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Blaze (he/him)@lemmy.zip to Android@lemdro.idEnglish · 6 months ago

Why are we still fighting smartphone bloatware in 2025?

www.androidauthority.com

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Why are we still fighting smartphone bloatware in 2025?

www.androidauthority.com

Blaze (he/him)@lemmy.zip to Android@lemdro.idEnglish · 6 months ago
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  • cross-posted to:
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I was excited to dive into my new smartphone only to once again waste precious time uninstalling bloatware before I could enjoy it.
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  • u/lukmly013 💾 (lemmy.sdf.org)@lemmy.sdf.org
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    6 months ago

    It’s 2025 already?

    Shit, I overslept again.

    • SplashJackson@lemmy.ca
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      5 months ago

      Wake me up when this eternal September ends

  • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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    6 months ago

    Money

    • DrSleepless@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Now I got that Pink Floyd song in my head

  • Bezier@suppo.fi
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    6 months ago

    I moved from samsung’s trash-filled bloat os to lineageos, and my only regret is not doing it sooner.

    • shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip
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      6 months ago

      Welcome to the club. I’ve been a member since 2019 and am definitely not giving up my membership anytime in the near future.

      • LoudWaterHombre@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        6 months ago

        Member cyanogenmod?

        • psud@aussie.zone
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          5 months ago

          Back then it was easy. We could even run our bank apps on rooted unlocked phones

        • shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip
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          6 months ago

          I wasn’t a member quite that far back, but I kept up with the scene enough to know that it had changed to lineage OS when that occurred.

          • Bezier@suppo.fi
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            6 months ago

            I did, but back then it felt more like a novelty. I lost interest in messing with my phone since, but now I actually needed it.

      • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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        6 months ago

        I do wish they would switch to a non profit or sell a product.

        I get why they don’t though

    • iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      You mean recent Samsung devices are compatible?

      • Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        The frustrating thing is all the information and materials to support Samsung devices is out there, but the custom ROM development community is so ridiculously toxic and unhelpful to newcomers that few people are willing and able to mainline new devices (and supporting a new device is complicated enough that you pretty much can’t get started without someone more experienced to point out the decades of cruft, pitfalls, and vendor-specific workarounds that the build processes have accumulated). More of the old guard leaves every year without enough new blood to replace them.

      • PeroBasta@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        I buy my device only based on if I can load a differenti os

        This is the mandatory prerequisite for me.

        So i bought a refurbished s20u (same spec of s24u except for camera and CPU basically)

      • psud@aussie.zone
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        5 months ago

        Search for lineage os your phone model if you’re lucky someone will have ported the project to your device, the more popular it was the more likely

        There are reasonable instructions

        Your phone will need an unlocked bootloader, and it will not be able to be locked again while running lineage. This will prevent the use of any secure software which includes most bank apps, login authenticators. Local security is entirely bypassed by the unlocked bootloader

        • iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee
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          5 months ago

          The problem with Samsungs is thar once unlocked, you permanently burn the knox security fuse. So, even if you re-lock it, it’s not going to play nice with banking apps. It’s a one-way install only. Also I’m not so sure how LOS plays with banking apps… The only one that allows full re-lock AFAIK is the Pixel (which is what I have now, after nearly a decade on Samsung).

      • Bezier@suppo.fi
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        6 months ago

        No clue, my phone is not exactly recent.

        • psud@aussie.zone
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          deleted by creator

    • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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      6 months ago

      Use it Google free

  • HowManyNimons@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Because Google and Samsung are rich and powerful.

  • Kokesh@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I thought it is still 2024

    • HowManyNimons@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      You think the problem will go away this month?

      • Kokesh@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Of course not! But it doesn’t go away even in 2026 and I wouldn’t write that in the article.

  • Andromxda 🇺🇦🇵🇸🇹🇼@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    6 months ago

    Universal Android Debloater

    • limerod@reddthat.comM
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      6 months ago

      On android you also have Shizuku and Canta.

      • tb_@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Canta + Shizuku is what I use as well.

        Shizuku is a way to temporarily get semi-root privileges without needing a computer, via wireless debugging to your own phone.

        • Canta
        • Shizuku
        • ByteMe@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          I think you just do adb commands without a computer

          • tb_@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            That probably makes more sense

      • nutcase2690@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        6 months ago

        Thanks for the Canta recommendation!

        • zqps@sh.itjust.works
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          6 months ago

          I just run ADB.

  • Luna@lemdro.id
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    6 months ago

    I just install LineageOS. It doesn’t have any bloatware or Android modifications that the manufacturer added

    • skribe@aussie.zone
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      6 months ago

      That’s great if you have one of the handful of phones supported, but for the rest of us, not so much.

      • Luna@lemdro.id
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        I bought my current phone specifically because it was supported by LineageOS. Before that I used an unsupported Samsung phone, which was such a shitty experience that I made a promise to myself that my next phone has to have custom ROMs available

        • skribe@aussie.zone
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          6 months ago

          Apart from the pixels, which current range of phones is supported?

          • 0xblaze@lemmy.world
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            You can find the supported devices in the list - https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

            • skribe@aussie.zone
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              And how many are current? Apart from the pixels, there’s nothing available where I live unless you buy second-hand (which has issues of its own).

      • Luna@lemdro.id
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        deleted by creator

    • Andromxda 🇺🇦🇵🇸🇹🇼@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      GrapheneOS > LineageOS, but unfortunately the list of supported devices is even smaller.

      • Luna@lemdro.id
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        I like what GrapheneOS is doing, but it’s focused on having the absolute best security rather than supporting a lot of phones. If you aren’t wanted by three letter agencies then LineageOS is good enough

        • Andromxda 🇺🇦🇵🇸🇹🇼@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          If you aren’t wanted by three letter agencies

          Keep in mind, you don’t have to be an activist or journalist to get targeted with sophisticated spyware. This very recent Lemmy post is a great example: https://slrpnk.net/post/15858999

      • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
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        6 months ago

        And I can immediately say goodbye to important apps I need.

        I’m so fracking tired of not being able to just use the OS 😞 want on my phone because apparently my phone isn’t mine.

        • Andromxda 🇺🇦🇵🇸🇹🇼@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          What does this have to do with GrapheneOS (compared to Lineage)? Did you reply to the wrong comment?

          • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
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            This is from some post where authy, revolut, and a bunch of other apps no longer permit Graphene OS

          • psud@aussie.zone
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            It seems to apply to all third party operating systems. I pretty much have to use stock or I can’t use my bank apps, can’t use my phone to prove I’m me when remote logging in to work

            I used to use cyanogen then lineage until security stuff made the phone too useless.

  • shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip
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    I don’t even pay any attention. I boot the phone for the very first time, go through the setup thing, and click no to as many things as possible, get into the home screen, open settings, open developer settings, turn on USB debugging, and turn the phone off and install lineage OS with no Google apps.

  • ByteMe@lemmy.world
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    Shizuku + canta and you can forget about bloatware

  • DaCrazyJamez@sh.itjust.works
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    6 months ago

    Worthless article. But the point is valid…

  • AnonomousWolf@lemm.eeBanned
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    5 months ago

    I’m switching to FairPhone as soon as my current phone dies. https://www.fairphone.com/

  • bazingabot@lemmy.world
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    deleted by creator

  • GHiLA@sh.itjust.worksBanned
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    They bought it…

    Not my problem if someone doesn’t read the tiniest bit about a $600+ product before purchase.

  • DrDystopia@lemy.lol
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    5 months ago

    I haven’t considered Google android as usable for like a decade, went down the custom ROM route and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done when it comes to mobile use.

    Being able to install what ever operating system I want is a hard make or break for me when it comes to purchases ever since.

  • 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I don’t miss Android lol

    • u/lukmly013 💾 (lemmy.sdf.org)@lemmy.sdf.org
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      What do you use?

      • zipzoopaboop@lemmynsfw.com
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        Take a wild guess lol

        • ma1w4re@lemm.ee
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          6 months ago

          No way, is it Windows Phone? Based

          • QuadratureSurfer@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            Username checks out.

        • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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          6 months ago

          Linux?

      • 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        GrapheneOS and iOS

        • smeg@feddit.uk
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          6 months ago

          GrapheneOS is Android

          • Andromxda 🇺🇦🇵🇸🇹🇼@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            6 months ago

            With out bloatware and proprietary Google stuff though

          • 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world
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            Id argue Android is GrapheneOS.

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