Hans-Christoph Steiner @eighthave@librem.one

Would you like to end the constant drumbeat of ill-informed legislative proposals that threaten to destroy end-to-end #encryption in #OpenSource #software? Are you from #Europe? Can you demonstrate your expertise? Then why not apply to join the European Commission's Expert Group for a Technology Roadmap on Encryption (E04005). Deadline is September 1st, don't be late.

https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-groups/consult?lang=en&groupID=4005

We are delighted to announce that we have received a #Zerodha #FLOSSfund grant https://floss.fund/blog/update-2025-may/
This is a great way to highlight the global magnitude of libre software. Ideas, development, or funding are not centralized in one place. No one is buying the power; everybody can contribute as they can and want. We will use this budget to improve #Weblate UX and implement some major features that were waiting to get boosted by funding.

" #Trump has an opportunity to match his administration’s actions to its rhetoric: stand up for fair markets and let Europe’s pro-competition law run its course. That would reaffirm that America’s edge comes from innovation, not coddling yesterday’s tech monopolists." #DMA https://www.ft.com/content/dc03021b-07c9-4960-9b5c-9a92325474d7

⚠️ In four days Gemini wants to scan your phone ⚠️

Stop #Google now: 👉 https://tuta.com/blog/how-to-disable-gemini-on-android

#GeminiAI #Google #Android #PrivacyMatters

Brave for Android is now available as an F-Droid repository! 📱🤖

This officially-supported repository allows you to install the browser and get automatic updates without using the Google Play app.

We're excited to make our browser available on a decentralized and account-free platform that's free of Big Tech restrictions and tracking.

Learn how to install Brave for Android through our F-Droid repository here: https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/wiki/Installing-Brave-on-Android

☀️ Summer is here 🚀 and so is the new release of the OpenAndroidInstaller v0.5.5-beta ☀️

Fresh bits:
- Fixed #Windows issues
- Transparent device pics ✨
- Dropped old driver recs
- NEW DEVICES: moto g5s (montana) & moto g5 plus (potter) - thanks @SirRGB

Grab it 👉 https://github.com/openandroidinstaller/OpenAndroidInstaller/releases/tag/v0.5.5-beta

#OpenAndroidInstaller #Android #FOSS #Linux #Motorola #CustomROM

Google Tightens Android Sideloading—At What Cost to Digital Freedom?

Google has begun blocking sideloaded Android apps in Singapore, citing security concerns over apps requesting sensitive permissions like SMS and accessibility services.

Read the blog at Purism:
https://puri.sm/posts/google-restricts-android-sideloading-what-it-means-for-user-autonomy-and-the-future-of-mobile-freedom/

@ilumium Honor Magic OS 9 (Android 15) stock rom , you cannot uninstall Google apps. Only disable them

OK sorry folks but I've got better things to do in live than watch AI-generated weirdo films made by Google to promote their #DMA compliance "solutions."

This where today's thread ends. I'm out. 👋

Yay #Google goes full in, claiming the #DMA would make Europeans "second class citizens" on Android 😆

And they do the same thing #Apple did yesterday: counting the number of meetings with regulators and other stakeholders in n attempt of proving good will. Still think this rather raises the question how the heck Google can still be non-compliant after all that engagement. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Publishers seem to want:

1. money,
2. opt-out,
3. control,

over the use of their content to train #LLMs. Google admits that this is a disruption of #journalism, and says #Google has "done its best" to help news publishers "evolve". What a bunch of nonsense.

Heavy push back from the room. :)

What everybody wants to know: How can alternative providers compete with #Gemini?

What #Google uses its speaking time for: How AI is incorporated into all kinds of recommender systems since 1998.

Excellent online question by @GrapheneOS calling out #Google for selling "payment integrity" as security feature while using it to achieve vendor lock-in.

Google answer: None. Again. @article19's attempt to follow up was denied for sake of time. 😠

#DMA #DigitalMarketsAct

OK so now @beuc explicitly asks the question on the lack of uninstallation and I followed up here in the room to press #Google on how they keep on pretending disabling apps was the same as removing/uninstalling them and somehow enough for #DMA compliance.

Google's answer: Nothing in combination with lies: they say if an app is disabled, only "remnants of code" remain on the device (wrong) and that "if you remove an app from the Android system partition, the OS breaks" (also wrong). 😠

Can anyone with a regular and recent #stockROM #Android phone confirm if they were able to uninstall (not deactivate!) pre-installed apps like #Chrome, #Youtube, #GoogleMaps, #GoogleDrive, #GooglePhotos, or #Gmail ?

Hmmm, so #Google lobbyists claim "All apps on Android can be uninstalled" but from my testing on #Android 16 with all latest updates on a #Pixel this appears to be false.

Google's own #DMA compliance report from March 2025 says this is wrong:

"Android allows to uninstall apps by: (i) fully deleting apps that are downloaded or pre-installed in the user partition; and (ii) uninstalling apps in the system partition such that they are returned into an uninstalled state."

https://storage.googleapis.com/transparencyreport/report-downloads/pdf-report-bb_2024-3-7_2025-3-6_en_v1.pdf