Other people have already mentioned this, but Google absolutely spies on the whole OS when it makes the OS, either Android or Chrome OS, Google Play Services are spyware and also required for full Android functionality
GrapheneOS my beloved
Should I pull the trigger on the Pixel 8 listing I've got up on eBay right now? My level of tech savvy is 'I installed Bazzite on my gaming laptop and it's mostly just worked', I think I should be fine with Graphene but...
(Also, anyone know if Tuta is good? I'm looking for a replacement for Google calendar and Gmail and that seems to fit the bill.)
Biased answer but:
Your tech level is more than sufficient. Just follow the install instructions on the official site.
Tuta is alright. One of many good alternatives. Just try it out in parallel.
The Pixel 8 is great with GrapheneOS! You don't need to be very tech savvy to use it.
Just keep in mind that Tuta does not support PGP or S/MIME.
Flashing GrapheneOS is pretty easy. On Linux you may have few complications: you must install Chromium or Chrome in order for the USB flashing to work (feature not available with Firefox). You may have to also manually set some permissions for the device in order for it to be detected in Chromium/Chrome.
And Apple aren't that much better. They make a lot of privacy claims, but are still pushing hard for their online services like iCloud, and their hardware is designed to hide what it's doing from the user. Apple is still collecting user data. They might be sharing less with third parties, but they are still collecting it.
We need to support Ubuntu Touch. It’s such a promising alternative and it would be a dream to have it at same level and app support as current major platforms.
Google doesn't spy only the web. There are some pretty common and completely legal devices, that Google takes advantage of to spy in people's everyday life. Those devices are called Android phones.
Only Apple users think Apple isn't spying on them.
And Apple users are about to realize with the new Apple AI aka Google Gemini that they ARE spying on them.
No they won't. Apple users are either tech illiterate or sycophantic. They won't realize that the "year in review" is actually just a showcase of how much info they have on you.
Everything is just black and white…
Excuse me, tech illiterate and sycophantic are clearly shades of grey.
Oh is Apple finally releasing different colors again? :p
"The new Mac: Now in tech illiterate white/greyish and sycophantic gray/blackish."
Used to know an apple fan in college, he almost screamed at me for buying a wired mouse with a good sensor rather than a wireless one with a bad one, because according to Apple, I would benefit more from the latter, and otherwise I'm setting back "wireless mains power tech", which I showed a disinterest in by buying the wired mouse. He also called me a child when I bought a graphics card.
TIL that as a software engineer I must be tech illiterate as I’m no sycophant. How shocking that I use an Apple phone as it just works for what I want. I’d be in the same boat if I used Android and I choose convenience when choosing a phone, gone are my days of geeking out for a month trying to get my banking app to work.
One might argue you’re a little dense if you think the world is this black and white.
Everyone who believes their big tech software doesnt spy as much as possible are naive fools
But its almost impossible to avoid anyway
So i can understand that a lot of people just dont care
Myself included, though i do use linux, its not for privacy reasons. I just like linux better thqn windows.
Work requires a mac, and github by microsoft. What you want me to do?
i like the meme, but here is the real version
Don't forget ChromeOS!
The mail (a web service), the calendar (a web service), YouTube (web videos), YouTube Music (web music), Google Maps (a web based mapping service)...
You get the picture.
Android spies on you when you're doing things locally on the device. But, the rest of these are web-based services.
the closest thing Linux has to spying is the strictly opt-in Debian package popularity contest lol
...or installing Red Star OS. There are Linux distros with built-in spying, they just aren't very popular.
Also acceptable:
Linux: You guys have users?
linux to apple: you think yours don't?
I've seen a lot of people defend apple. I lowkey thing me talking bad about apple (and provide sources) on a privacy subreddit triggered someone enough to get my reddit account banned. That or badtalking apple is against reddit TOS.
Probably an employee doing damage control.
Google spies through its OS too.
I'd make that plural. Google spies through its OSs too.
Google with Android: Amateurs!
I mean spy only on the web? Android Google is like the most important piece of project in corporate surveillance and don't get me started on A-GPS
Google spies through androidOS
Time for our sponsor for today's episode, GrapheneOS. I don't need tell you what it does because y'all on Lemmy anyways. Honestly it was the most simple setup, you plug your phone into the computer you don't need to download the software installer locally, its all distributed on their website and it take 2 clicks of the mouse to get a privacy focused OS.
If you have a pixel at least
This was really helpful. I know about GrapheneOS, but I didn't know install was this easy
Jokes on you! I know that Apple knows that I know they know.
Yeah Apple is pretty transparent about it and what they use it for (allegedly) haven’t really seen anything saying Apple is using more than they claim/say.
Either way Linux is so much better.
Thanks legitimately random user!
Linux picks a random user out of the hat to prove it - gets someone using android with play services. erm . . . ignore them . . . that doesn't count.
That really loops back to Google more than a function of linux.
Just because it uses the Linux kernel doesn't mean it's real Linux. Google took everything that made Linux good - customisation, root access, privacy, freedom - out of Linux to make Android
A lot of that's still available in AOSP. The devices they actually sell just load a heap of commercial crap on top of that.
Akshually, . . . copypaste . . . mostly google removed the GNU Scotsman.
That is the same kind of pedantry as claiming that ketchup is a smoothie because the tomato is a fruit.
Awh crap
Installs TempleOS
Next month, Microsoft forced Mojang to comply with the UK government Online Safety Act. All users must upload Digital ID or some other form of Age Verification to a third party company called Yoti. Or else they won't get to use the chat, friends list, and other social features. All users are affected for now it seems. Yoti claim they will delete the data right away and not store it. This means that even in single player we can't use commands and see achievements and stuff like that. Really annoying. EDIT: Turns out this is on both Java and Bedrock and probably all platforms such as mobile! Not sure how or when it will happen though.
I will literally never verify my real life ID for some online service. I will cut out that service from my life before betraying my own privacy to such a degree. I will throw my computer out the window before ever doing this.
What the fuck is wrong with people?
Hint: :q!
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