335
Google is Killing Open Source Android Apps (Here's Why)
(techlore.tv)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2025
335 points (97.7% liked)
Android
20404 readers
9 users here now
The new home of /r/Android on Lemmy and the Fediverse!
Android news, reviews, tips, and discussions about rooting, tutorials, and apps.
🔗Universal Link: !android@lemdro.id
💡Content Philosophy:
Content which benefits the community (news, rumours, and discussions) is generally allowed and is valued over content which benefits only the individual (technical questions, help buying/selling, rants, self-promotion, etc.) which will be removed if it's in violation of the rules.
Support, technical, or app related questions belong in: !askandroid@lemdro.id
For fresh communities, lemmy apps, and instance updates: !lemdroid@lemdro.id
📰Our communities below
Rules
-
Stay on topic: All posts should be related to the Android OS or ecosystem.
-
No support questions, recommendation requests, rants, or bug reports: Posts must benefit the community rather than the individual. Please post to !askandroid@lemdro.id.
-
Describe images/videos, no memes: Please include a text description when sharing images or videos. Post memes to !androidmemes@lemdro.id.
-
No self-promotion spam: Active community members can post their apps if they answer any questions in the comments. Please do not post links to your own website, YouTube, blog content, or communities.
-
No reposts or rehosted content: Share only the original source of an article, unless it's not available in English or requires logging in (like Twitter). Avoid reposting the same topic from other sources.
-
No editorializing titles: You can add the author or website's name if helpful, but keep article titles unchanged.
-
No piracy or unverified APKs: Do not share links or direct people to pirated content or unverified APKs, which may contain malicious code.
-
No unauthorized polls, bots, or giveaways: Do not create polls, use bots, or organize giveaways without first contacting mods for approval.
-
No offensive or low-effort content: Don't post offensive or unhelpful content. Keep it civil and friendly!
-
No affiliate links: Posting affiliate links is not allowed.
Quick Links
Our Communities
- !askandroid@lemdro.id
- !androidmemes@lemdro.id
- !techkit@lemdro.id
- !google@lemdro.id
- !nothing@lemdro.id
- !googlepixel@lemdro.id
- !xiaomi@lemdro.id
- !sony@lemdro.id
- !samsung@lemdro.id
- !galaxywatch@lemdro.id
- !oneplus@lemdro.id
- !motorola@lemdro.id
- !meta@lemdro.id
- !apple@lemdro.id
- !microsoft@lemdro.id
- !chatgpt@lemdro.id
- !bing@lemdro.id
- !reddit@lemdro.id
Lemmy App List
Chat and More
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Everyone is suggesting LineageOS, but my big questions are:
Maybe - the community tends to patch out these kinds of things
probably not as they aren't very mature
This is only affecting roms that are Google approved and have Google play services installed meaning that going to a custom rom will fix this but also that any device currently supported by GPS will be affected. Therefore even old unsupported devices which are no longer receiving updates from their manufacturer will be locked down without the user's choice
GPS is usually decoded to global positioning system, which all phones use. Your usage of the acronym for something else is needlessly confusing. You could avoid the confusion by decoding the acronym yourself: ... Google Play services (GPS)...
Google "certified" is the proper terminology. But no, it will affect the entire Android ecosystem, because people won't develop FOSS apps for the <1% of users on uncertified devices.
Why not? How big do you think the FOSS market is now? I mean lots of them already publish on the app store which costs 25 dollars.
Source?
The lockdown is not in android itself but in Google services so if the device is on a new enough android version (not very new like marshmallow) the lockdown will apply. If the lockdown were in android itself it would affect(effect? Idk) all roms
Either we're having two different conversations, or I completely don't understand what you're saying.
How would GPS services affect a roms ability to sideload 3rd party apps, and 3rd party app stores?
They call Google Play Services "GPS", it seems. I was also a bit confused, thinking of the Global Positioning System.
Gps ties into android at a pretty low level so it can control a lot of things
Maybe you re talking about GPS, they are using a bad shorthand for Google Play Services?
So is it worth investing time into something like LineageOS?
Yes definitely especially considering it's not much time to invest at all you just install once then update like normal
Few weeks ago google started messing with aosp. I don't really remember what they did but I think it was either delaying security patches or something to do with firmware. The point is that they can lock apks while pointing at Roms to call the privacy users, then few years later, kill Aosp and we are done
They are withholding device trees and driver binaries for Pixel phones in addition to releasing security patches when they see fit.
I thought it was quarterly now.
I stand corrected