Questions re changes to Google Services Framework

mythodical

Are there any plans to provide Google Services Framework as a standalone app again?
Are the Google Play Store & Services apps now a hard requirement for apps that rely on Google Framework Services (GSF) alone?
Is there further information/discussion about this topic somewhere?

With the GSF changes announced in the 2024101600 release notes, it appears we can no longer install GSF as a dedicated app:

Sandboxed Google Play compatibility layer: add stubs to fully remove the need for the Google Services Framework (GSF) app for fresh installs of sandboxed Google Play, which has been removed as a dependency in our app repository for Android 15+, but it should still be kept for existing installs to avoid potential issues

I initially misinterpreted that this update meant GSF functionality was now baked in to GrapheneOS. However, upon uninstalling the original GSF app (which hadn't seen an update since 2023), Google Camera and other apps that relied upon GSF no longer worked. The only way to restore camera operation and other functionality was to install the full Google Play suite.

DeletedUser87

mythodical did you miss

but it should still be kept for existing installs to avoid potential issues

that part? If you want to remove GSF, you need to uninstall the full suite of sandboxed Play apps and every app that relies on Play and reinstall them again after installing the "new" Play Store and Play Services.

mythodical

DeletedUser87 I didn't miss it, but it doesn't really explain why we can no longer have GSF on its own, so was hoping there was further discussion somewhere. I actually want GSF, and only GSF. I only uninstalled the app because I was misinterpreted the changelog and assumed the old app was no longer needed.

I didn't have to uninstall/reinstall any apps to get them working again, but I had to install the full GPS suite, which I would really rather not do. I've been happily enjoying a Play-free GrapheneOS for a couple of years now and the thought of needing GPS for basic app functionality is dreadful.

zzz

mythodical

Slightly more info here:
https://grapheneos.social/@GrapheneOS/113352315465293692

[GSF] became a noCode app with Android 15 and doesn't run code anymore. We may ship the Android 15 GSF update to users who still have it installed but after that it doesn't really need updates anymore. It only still exists for backwards compatibility and to define 3 permissions which we defined with GmsCompat instead. Removing it for an existing sandboxed Google Play install may break it, requiring removing and reinstalling Play services / Play Store which may break some apps using them.

mythodical

zzz Thanks, unfortunately I can't reply to that comment on Mastodon as it doesn't appear from my instance at https://ioc.exchange/.

It only still exists for backwards compatibility...

It doesn't appear to exist at all anymore, as I can see no way to install it now. Even after installing the Play suite, GSF is not listed as an installed app.

It seems that the full Google Play suite is now a hard requirement under GrapheneOS for any apps that rely on GSF, which is a significant departure from what has been the norm for several years.

de0u

mythodical It seems that the full Google Play suite is now a hard requirement under GrapheneOS for any apps that rely on GSF, which is a significant departure from what has been the norm for several years.

From the quoted text, it sounds as if Google moved things from GSF into other parts of the Play infrastructure. If that is what happened, then indeed going forward Google's old division of code won't be available -- on GrapheneOS or elsewhere.

DeletedUser87

mythodical since GSF doesn't run any code anymore in Android 15, there is no point in installing it. It's more or less a dummy app, now only used to keep 3rd party apps happy for compatibility reasons. Therefore there's also no point in reinstalling it.
I think you belong to a small minority of users who have actually only used GSF without GPServices, most people here seem to be using the full suite.

mythodical

DeletedUser87

It's more or less a dummy app, now only used to keep 3rd party apps happy for compatibility reasons.

Unfortunately, those 3rd party apps include core Google apps, like Google Camera, Google Messages, and Google Maps. These all require the full Play suite now that GSF is no longer provided by the GraphenOS app repo.

I think you belong to a small minority of users who have actually only used GSF without GPServices, most people here seem to be using the full suite.

Given the prevalent discussions surrounding Aurora, F-Droid, Obtainium, and similar tools, I would be a bit surprised if we are a small minority of GOS users. A standalone GSF allowed users to have access to Google Camera (arguably considered a core app by even the most privacy-focused users) without needing Google Play for anything else.

DeletedUser87

mythodical Google Camera works and has worked forever without Google Play. I have it installed (alongside Photos) in a profile without any Play Services. I can't tell you which of the other apps you listed work w/o Play, but there's certainly a few.

mythodical

DeletedUser87 Google Camera required GSF as recently as April 2023. Without GSF installed, it would immediately close when invoked. There was plenty of discussion here about that just a couple years ago.

Looking back at my GOS notes, it was Google Earth, not Google Maps, that required GSF as a bare minimum dependency.

All of that said, it seems I'm conflating my recent app issues with GSF when the two may be unrelated.

Since the recent round of GOS updates, I haven't been able to open Google Messages. It closed immediately whenever invoked.

Immediately upon uninstalling GSF, I tried to test Google Camera because I knew GSF was a dependency when I first installed it. That test failed, in that Google Camera opened but would not display the viewfinder. I could see the gallery preview (last photo taken), the shutter button, and the lense swap icon, but they didn't respond when tapped.

As I use Google Camera daily, I tried to reinstall GSF only to discover it's no longer available from the repo.

I then installed the Google Play suite, and found that both Google Camera and Messages started working again, so I assumed the issues were related to the recent GSF/GPS changes.

However, upon uninstalling the Play suite and force stopping Camera and Messages, both apps continue to work today without either GSF or GPS installed.

I am now at a loss as to what was causing these issues in the first place.

DeletedUser87

mythodical probably something that got the app stuck and it didn't update permissions until later. A good trick I found (especially when dealing with permissions) is to "log out" by swapping do a different user profile. That in most cases fixes any temporary problems I have. At least all of this discussion seems to have brought you a GSF-free life, so that's an upside!

mythodical

DeletedUser87

At least all of this discussion seems to have brought you a GSF-free life, so that's an upside!

Indeed, haha and I am happy for that! I only use the main profile, so I usually force stop the affected apps, and if that fails I clear the app's cache and restart the phone which is usually enough to reset any weirdness.

Clark

Is it recommended to uninstall GSF and reinstall all Play apps? Or keep GSF?

DeletedUser87

Clark if you came from Android 14 with GSF already installed, it should be kept as per GOS instructions.