Disabling Vanadium and WebVeiw

Dumdum

beard
https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/11575-disabling-vanadium
https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/10980-delete-vanadium

TLDR: It's critical functionality. Potential (likely?) breakage.

beard

Dumdum I have reviewed these threads. I'm hoping to hear from someone who knows exactly what functionality would break, specifically if it would introduce insecurities. Obviously features that require web access would not function, which is desired in my case.

Overlay1404

beard couldn't you just set your private dns to 0.0.0.0? Or you could use a cloud based DNS (like next DNS) and have it block the sites you want to avoid.
If you really want to make it slightly more annoying for yourself, keep all your apps etc on a secoundary profile, that way the profile you daily drive cant change the dns settings.

beard "Why not just have more self control?". The answer: Avoiding temptation and even self deprivation is the essence of self control. But again, that also warrants a separate discussion. All philosophy aside.... down to the science:

At some point, the mental gymnastics your doing will only go so far and you will just have to use actual self control to not visit those websites on your phone.

beard

Overlay1404 I hadn't considered using a secondary profile for this use case. I'll think about this.

Regarding your point about "actual self control"... In the book of Matthew, Jesus states "Now if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." I believe he was using hyperbole, but I think the point he's making is that fleeing temptation is prudent.

In a similar vein, in the book of Genesis, Joseph ran from Potiphar's wife when she attempted to seduce him. He didn't just stand there and grit his teeth - he physically ran away.

Perhaps a more practical example would be that of an alcoholic or drug addict. There are things such people should not keep withing arm's reach.

All that being said, I think there is wisdom in the point you are making. There will of course be times when one has the ability to act on temptation, and saying no is necessary. I believe that both of our points are complementary, and go hand in hand. I appreciate your response.

[deleted]

@beard Disable Javascript globally via Site settings. Many sites won't work properly, which in turn will make you want to visit them less. Don't lie to yourself, half of the success is in self control.

beard

[deleted] Good point about Javascript. That would help in some cases, I suppose.

All of the success is in self control. Self control is a two sided coin: Fleeing from temptation/making in harder to access, and having the willpower to say "no" when the former is not possible.

Psycho

beard Did you end up disabling webview? Could you explain how you did this? Thanks!

nunyo

beard I'm assuming you're Christian based on a previous post. Fasting, abstaining and mortification are excellent forms of tempering the body and combatting concupiscence. Ultimately, the Grace of God is necessary and we can't do it alone.

Do you have an accountability partner? You could setup NextDNS to block the categories of sites you don't want to visit and use an app locker to keep you out of the settings app so you don't change the privateDNS settings.

Your accountability partner sets the password on the app...

beard

Psycho I did, and I haven't noticed any ill affects. I removed the following packages from the user profile using adb like this:

adb uninstall app.vanadium.browser
adb uninstall app.vanadium.config
adb uninstall app.vanadium.webview

Just to be clear, the GrapheneOS developers warn against doing things like this.

beard

nunyo Great ideas. I'll consider doing something like this if I ever need a mobile browser on my phone. These days I've decided it's not worth it to me anymore. Most things I do on the web can wait until I'm at a proper computer. Same for e-mail.

Yes, I am a Christian. You are exactly right about the grace of God. In a world that elevates pride and self determination above all else, we must not forget that. We deserve nothing except judgement... but the Son of God paid the price of sin for anyone who repents and believes. Mortification and abstaining come from our love of God, not as a way of attaining perfection.

I used to have an accountability partner. Thank you for reminding me. Having wise counsel is vital.

kipacaca

beard hey there! one year later, do you still have vanadium uninstalled? if so, did you have any issues? care to share your experience in a few words? i just got a pixel and installed graphene to setup a minimalist browser-free phone and would be great to hear how it’s going for you. thanks!

beard

kipacaca I had Vanadium and Webview removed for quite a while with no issues. Nothing to indicate this is a "bad" idea.

That said, I have found there are other ways of quickly re-enabling them even after uninstalling with adb (no computer required).

I have concluded there is no real way of achieving a browser free Pixel. I just keep it disabled these days and use unlauncher. Also keep display in greyscale. Not perfect, but it helps.

777funk

I am 100% with you beard. I've not had an issue with heading off in directions I don't want to go on the web, but I've felt the temptation over the years. It's been a miracle that the urge hasn't taken me down that road. My help in it were:

prayer
accountability from a wife who's on my side (not everyone has this but everyone can have accountability, parent, close friend, etc). and prayer from this person
needs in this dept being met. Not everyone has this since not everyone is married. But of course, I was not always married. It was difficult.

Enough about that for now. But this is a great project. My feeling on it is that someone else needs to "break" your phone and or password disable it. Breaking one's own phone is as easily "fixed" by the person who broke it.

Last of all, most of the world will fight against this desire for righteousness. Who cares! What's wrong with trying to do what's right? It's called the narrow road for a reason. It's well worth traveling this difficult road. The end objective is love for one's neighbor and love for God. Both are beneficial to others and to self. If everyone loved their neighbor as themselves what a different world we'd live in. But that's a completely separate topic.

I like where you're going with this mr beard. Keep fighting and keep running. Joseph was an admirable man. He was not perfect, but quite an admirable person Joseph was. Undoubtedly, Potiphar's wife's offer was a strong temptation for Joseph. Potiphar was a ruler of Egypt. He had great influence and probably could have almost anything he wanted, including an attractive wife. Joseph did what was right and paid for it dearly, as if he'd done something evil. Life's not always fair. But... in the end, God has good for those who choose to serve Him.