                3 个月前

                🤡

                If apps like fidelity will run on aurora store withithout safety net and other bullshit, then shiti McDonalds app can take the risk too.

                You are poorly educated on the iseue or a bootlicker

      • ReversalHatchery@beehaw.orgEnglish
        2·
        3 个月前

        without uninstalling. that had a reason, safety, as apps are often not prepared to handle their “future” (relatively) config files and data formats

  • Nawor3565@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    55·
    3 个月前

    Aw shit, it says this is supposed to detect when an app’s binary has been tampered with… That means it’s probably gonna be used to block stuff like ReVanced. I hope they can find a way around this that doesn’t require root.

  • Zak@lemmy.worldEnglish
    45·
    3 个月前

    The whole tech world saw Microsoft Palladium as a nightmare scenario, but was quiet ten years later when Apple and Google did the same thing to our phones. That was a mistake.

    • jbk@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      2·
      3 个月前

      Maybe everyone was just OK with mobile devices being locked down heavily from the start, and now it’s more or less the same level for most

      • Zak@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        3 个月前

        We had several years of Android that mostly wasn’t. Now it’s hard work to get Android that isn’t.

    • lud@lemm.eeEnglish
      20·
      3 个月前

      This is the individual app’s fault and not Googles. It’s like getting mad at Steam for allowing apps with DRM. Is feature is entirely optional and requires extra effort to implement.

      Also didn’t Google already get sued in the USA for Android not being open enough or something like that.

    • Clent@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      3 个月前

      Are you suggesting such an app can be purchased outside Google play but not used?

      Having an app check a license server isn’t exactly new. Google play is simply a third party license server.

      • accideath@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        3 个月前

        No, but you can download the APKs anyways. Which is most likely exactly why this is being implemented. I doubt many developers of free apps are going to turn this feature on.

        • doctortran@lemm.eeEnglish
          1·
          3 个月前

          Yes they will. This tool would force users to always use the Play Store which would increase the download count on their app, which would help its ranking in the Play Store. Every last single developer is incentivized to use this.

          • accideath@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            3 个月前

            On the other hand though, the amount of people who sideload free apps is very small because that’s only really interesting for people with degoogled smartphones.

      • Wanderer@r.nfEnglish
        1·
        3 个月前

        The App Lounge from /e/OS has access to the play store if you choose to log in to Google. It is possible (but not recommended because of a possible ban) to purchase stuff, I haven’t done that yet, but some apps want to talk to Google to see if it was purchased and that gives an error.

        For example, Wavelet can’t unlock paid status, All-In-One Calculator gives the option to link an email so it can restore paid status, Nova Launcher uses a different app to restore paid status so it works as well.

    • jbk@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      2·
      3 个月前

      Kinda makes sense. A paid app on Google Play is a license to download the .apk file(s). Then a user could make copies, and without DRM, it’d be the same situation as with copyrighted movies and whatnot.

      I’m not saying I support them, it’s just that they are like this for a reason

  • Xenny@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    3 个月前

    That’s fine I rarely download apps that want to be on the Play store anyway