According to a study by @kasnder (author of the app "Tracker Control")
"… 85% of apps
from 2017 could send data to Alphabet/Google, compared to 89% in 2020. Apps
still widely send personal data to tracking companies based in a third-party country
without an ‘adequate’ level of data protection, particularly to those in the US …"
The #DigitalMarketsAct mandates Meta to "enable end users to freely choose to opt-in to [combining or cross-using personal data] by offering a less personalised but equivalent alternative".
When I pointed out to Meta that by offering users to either #consent to #SurveillanceAds or pay € 275 per year for #Instagram & #Facebook isn't "equivalent alternative" they said, Meta has to do that because of #GDPR 😤 Really??
While Alphabet seems to be better in terms of the new #browser & #search choice screens, they have a strange view regarding their new obligation to allow un-installing pre-installed apps like #PlayStore or #Gmail:
Alphabet's lobbyists argue un-install and remove are two different things and as the #DigitalMarketsAct's Art 6(3) only mandates un-install but not removal, the current "deactivation" feature in Android would be enough. 🤔
The Play Store has started notifying app updates for apps installed with F-Droid, and as expected, they cannot be updated. However, the Play Store still shows those failed updates. Does anyone know why this might be happening? #android#fdroid#playstore#update
A rising number of #Android apps refuse to run on devices with unlocked bootloaders, locking out not only root but also #CustomROM (e.g. #LineageOs) users.
This is not only unfair, but also unnecessary, as it does not really improve security.
We need to tell the responsible Companies that this is stupid. Please Leave #PlayStore reviews, send emails, post on social media or whateverseems to be sensefull, when stumbling over such an app.
@daniel
Will this update come to #fdroid also? #playstore offers 2.13.1 already.
Is it possible to prevent PlayStore from offering updates to apps installed with from F-Droid?
Basically, the reason there was that AABs (the #Android App Bundles uploaded to Play) had a higher versionCode than the APKs distributed by the other sources. Still does not explain why Google ignored the "installer" property, though.
Victor’s #GOTY
6. #SliceAndDice
Slice and Dice is a minimalist roguelike where battles consist mostly of choosing which #dice to lock in and which to reroll, and then choosing what order to use rolled result of the dice + which enemy to target. And even though the progression basically boils down to replacing a die or modifying its faces, this simplicity belies an incredible depth of gameplay.
That $700 million #PlayStore settlement Google announced is a great example of why you should read the fine print--quarterly earnings included--before passing judgment on how big of a dent a lawsuit might have left in a company's business model. In this case: not so much.
This post follows my latest experience with Play store. (medium.com)
I have been wondering for a long time what we independent developers can do to improve our position.