Hans-Christoph Steiner @eighthave@librem.one

@th_willenbrink@mastodontech.de @doragasu @rolandixor @lehtimaeki Yeah, you pretty much have to trust the developer. Or audit the code. You can use a firewall app, but Google Play doesn't allow most of those anyway. I recommend #CalyxOS for this, it has a nice built-in firewall app that actually can fully block internet access on an app-by-app basis, with the user in full control.

@mynacol I agree that bumping targetSdkVersion is good when there is no cost. When there is a cost, then devs should do a cost-benefit analysis. The targetSdkVersion sandbox also breaks features that people rely on, #UserFreedom means giving users real choices.

Looking at the new screen, it looks like Google has blocked installing the app. Many users have said as much. That's the monopolistic part.

And F-Droid v1.17 will have a higher targetSdkVersion. That cost a lot of dev time and money.

I never understood why arugula was a food until I grew it. It is intense and bitter, why would people eat it? When you grow it yourself, you just throw down some seeds where it gets some rain during the winter. Then you get massive amounts of it in the spring, and it is all bug free. Without really doing anything. If I had to grow all my own food, then I think I would probably end up eating a lot of arugula. Plus it tastes better when its freshly picked, not just pure bitterness.

@sergii because you need a team that is all on the same page, since they are working together on building something.

I will go one step further and say that calling #FDroid an "unsafe app" by this standard is dishonest. It seems that some at #Google also agreed, since the older version of that screen was honest: "Blocked by Play Protect" instead of "Unsafe app blocked". Looks like the #GooglePlay team is still focused on protecting their #monopoly, this time using scare tactics. 2/2

This screen that #Google shows on #Android when installing #FDroid really bugs me. It is purely based on the integer value targetSdkVersion, without considering our security model, public audits results, track record over 10+ years, exclusive use of memory safe languages, or even what our code actually does. It is as if #FDroid marked anything that comes from Google as containing ads and trackers. 1/2

Code review is an essential part of team maintenance of #software. It must be a conversation . Pushing code without review might feel like getting things done, but it creates a form of technical debt. The other maintainers have not taken in the new logic yet, and therefore cannot act on it. That can mean duplication of work or breakage, since the other developer was not aware of the new logic.

looks like local/mesh device-to-device networking is finally getting good enough that #China is banning it https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/09/china-plans-new-rules-to-regulate-file-sharing-services-like-airdrop-and-bluetooth

I really wonder what was behind the decision by #Google to take the #Android open source developer reference, that anyone could build themselves, and make it #proprietary and only available online. Given all the other stuff that Google does, it is hard to see it as anything but a play for forced tracking of developers in combination with solidifying monopoly control over Android.

@ralph yes, markets are a way of organizing coordination. There are other ways to do that also. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. The problem lies with the belief that markets are somehow the perfect way of organizing coordination, better than the others in all ways. This is what I'm talking about when referencing the Austrian school.

It used to be pretty easy to build a local copy of the #Android developer docs. It was quite nice because it was super fast to navigate. I even made a #Debian package for the offline version. #Google broke that back in Android 6.0 or so.

@ralph Yeah, markets are a tool, not a way of life or a moral code. The #Austrian economists got that part really wrong, believing that murderous dictators who deregulate are bringing #Freedom.

Why on earth does https://developer.android.com block #Tor connections now? It does seem like #Google is aiming to collect ever more data on #Android developers, maybe this is one thing they're doing to ensure they get decent IP data there.

@cobratbq yeah, that's a great description.