boredsquirrel (he)

If you like what I do, send me some Monero:

87ZN8URUY1M6GoXpxou4siDKJkLbLKDhT2RScrauzd4gbRyKgoY2ZX3Ut9WuMtkWebisViSE9EVRzVA1SD4kMdtAUPMiZBC

  • 45 Posts
  • 228 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
cake
Cake day: April 11th, 2024

help-circle












  • Yes they are unprivileged, and the gmscompat tool doesnt give them more access that is true. Still it is google software with the intention to control your device and spy on you, while Aurorastore is a slim app that even allows to restrict the apps it tells to Google.

    If you’re hiding system services in Aurora that you don’t want it touching, that makes it even easier to identify you, because Google play doesn’t do that.

    It is less data. GrapheneOS will have less system apps than stock android so that immediately gives it away.

    Asking Google for updates is also different from telling it a complete list of your installed apps. You might simply not try to update these system apps currently.

    In the end, it is really good that play services work on GrapheneOS, but they are still more invasive as regular user apps than alternatives.





  • The title is misleading, GrapheneOS users are the only ones who have an alternative lol

    Most other open source Android builds simply rely on Aurorastore and we see how unreliable that is

    /e/OS uses some weird shady appstore that contains a lot of playstore malware (literally anything) and is completely intransparent.

    Apkmirror and apkpure rely on other people extracting and uploading APKs.

    Tips for everyone

    Install the following apps:

    VerifiedAppsAndroid (Github) also available through their F-Droid repo

    This app contains a growing database of signatures so you can verify that APKs you get are legit. Make sure to submit all the playstore apps you rely on, as those are especially affected!

    Signature of the app:

    org.privacyguides.verifiedapps
    40:5C:6B:D2:CA:7C:3A:AE:8F:46:3C:6F:8B:55:BC:F0:DD:AC:43:1C:5E:D8:EA:FF:65:D1:06:C9:81:7A:20:7F
    

    Vadhod APK Extractor contains AI code but it is the only updated and well working app I know that can extract split-APKs and regular ones. Also it doesnt need filesystem permissions!

    Universal Installer allows you to install split-APK files like you might get from extracting Playstore apps.

    It might be a good idea to make an F-Droid repo with essential proprietary apps, as the combination with VerifiedApps allows users to not need to trust the repo but be able to verify the App’s origin securely. Android will only allow updates if the signature matches, so you only need to do this once on install.

    Note that Obtainium+Apkpure have frequently installed 32bit APKs on recent Android phones that still supported those, which is a security issue. Might not happen if your phone doesnt even support them anymore like recent Pixels do.