People should be able to write software for Android, and distribute it outside Google's Play store, without having to:

[steve@mastodon.nexusuk.org]

@TrimTab @neil But are apps served through Google's walled garden any less likely to be malware or ai slop?

[alias_jonasito@mastodon.social]

@neil You can always get a phone with SailfishOS from Jolla and run android apps from F-Droid. Google cannot prevent that.

[neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk]

@alias_jonasito

> You can always get a phone with SailfishOS from Jolla

This is not really a viable option for the many, many people in the world who have Android devices.

[drgroftehauge@sigmoid.social]

@KeefJudge @neil Epic still wants 12% of everything on that store though.

[keefjudge@mastodon.social]

@drgroftehauge @neil True, but the point is people ought to be able to choose which store they have on their phone, not just the Google Play one.

[renard@equestria.social]

@neil We need to stop feeding this beast entirely, move away from iOS/Android, and not just put it on a diet.

[charlie_house@mastodon.social]

@neil f-droid and aurora shop

[eighthave@social.librem.one]

@Thales_Curiosities @neil This is a small volunteer effort so far, we need help to make it a success. Get involved! Could you set up this email that you are thinking about?

[eighthave@social.librem.one]

@Charlie_House @neil Google's Android Developer Verification gives them the possibility to prevent any app from running on all Android devices, no matter the source. That is why there is this campaign. Even if you get the app from F-Droid, Aurora, etc. etc. Google would still be able to prevent it from running

[eighthave@social.librem.one]

@KeefJudge @neil It is important to remember that Epic Games is a corporation focused on maximizing profit, not free software or user freedom. Also, Epic v. Google is a lawsuit between two private parties. Epic and Google are working on a business deal right now, this is highly likely to undermine any potential benefits that lawsuit could have for the rest of us. To the point: that lawsuit is useful but not enough.

[keefjudge@mastodon.social]

@eighthave @neil No argument here - was just pointing out the two are quite related.

[gerardthornley@hachyderm.io]

@makepost @neil I agree, and if I do release my app commercially, I hope that I will follow suit in releasing the source when I no longer need the income.

[trimtab@mastodon.social]

@steve @neil
Compared to a wild west anything goes lord of the flies app repo? Probably.

I yearn for the day when OSS can provide a trustworthy app ecosystem that can also let devs earn a living - something easy and consolidated yet safe from enshitification. But in my 15 years as a linux user and oss enthusiast, things have just gotten more fragmented. Seems this is now androids future too...

[neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk]

@steve @TrimTab

> wild west anything goes lord of the flies app repo

Which repo is this?

[yama@tech.lgbt]

@neil Highly unlikely anyone will be able to do anything to stop google. Best advice i can give is degoogle your phone, custom ROM. And just use that.

[corinne@metalhead.club]

@neil I have absolutely no idea what this might mean for the two devices I have that run custom Android installs with unique apps (Boox ereader and FiiO media player), but... ah... this doesn't sound good.

[aerion@nerdculture.de]

@neil
Hopefully this will give #FOSS devs an incentive to shift app development to #mobilelinux if Google pushes ahead with this.

There ARE alternatives. I'm fully aware that they are, for the most part, not prime time ready, but they DO exist, and they've come a long way.

Maybe Google doing this will be a blessing in disguise, as it may just be what's needed to give #linuxphones a push.

I, for one, will switch to one form of mobile Linux or another, if Obtainium/F-Droid/IzzyOnDroid are killed off by this.

#obtainium #izzyondroid #postmarketos #ubuntutouch #ubports #sailfishos #phosh #gnomemobile #plasmamobile