Re:CalyxOS – De-Googled Android Alternative
by kristov on Friday August 06, 2021 @07:04PM
(#28093782)
I have been using LineageOS without google replacement libs for about a year. There is a huge amount of comments here, which is interesting in itself - clearly there is a lot of interest in de-googled Android. I worry about fragmentation, eg: if there are too many options will they get diluted without the larger user base. Many apps won't work without google libs. I would like to think that this puts pressure on app builders to not just blindly require google libs, but the reality is without a significant user base wanting it, the tradeoff will always side with the majority. Interestingly WhatsApp works fine - presumably because using your competitors libs is seen as a no-no. FB are no angels here, but I need WhatsApp for family chats.
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Re:CalyxOS – De-Googled Android Alternative
by hfkfktnekfm on Friday August 06, 2021 @07:55PM
(#28094210)
WhatsApp still works on a 9 year old Android I still have. Remember that a large part of the world doesn't have fancy phones, and WhatsApp needs to work on all kinds.
In fact, it's easier to install WhatsApp with severely limited permissions, while I just couldn't install the supposedly much more private Signal without giving it SMS access.