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Google Allows Creditors to Brick Your Phone (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by to c/privacy@lemmy.ml
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I installed NetGuard about a month ago and blocked all internet to apps, unless they're on a whitelist. No notifications from this particular system app (that can't be disabled) until recently when it started making internet connection requests to google servers. Does anyone know when this became a thing?

Edit 2: I bought my Pixel 6 phone outright, directly from Google's Australian store. I have no creditors.

Were the courts not enough control for creditors? Since when are they allowed to lock you out of your purchased property without a court order?

I don't even live in the US, so what the actual fuck?

Edit 1: You can check it's installed (stock Pixel 6 android 14) Settings > Apps > All Apps > three dot menu, Show system > search "DeviceLockController".

I highly recommend getting NetGuard, you can enable pro features via their website if you have the APK for as low as 0.10€, but donate more, because it's amazing. You can also purchase via Google Play store.

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[–] 37 points 2 years ago (4 children)

So, that looks like this is less insane than it sounded... This is for if you buy your phone on a payment plan? Not for creditors more generally to have a option to repossess/dispossess your phone?

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  • [–] 20 points 2 years ago*

    Yeah, this is likely something that's configured on an OS level to talk to some server when being sold.

    However, note that SIM cards can have a flag that might enable this app (given how much power sim cards have over phones)

    Note: no source, just assumptions

    Edit: second note: this app isn't present on my EU OnePlus Nord.

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  • [+] 14 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)
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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    if you switch providers before paying it of

    Usually a financed devicd is financed through the carrier, and therefore a carrier branded device, and therefore locked to the carrier (yes they have the unlock option but compatibility tends to be far more limited than on the manufacturer unlocked version of the model)

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    If you look at the bottom it says once the device is paid off they can no longer access/change settings

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago

    That is both Google's official version and what it looks like poking at it.

    I haven't dug in the code, so I don't know if this is theoretically possible for a shady carrier to enable after the fact. But it very much looks like a dormant feature nobody uses.

    I guess I could see that making sense in poorer countries where carriers might have issues of people signing up for phone plans and never paying. A carrier locked flip phone was pretty useless, but nowadays cutting your phone/data off is more of an inconvenience than a dealbreaker, you've still got WiFi and a nice phone.

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