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Google’s Gemini team is apparently sending out emails about an upcoming change to how Gemini interacts with apps on Android devices. The email informs users that, come July 7, 2025, Gemini will be able to “help you use Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, and Utilities on your phone, whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off.” Naturally, this has raised some privacy concerns among those who’ve received the email and those using the AI assistant on their Android devices.

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[-] neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com 110 points 1 week ago

Linux has become good enough to replace desktop operating systems.

Now, we are back at square one. I’ll be the first to inaccurately declare, “This will be the year of the Linux phone.”

[-] pfr@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 1 week ago

Behold, the Linux phone:

https://liberux.net/

[-] Squizzy@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

Looking at postmarketOS for my phone too, so sick of this shit

[-] xiwi@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

PostmarketOS is cool, but as an actual phone replacement it is tough, at least last time I tried.

[-] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I haven't tried, but I took a closer look at their wiki yesterday:

  • the Main (official) devices are QEMU, i.e. virtual
  • the list of Community devices is long, but whenever I clicked on something there were significant caveats

IMHO they should focus their efforts on getting at least one actual phone working fully.

I want this project to succeed, but until then I use Sailfish OS, btw.

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[-] kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 week ago

Isn't Android using a Linux kernel already?

[-] loutr@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 week ago

Yes, but everything above it (including drivers) is custom-made and tightly controlled by Google.

[-] GreenMartian@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 week ago

Yes. IIRC it's based on latest LTS kernel with Google patches. So it's been "year of the Linux phone" for a while now.

It's unfortunate that the slop they put on top of it is such a privacy nightmare. PostmarketOS is trying to change that and supports Plasma, Gnome, etc. But it's early days yet and still rough around the edges from what I've been reading.

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[-] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 4 points 1 week ago

This is my fourth comment shilling SFOS here, but it just might be what you're looking for. It is my daily driver.

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[-] Sunflier@lemmy.world 82 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Dear tech bros,

We, the people, don't want to use your AI shit. Please stop shoving it down our throats. Thank you.

Sincerely,

-The people

[-] Tiger666@lemmy.ca 32 points 1 week ago

Hahahahhshahahahhahahahhahahahahahahahaha.

Sincerely,

Tech bros.

[-] baguettefish@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

yes but what if a company has the ability to create billions of close friends who can recommend sponsored products to you? why would it care about whether you want that or not?

also bard was a way better name for google's LLM. it has its origins in an isaac asimov story about a robot who is programmed to tell random stories.

Is it really the people or just a subset of people that use Lemmy, the vast majority of people seemingly don’t care as is evidenced by the sheer number of people using things like social media.

What might be important to use in this echo chamber isn’t reflective of society on the whole.

[-] SupraMario@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

It's mainly tech savy people who don't use it. Tons of people in companies use this shit. The number of people who use "ai" to take auto notes in meetings is insane. It's a massive security risk but they do it anyways thinking it won't be stored.

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[-] besselj@lemmy.ca 48 points 1 week ago
[-] Akip@discuss.tchncs.de 24 points 1 week ago
[-] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 27 points 1 week ago

X is blocked on network level here, could you please copy&paste?

[-] Matty_r@programming.dev 32 points 1 week ago

GrapheneOS @GrapheneOS We're going to be moving forward under the expectation that future Pixel devices may not meet the requirements to run GrapheneOS (https://grapheneos.org/faq#future-devices ) and may not support using another OS. We've been in talks with a couple OEMs about making devices and what it would cost. 1:02 AM · Jun 13, 2025

[-] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 10 points 1 week ago

https://xcancel.com/GrapheneOS/status/1933177989480456365

GrapheneOS @GrapheneOS Jun 12 We're going to be moving forward under the expectation that future Pixel devices may not meet the requirements to run GrapheneOS (grapheneos.org/faq#future-de…) and may not support using another OS. We've been in talks with a couple OEMs about making devices and what it would cost.

Jun 12, 2025 · 3:02 PM UTC

[-] besselj@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 week ago

Long enough for GOS to port Android 16 or get their own OEM, I hope

[-] harcesz@szmer.info 7 points 1 week ago

Nervously chuckles "im in danger" while clicking through to the Graphene rom.

[-] r00ty@kbin.life 46 points 1 week ago

Pretty sure I disabled Gemini as one of the first things I did when I got my phone. But, yes when I read that, to me it did seem like a serious overreach for something that was going to be "on by default" for most users.

[-] Squizzy@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

How, its baked in? Gemini isnt installed on my phone but its there. Like the circle to search.

[-] r00ty@kbin.life 16 points 1 week ago

Gemini is an app, I disabled that. I also shut off the key press and there's some other places you can turn off some of the automatic AI features, and also there's a setting to disable the "online" AI in general.

But that's why in another comment I said, I am still not sure I turned it all off (or even if it is possible to).

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[-] rumba@piefed.zip 40 points 1 week ago

I guess my next phone is going to run NixOS.

[-] commander@lemmy.world 33 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I swear all of this was predicted to happen by open source advocates of the 80s and they'd be called alarmists/whatever and then 30 years later you had Snowden leaks and all the surveillance bills and now Microsoft, Google, and Apple are all advertisement companies mining data through the software and devices they sell

The best people can do is just keep using and advocating for Linux adoption. Try out degoogled Android or a more traditional Linux phone device. Need more users and funding to get the software kinks worked out. They're not as good as the high end Android and Apple stuff, but it's a process

[-] Typhoonigator@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

I've been struggling with figuring out how to get google off my phone. I don't know if I'm doing a bad job of searching or if I'm just dumb, but are there any good communities in Lemmy you can recommend on the topic?

[-] commander@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Just searched degoogle in Lemmy

https://lemmy.world/c/degoogle@lemmy.ml

There are levels to it. The advanced level is using a custom Android ROM for your phone that has no Google play services/apps on it and that'll depend on what's available for your phone from community ROM makers. You can see if any of these support your phone or plan any future phone of yours around these

https://itsfoss.com/android-distributions-roms/

An easier first step is just starting with non-Google apps. You can start with replacing Google apps like replace Maps with Organic Maps or something similar. Replace Gmail with something like Proton Mail. Same with calendar and cloud storage. Proton has alternatives. They even have an okay Google docs feature. Use a different search engine like duckduckgo rather than Google.

F-droid as an app store. Instead of Google authenticator use Aegis. Instead of Chrome use Firefox or a fork of it.

It's difficult so a process over time of lessening dependency on Google applications

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[-] MudMan@fedia.io 23 points 1 week ago

So there's an opt-out.

The article seems concerned that the email announcing this doesn't include a specific path to the opt-out right in the email (which is a weird concern, considering the email provides two links to... presumably that information)?

I'm not sure what this means, either, but it seems the "whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off" line is saying that you can still have Gemini send texts for you even if you disable Google storing your apps usage server-side? I don't use Gemini as an assistant, so I'm not sure, but looking at the Gemini settings menu on my Android phone that's what it seems to map to.

[-] RejZoR@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 week ago

I've not received any mails or notifications. Though I don't use Gemini at all. Or Google Assistant. Or any assistant.

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 week ago

I don't use them either, but still got the email.

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[-] TingoTenga@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago
[-] Lemminary@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Let's not stop at Google. Break them all up!

[-] classic@fedia.io 16 points 1 week ago

So is Gemini on there as an app? It isn't listed as such on my phone

[-] DarkCloud@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Yes, it's on there. I have a phone, never downloaded or installed Gemini, but because it's a motorola with a special extra button... I can push that button and up pops Gemini.

The only way I can stop it is by disabling the Google app, then the button becomes innert again (which is how I like it).

So yes, it's embedded in the Google app. Disabling the Google app may aslo cause other issues (such as Google Home/Chromecast not working).

[-] r00ty@kbin.life 4 points 1 week ago

Doesn't the motorola phone have a settings screen for defining what the button does? For Samsung they like to re-purpose the power button.

First of all, it brought up bixby. I turned it back to powering off the phone and disabled bixby.

Then, with the new update they re-assigned the power button to gemini. So, I turned it back to powering off the phone and disabled gemini too.

However, the problem these days is that I'm never completely sure I've turned off all of the AI nonsense on my phone.

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[-] higgsboson@dubvee.org 11 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I agree it would be concerning if I allowed Gemini access to my phone. Fuck that. This shit is exactly why I am on GrapheneOS.

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[-] HappySkullsplitter@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago

I don't have Gemini loaded to my phone and I have Google assistant voice command disabled

But a few days ago I was having a conversation with my son next to me on the couch with my phone sitting on the arm of the couch.

When I asked him a question, gemini answered with a prompt on the screen I have never seen before and haven't since.

It still creeps me out

I looked up what the prompt for gemini is supposed to lol like and this looked nothing like that. It looked more like a popup dialogue box from a browser but the only browser I use is opera and it is set as default

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[-] shneancy@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

is gemini on all androids? i remember there once was something called bixby, now when i accidentally hold the home button for too long it tells me to enable "circle". i've disabled all of those "smart" features but fuck knows what is going to get automatically installed in an update next week

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[-] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 7 points 1 week ago

What about LineageOS?

My guess is the problematic parts here aren't open source so they should never show up in Lineage OS?

[-] BassTurd@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

I've been Android and Windows user for pretty much all of my life. Vehemently anti Apple because of the company and I've thought the products are trash. I've been 100% Linux for over a year and a half, and if this Gemini stuff comes through, I will not have an android phone either. I have a Pixel and my old still functional Pixel. I need to try installing grapheneOS or something else and trial it to see if it will work for me.

If Linux isn't an option for me in the future for whatever reason, I will be purchasing a Mac. I will never have a Windows machine for the rest of my life if I have any say in the matter, work being the obvious and uncontrollable exception. The fact that I'm even entertaining the idea of owning an iPhone or a Mac is really telling about how far Android and Windows and enshitified.

[-] pxlkttn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 week ago

I've been using GrapheneOS for a couple months after having tested it on an older phone for a while. I'm really loving the level of control I have over what I give apps access to. If you have a spare Pixel to test on I definitely recommend it! I've been getting away from all Google stuff and finding free open source and self-hosted alternatives. I'm running in the opposite direction of all the AI and data-farming.

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this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2025
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