E: apparently it needs to be said that I am not suggesting you switch to Linux on your phone today; just that development needs to accelerate. Please don't be one of the 34 people that replied to tell me Linux is not ready.
Android has always been a fairly open platform, especially if you were deliberate about getting it that way, but we've seen in recent months an extremely rapid devolution of the Android ecosystem:
- The closing of development of an increasing number of components in AOSP.
- Samsung, Xiaomi and OnePlus have removed the option of bootloader unlocking on all of their devices. I suspect Google is not far behind.
- Google implementing Play Integrity API and encouraging developers to implement it. Notably the EU's own identity verification wallet requires this, in stark contrast to their own laws and policies, despite the protest of hundreds on Github.
- And finally, the mandatory implementation of developer verification across Android systems. Yes, if you're running a 3rd-party OS like GOS you won't be directly affected by this, but it will impact 99.9% of devices, and I foresee many open source developers just opting out of developing apps for Android entirely as a result. We've already seen SyncThing simply discontinue development for this reason, citing issues with Google Play Store. They've also repeatedly denied updates for NextCloud with no explanation, only restoring it after mass outcry. And we've already seen Google targeting any software intended to circumvent ads, labeling them in the system as "dangerous" and "untrusted". This will most certainly carry into their new "verification" system.
Google once competed with Apple for customers. But in a world where Google walks away from the biggest antitrust trial since 1998 with yet another slap on the wrist, competition is dead, and Google is taking notes from Apple about what they can legally get away with.
Android as we know it is dead. And/or will be dead very soon. We need an open replacement.
People can change things if they really want to. The real issue is that most don’t want to because they are tied to a bunch of mainstream junk on their phones; thanks to those manipulative algorithms. And that is what you need to realize. Until then, you'll never be free.
Yes and no. Some of us actually need our phones to accomplish things. Work, primarily. As people mentioned elsewhere, simple things like accessing their banking accounts. I wish we didn't, but we do.
I’d never do banking on a smartphone; not in a million years. One theft or hack in public, and all your money and data are at risk. Beyond that, people put far too much of their lives into their phones, and that’s the bigger problem. And that's the aspect you want to keep avoiding.
They're not doing it by choice. The phone is used as mandatory authentication to access the account.
...and how do you suppose your laptop is immune from this? Or your desktop, even?
I'm not avoiding anything. What you fail to understand is that not everyone's situation is the same as yours. For some of us, these things are outside of our control.
I have a separate flip phone with a number to get a verification code to access my bank account at home. It's only used for getting codes (and nothing else). So, no chance of a SIM swapping.
I just said I do my online banking at home (with a local only encrypted password manager; KeePassXC). Why would I do online banking in public in general when I do my online banking at home? In public, that's taking a huge risk; regardless of the device you use. I just couldn’t dream of doing anything confidential in public; cafes, trains, anywhere. It’s a huge unnecessary risk, and I choose to avoid it entirely.
And you are avoiding everything I am telling you, choosing to continue to make excuses for yourself. That's why you will forever be where you are.
I don't think you understand how SIM swapping works but that's an irrelevant tangent, so I digress.
You are still not understanding what I'm saying: Many banks require an app to be installed on a mobile device (that is, iOS or Android) for account verification in order to access your account. Nothing at all to do with your SIM. You cannot access your account without this app being installed on a mobile device.
Who said anything about doing banking in public?
No. You are.
We're done here.
Keep on avoiding the issue then, and keep up the good fight with the smartphone ecosystem. It will never end for you. For as long as you defend the smartphone ecosystem, and that you want to avoid the fact that the smartphone controls your life. This is what I mean; tech, like the smartphone isn't serving the user anymore. Instead, the smartphone has become your master. And you, its slave.
Just look around; people walking down the street with their heads buried in their phones. It tells you all you need to know about who is the master and who is the slave.
PS: Use a different bank if they force you to only use an app. Just a thought? Just like restaurants forcing QR codes; walk away. You can make the choice any time you like. 🙂
Over here, banks aren’t allowed to do SMS codes anymore period. So tell me how I should solve the second factor required by law when all „dumb tech“ alternatives aren’t available anymore due to laws and regulations?
What a shitty law. Is this in the UK? If so, figures.
Well, if the bank apps only support Android and iPhone, you're pretty much hooped. Aren't you? A Linux phone won't help you.
So, the only option is to use the smartphone for nothing but the silly app. Or, do things the old way. Go to the bank and do your banking there.
Then just use the flip phone for the everything else.
My bank does not have physical representation anywhere, since it is a digital bank. When I joined them they had a sheet of TAN numbers for us to use, but that is long since gone. And seeing how few and far between other banks are with theirs nowadays it would become extremely impractical to do physical banking only.
Well, that's silly. I'd never do business with a bank that doesn't have a physical location in the town or city that I live (or anywhere). That's way too fishy. Not to mention, scary and uncertain if you ask me.