Lineage OS has started including Google spyware by default. This is highly harmful to its users, specially those who want a fully FLOSS smartphone OS.
@danipozo
And a lineage Team member answered:
"Some devices need proprietary APKs to work, just like essentially every single device requires proprietary blobs. That's just a fact of life in the Android ecosystem."
(1/2)
@danipozo
"Feel free to remove them if you don't mind broken features. VoLTE (IMS) is an example of such a feature requiring proprietary components, RCS is another. Many of the listed apps are also only shipped on a few specific devices as their package names allude to. Some of these also require device-specific APKs so it is not feasible to ship them as part of gapps (which would also move them out of our control)."
(2/2)
@homer77
Well, yes. What do you think about that argument?
@danipozo
I'm not enough tech to value but think that it's important to mention that lineage is not delivering proprietary packages by default generally but limited to certain devices which they claim to be not working without which could not be fixed with gapps. Seems plausible to me at first look and dedramatizes the former headline.
@homer77
Ok, I get your point. The real issue with this is that until now, those proprietary packages shipped with specific devices were limited to device drivers, and the userland was completely free.
Moreover, device drivers do enable core features for everyone who's using the phone in question, whereas Google stuff doesn't.
@danipozo That sucks. Not many alternatives to replace Lineage. Replicant and Copperhead only support handful of devices, Paranoid Android seems to have halted development and many other roms ship with gapps out of the box.
@danipozo the project fi has been in there for a while, this isn't new. Just that someone noticed.
@paperdigits
Not in stock Lineage I think. May be wrong though.
@danipozo I'm running the last build of lineage 14 with no g-apps and project fi is there.
@paperdigits
I'll have to look into it then.
@danipozo I'm running it on a Nexus 5x, so maybe it is a part of the vendor firmware; it is not clear to me.
@paperdigits
Thanks for all the info :)
@danipozo so you can't install LineageOS without the GApps?
@agony
While technically those aren't the GApps as usually referred, not without propietary userspace software, on some devices.
I use the microG builds of Lineage. I wonder if those are safer - You would think, right? Since the whole intention of that distro is to replace google services.
@tohuvabohu
You would think, but you'd better know. I hope microG developers have either removed them or otherwise kept them accessible for their removal.
@danipozo Unfortunate. They should include those in a GApps-minimal package that's a separate download, and note that it's only needed for Project Fi customers.
@clacke
Well, not if you try to avoid Google services altogether :(
https://www.reddit.com/r/LineageOS/comments/83wqdp/project_fi_and_gapps_inside_lineageos/dvuo8m7/
Sounds like the free and non-free parts of Android are more intertwined than ever, and that Google is leveraging attractive apps to argue for intrusive core modules. No news there, but it's really challenging Hanlon's Razor and looking more nefarious than just cavalier.
https://fi.google.com/ looks like a really smart move from Google to further secure their grip around the consumer/product.
Multi-network roaming at home, same-price roaming abroad. It's like a dream come true. But apparently it comes with strong strings attached.
1) LineageOS is made with the expectation that most people would run the Gapps package on it (and most people do).
2) Gapps is (mostly?) device-independent.
3) Anything Gapps needs to function that is device-dependent will be included in LineageOS for that device.
4) They are not interested in putting in the additional effort so modularize this further.
So it really sounds like people interested in Android without Google need to go full Replicant now.
@clacke
Replicant doesn't work on many devices AFAIK.
Another option, the one that has been taken by the person who initiated the thread, is to remove proprietary bits with a script in a flashable zip.
The most sensible thing right now, I think.
Reading the whole thread, it seems to not be that simple :)
@djelouze
Well, it's not
@danipozo
Favourite comments:
> Why don't you want to use Google?
>> Privacy
> What are you afraid of?
>> Posts link to PRISM
> "Are you doing something illegal?"
>> *facepalms*
> "I'll take that as a yes."