I'm so scared for the future

HuIk

A year or two ago, I would've been quite skeptical of the claim that governments and corporations would slowly erode our rights and privacy and people would sit back and let it happen. But it's happening. The EU age verification test was accepted, and now there's the Play Store age verification which will be rolled out globally. I underestimated how they would do anything to take away our rights, I'm just scared for the future, for everything. Various countries will do it one by one, with each previous success emboldening the next country

Google blocks under-18s from accessing inappropriate apps (might eventually adjust it to block all apps without a face pic)
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/google-to-screen-block-users-under-18-from-inappropriate-apps-by-march-2026

Android Developers need ID verification:
https://keepandroidopen.org/

They're looking to ban VPNs too. I hate these companies so much. They would stop at nothing to bleed us all out

I rely on tech, phones are almost equivalent to wallets now. Yet, I'm incredibly tech illiterate. I know surface-level concepts because others have explained them to me, but barely anything else. My notes, medical information, chats, financial stuff, they're all there. They want access to it all. No, perhaps the most frightening thing is the metadata that no normal person cares about with which they can build a highly detailed profile of everyone

I feel as though if I don't start learning now, I will be at complete mercy of these corporations without knowing why and how. One day they will ban GOS compatible phones in my country, I just know it. Then I'll have to treat my own phone as a tracker, I won't be able to trust it at all

I should transition away from digital devices. But there's just so much information I need, so many books, so many guides. I hate these greedy corps so much

nandohyphen1

HuIk Android Developers need ID verification:
https://keepandroidopen.org/

https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/25235-google-wants-to-verify-all-app-developers-identities/71

FYI, this only applies to Certified Android Devices. That means ones you buy with Google Play already installed (like Motorola, One Plus, anything stock Android) so won't apply to GrapheneOS at all.

HuIk They're looking to ban VPNs too.

I never heard any info on this. And VPNs are so widely used, I doubt they could actually ban them. Maybe, but it would be a while at least.

HuIk I rely on tech, phones are almost equivalent to wallets now. Yet, I'm incredibly tech illiterate. I know surface-level concepts because others have explained them to me, but barely anything else. My notes, medical information, chats, financial stuff, they're all there. They want access to it all. No, perhaps the most frightening thing is the metadata that no normal person cares about with which they can build a highly detailed profile of everyone

I go completely, 100% without Google Play Services at all installed on my GrapheneOS phone. I've done it this way since switching to GrapheneOS. Depending on your needs, you might not even need Google. Google has no part in my life. I use open source apps. They have replaced everything.

HuIk One day they will ban GOS compatible phones in my country, I just know it.

I doubt GrapheneOS will be banned. I don't know how this could be. I think it would take a lot for GrapheneOS to get banned in your country (wherever that is).

vtek

HuIk A year or two ago, I would've been quite skeptical

I don't know how old you are, but this crap started long before that. For future reference, listen to the conspiracy crowd and pay attention to those you can vet through your own research.

Beyond that, I completely understand your fear, but understand also that we're only here for a very short time after which it seems we return to source, whatever that is, and maybe start all over again. In other words, don't sweat it so much.

As far as dumping tech, that is probably a fantastic idea. You'll find you don't need it nearly as much as you thought.

gk7ncklxlts99w1

HuIk

I rely on tech, phones are almost equivalent to wallets now. Yet, I'm incredibly tech illiterate

This right here strikes at the very heart of the matter. The growing gap between increasingly sophisticated technology and the illiteracy of the masses, despite wide adoption of that technology. The gap grows as technology matures. The experts at the other end of that gap, and their bosses, end up with all of the control.

"All the responsibility you abdicate will be taken up by tyrants."

This is exactly why I feel obligated to learn about technology, to take back some of the control, so it can't be used against me. Knowledge about technology is your only real influence. And it's only thanks to the experts that we even have things like GrapheneOS. Knowledge and expertise is what we need to move the needle.

Novalissoide

HuIk if I don't start learning now, I will be at complete mercy of these corporations without knowing why and how

HuIk my faith in governments and the people's will to stand up for themselves has been declining rapidly

Welcome! Since you entered here with a device and good questions, you're a part of the resistance. Let's not give up with anything less than a technology dogfight, our fate is still far from settled.

HuIk

nandohyphen1

My country, Singapore, is pretty authoritarian and pretty advanced. I read from one of our history books that many of China's nanny state/surveillance frameworks were based on Singapore's, when our leaders conferred regularly in the 1900s, when China was still developing. I won't go into detail as it's too political.

Singapore could probably ban a specific phone brand if it wanted to. It's an island in the middle of several developing countries in Southeast Asia. No one in their right mind would smuggle phones here; for one, there's barely anyone to sell it to. It's also known for its strict laws and punishments. Let's be honest, even if it wasn't banned here, there is a chance that the manufacturer wouldn't ship it to such a tiny country. The population is high for its area, but a lot of people just don't care about privacy.

The only real way is by plane or by car (on a tiny bridge). The only land that connects Singapore to any other area is a tiny bridge from Malaysia. And if they're not importing it to Singapore I doubt they'd import it there. People don't care that much about privacy even in the US. and even less so here, so the government won't face much backlash and no one would smuggle stuff here anyway. Just the complaints online, no real action. I know it will happen eventually.

Oh and I forgot, in Singapore, protests need government permission to be held and only 5/6 people will show up. They might get arrested too. We have 4.2 million residents by the way, only 5 give enough f*cks to show up

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_demonstrations_in_Singapore#2008

HuIk

nandohyphen1 Thanks for the tip about Certified Android Devices! I did a bit of reading and it seems that that it refers to Play Protect Certified devices.

https://www.android.com/certified/

The Android team at Google certifies these devices to ensure they are secure and ready to run apps from Google and the Play Store.

We provide hundreds of tests to ensure Play Protect certified devices adhere to the Android security and permissions model and have software builds with recent security updates. Play Protect certified devices are also required to ship without pre-installed malware and include Google Play Protect, a suite of security features such as automatic virus scanning and Find My Device.

I'm not sure if GOS will have Play Protect certification or what the exact consequences of not having it are, but there is a useful blog about how it's done (not sure if it's authoritative though)

https://bayton.org/blog/2024/01/certifying-android-devices/#who-can-certify-devices

In short, anyone can build a device and prep it for certification based on the CDD, but only organisations with a signed x/MADA or EDLA agreement with Google can actually obtain the GMS suite of applications, the requirements list, and submit the device to one of Google's approval partners (referred to often as "3PL") to undergo the testing and validation process (the aforementioned xTS tests in the FAQ above).

HuIk

vtek Tech literacy matters a lot more than age when it comes to these things. I have listened to these predictions before, by the way. I just lacked the technical (and political) expertise to understand how they would mine our data while people sit back and watch. Anyway, I have always been more privacy conscious than the average person. I quit most social media in the early 2010s when everyone else was just beginning to love them. It's just that my faith in governments and the people's will to stand up for themselves has been declining rapidly

HuIk

gk7ncklxlts99w1 Yes, that's what has to be done. But everything is so complicated, there's so much stuff devs assume the readers already know when they write documentation. And technology evolves every month so it gets more and more complicated. I don't blame them because it's tedious to write documentation. Technical knowledge should be taught in secondary school as a compulsory subject

Johnnyloans

HuIk

Try to not dwell on it too much mate; it'll harm your mental health.

ignorance is bliss.

gk7ncklxlts99w1

HuIk

devs assume the readers already know when they write documentation

Bad documentation is a widespread problem and for some reason tech literate people (mostly Linux users) are in complete denial about this. It's well known that tech people, as well as the engineers who build the technology, haven't the first clue about how to transfer their knowledge into human readable form. Manpages are a great example. Completely indecipherable to me, because they only briefly explain what individual commands do rather than explain how or why you use them. Shitty AI articles using second hand information do a better job of explaining how to use a program.

The Arch Linux is celebrated as one of the best documentation sources on the internet but I have an easier time reading Nietzsche, it sends you halfway across the internet just so you've got the prerequisites, and then fails to explain key things because it's supposed to be obvious. And you've got Linux neckbeards telling you to RTFM and "skill issue", and no wonder Linux has such a small desktop share.

Bit of a rant but yeah, it's annoying. Tech people, especially developers, need to understand that they aren't the only ones using the internet.

zoe

Johnnyloans Try to not dwell on it too much mate; it'll harm your mental health.

2026: The desire to be autonomous and free from surveillance by governments and global corporations is being classified as "mental health problem".

router99

HuIk A year or two ago, I would've been quite skeptical of the claim that governments and corporations would slowly erode our rights and privacy and people would sit back and let it happen.

This should have been blatantly apparent with and since the Snowden revelations in 2013.

aqua-ghostly

Yeah things seem to be going shit. But they don't have to.

In the words of David Graeber:

The ultimate hidden truth about the world is that it is something we make, and could just as well make differently.

Johnnyloans

zoe 2026: The desire to be autonomous and free from surveillance by governments and global corporations is being classified as "mental health problem".

That's an odd conclusion to jump to. Quite the strawman.

Did you read the title before making assumptions? Have you never heard of the quote ignorance is Bliss?

I'm just scared for the future, for everything.

I hate these companies so much. They would stop at nothing to bleed us all out ...

I will be at complete mercy of these corporations

... perhaps the most frightening thing ...

It's just that my faith in governments and the people's will to stand up for themselves has been declining rapidly

The title of this thread alone is enough context to grasp my meaning but there's some more.

Stress, anxiety, fear, helplessness harms mental health.

Take care friend Zoe.

gk7ncklxlts99w1

zoe

I think there is a real mental health risk when thinking too much about "Them" and how "They" are oppressing you. Open just about any Reddit post these days and you're sure to find this victimhood nonsense. Or maybe I'm just stuck in an echo chamber. Probably that too.

Stop being the victim, stop waving a banner and shouting about why you're oppressed. That leads to bitterness, resentment and paranoia. Learn how to use the technology.

zoe

Johnnyloans Yes, I get your point. Was about to put a smiley behind my post, but there is a serious side to it, too.

HuIk

mmobder My country is made up of one city and nothing else, there's no woods to go into lol

gk7ncklxlts99w1 Yeah, I'll be picking up a couple of books to first learn about web protocols/tech and then ig I'll learn about security? Maybe network security first

mmobder

I guess going into the woods and living a farmer life should address both your concerns and mental health

littlerack

HuIk My country is made up

Your planet isn't

gk7ncklxlts99w1

HuIk

Books could be a good place to start if you're into that. Learning about personal privacy and discovering all the tools available, is good too, but that's an entirely different path that you won't learn by reading books. Go where your heart takes you, really.

HuIk

littlerack

Are you suggesting that I abandon everything in my country and apply for a farming visa, not a skilled labour visa but a farmer visa just so that I can dig fields in some faraway place?

littlerack

HuIk but you will stop being that scared for the future, aren't you?

Johnnyloans

HuIk Are you suggesting that I abandon everything in my country

"Live in the forest or a different country" remarks are facetious.

The original mention of moving to the forest may also be condescending--minimizing mental health issues.

Don't take it seriously mate :) <3
The situation you have described is serious and dire unfortunately.