dc32f0cfe84def651e0e Users of “certified Android devices” are screwed.
I think you underestimate the effects this will have on a grand scale. The restrictions put on "certified Android devices" largely affects the rest. And if there's further lockdowns, then there is only "certified Android devices", not custom Android OSs like GrapheneOS. We can't even be certain Google won't lock down future Pixel phones and continue to keep Android semi-open like today.
Please don't assume that everything will be fine just because it temporarily is at this point in time. A lot can happen in the future. A lot can happen in the near future even.
Changes to official Android will trickle down. It may be possible to bypass or code around it for a while. But it WILL hurt the eco system a lot if a massive number of users stop using the open software they used to use, because they aren't bothered to get a new phone which supports GrapheneOS and then install GrapheneOS on it. There's quite a lot of people with "certified Android devices" which are using open software.
There are limits to the motivation small developers will have if they suddenly lose 80 % of their users. So no, we might be screwed. Some projects are already annoucing they won't continue development because of this.
Fay_Wilmont The internet's reaction to this whole thing reminds me of Windows users complaining about what Microsoft is doing to Windows or Facebook/WhatsApp users complaining about Meta's practices, all the while refusing to use, support and spread open and free software/platforms because "it doesn't have application x", "my friends aren't using it", "I don't want to pay for it" etc.
It's easy to generalize an entire group of users based on what you see on the internet and then get a scewed impression of the whole situation. It's also easy to make assumptions of what those users do and don't, and then extrapolate that to the entire group.
I don't know which specific thing you are referring to that Microsoft did to Windows, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were some merit to the complaints.
You should be careful to assume that the people complaining do this or that and that the entirety of that group are acting in a common way.
As for me, I have for years been willing to "miss out" on games, services, apps, social functions etc. if said service, app or product doesn't align with my values. There are certain apps and services I simply refuse to use. As well as entire operating systems and platforms. But let's not shift the discussion over whether people are supporting or not. ;) The fact is that there's actually a lot of support for open, ethical and privacy respecting software. But companies like Google isn't warm and fuzzy about that. It's a large corporation looking to make money and collect data. I'm not a very good income for Google and I can only assume that the majority of the people on this forum is the same.
Fay_Wilmont Stop using products from companies whose goals are not aligned with yours, and start supporting companies/projects/developers whose goals are.
Honestly, I think this is a terrible argument. You don't always have the power to "vote with your wallet" or "vote with your software choices". It's not like there's a better alternative to Android (I put GrapheneOS in that category).
The problem is that if we go down this route it has the potentially hurt the eco system of open and ethical software substantially. We already know it will be affected. It doesn't help much that I continue to use whatever aligns with my values if there are much larger forces at play affecting the situation to a point where you can't slow the momentum or change the course of direction.
Google won't change its mind just because we continue to use GrapheneOS, F-Droid-like repositories and open source or ethical software that we prefer. It won't make Google go "oh, we see those users using GrapheneOS and F-Droid and IzzyOnDroid repositories, so we'll change our minds and cancel the Developer Verification program".
I get the impression you're not taking it as seriously as you should. :) Your suggestion would mean that I would change nothing. Just continue doing what I'm doing. Using software which aligns with my values and continue donating to projects I believe in and think are valuable to the world.
And I also care about the landscape for other people. We shouldn't be apathetic to the situation at a grand scale. It's not just that the grand scale of things affects us (as things trickle down), but it affects your friends, your family and strangers everywhere. And again, it would be naive to think it'll stop with this. We might get to a future where Android is locked down, if you want to install apps, you need to get them from the Play Store and they'll all have trackers. No possibility of GrapheneOS, no software repository choice, no freedom to configure the device as you wish. If Google think it would benefit them, I have no doubts they'd do it. And at that point, we're truly screwed. There's nowhere to go. No alternatives. The choice you have then is go full amish or accept the implications of using modern technology.
I don't like the idea of just accepting the implications. My guess is that you agree with me on that.