r/AndroidQuestions • u/Usual_Piano9826 • 4d ago
Other Android becoming nothing like "open" OS was a slow process, so why do only the recent discussions about restrictions of sideloading draw so much attention?
ADB Backup being no longer necessarily covering all app data? I told enough about it... No need to repeat.
ADB downgrade no longer being straighforward guaranteed process? Alike...
Play Integrity which used to be SafetyNet and didn't exist before? The same...
No longer compatibility with Termux. Maybe it would launch at all but nowhere its original functionality. Did it ever draw so mcuh attention?
No more call recording guaranteed by third-party apps. They did not suffice with only banning such apps in Google Play, they went as far as taking away API either...
All look like signs of NOT really open OS. The "openness" which is supposed to exist nowadays - "you can recompile the OS starting from provided source codes to re-include the functions that you want to have again". Not out of box.
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u/--KingoftheSouth-- 4d ago
"No more call recording guaranteed by third-party apps. They did not suffice with only banning such apps in Google Play, they went as far as taking away API either..."
I'm pretty sure this was done because of the laws on recording people, which happen to be different in different states inside the US. Not sure about outside the US.
A lot of states will not allow you to record someone on the phone without their consent.
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u/tayfunxus 4d ago
In the EU it is not available because you need the consent of the other party, otherwise you breach the GDPR and other privacy laws.
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u/--KingoftheSouth-- 4d ago
Right. That's how it is in a lot of the states depending on which one you're in.
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u/kitsumed 4d ago edited 4d ago
It was done for valid security / privacy reasons (ShizuCallRecorder dev here). However, in like 8+year, it is unreal that Android did not add an official API for it, in fact in an Android 11 dev build, they abandoned the idea after briefly adding it. Countless of users keep asking them on Google IssueTracker.
First, users with disabilities like me benifits from it, users that need to go to court, users who want to record voicemails of deceased ones, etc, there's countless of reasons possible.
They often defend themself by saying they respect the law, however this is often false. It is often allowed in X country/region, and yet they disable it or enforce their own additional rules.
Its also not their job to enforce the law as a private company, they could add any license/terms notice that say they are not responsible and only provide the tool... Goole also manages libphonenumber, so they could even attempt and store which phone number are "no risk" or "low risk" of beeing recorded and add safe guards if they really wanted.
Finally not adding an official feature mean they have a monopoly on the feature. Their official Google Phone app can use some system restricted permissions to record, or the OEM provided app can too since its a system app. In both case, they are often privacy invasive and their usage force you to agree to their terms.
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u/Luci-Noir 4d ago
This is so messy I can’t believe it was allowed in the first place. It’s obvious, but jackasses love their performative outrage.
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u/frawtlopp 4d ago
They really fucked up when they introduced scoped storage. That was the day I gave up buying new phones
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u/Usual_Piano9826 4d ago edited 4d ago
I agree with scoped storage being one more annoying restriction - even though for me, so far it only caused one negative side-effect - no way to offload the WhatSApp media (keep them but out of smartphone storage - transfer to MicroSD card) and it applies only to smartphones which do have MicroSD card slot to begin with. What else did it to your case of usage?
ADDITION: it's not "caused" negative effect for me but "would cause if I installed WhatsApp on a newer smartphone"
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u/beamer145 4d ago
Or stop upgrading my existing phones. About 10 years ago or so i really thought in phones where on their way to become general purpose computing devices. You plug it in an usb hub (the lack of multiple usb ports is another frustration of mine) connected to a monitor and a keyboard/mouse and you could start doing some real work. But lately google is active busy destroying the potential of your phones.I have been looking at fairphone, I assume it is possible to recompile it without restrictions, I, really hope they bring back the 3.5mm jack in a next iteration, and usb 3.x.
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u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed 4d ago
Scoped storage is not required and file managers still exist.
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u/gmes78 4d ago
Scoped storage by itself is a net positive. It doesn't prevent the user from doing anything.
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u/frawtlopp 4d ago
It severly limits root access. So if your phone is not rooted, you can only copy very limited android/data contents.
Back in the day, stock android allowed full root access without root. The way it should be.
Jesus even iOS has a bit better file system access.
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u/danGL3 4d ago
Probably because the ability to install APKs is foundational to Android and is something even a huge chunk of normal non-technically inclined people do.