I bought a fairphone 6 recently. It works as you would expect any phone to work with no noticeable downsides.
I paid extra to have /e/OS preinstalled. I could have bought the android version and upgraded it myself, but I wanted to support open source development. I want to try Ubuntu touch, but it hasn’t been updated for the fairphone 6 yet.
I can’t use any banking apps on /e/OS by default, but that’s because the apps require google play services for “security”. Enabling these services is possible, but would defeat the purpose of getting the phone to de-google. Bank websites still work, just slightly less convenient.
I dislike the case. It leaves more of the phone exposed than I would like. It does seem to protect the phone from most drops though.
I’m still disappointed by the lack of headphone jack, but I hate Google more.
I was surprised that my favourite feature became the hardware switch. I rebound it to the torch. For moments when you want a light for just a few seconds, it’s so much more convenient.
Could you download Google play, download the banking apps and then delete Google play? Does it matter to have Google play if you only use it for a few apps?
Not only the play store is needed. You need to install an special package with the whole of Google services, often while in recovery/download mode.
But, to answer/illustrate your question, as a matter of fact, you can install Play store apps even without Play store. Aurora store is an app that connects to the Google servers too get you the very same apks. That’s when you realize, after installed the banking app, that it starts bitching about the Google services missing. “This app was designed to run with Google Play Services, and cannot operate without it”. And poof, it auto closes in your face.
Google is the one reassuring them that this way their banking app won’t be tampered with by anyone. It’s how they convinced them to trust the Google/Apple in the first place. That’s why they moved away from physical tokens and the like, because the trusted agent is now Google. I’d rather go back to tokens and a webpage I could use from the phone, TBH, but that’s almost a non starter these days.
Google Play and Google Play Services are separate things. Google Play allows you to download apps, whereas Google Play Services provides the foundation that most apps are built to run on top of.
You can download apps from google play or equivalent stores, but google play services is built into the device.
The de-googled version of play services is microG. It provides many of the same API services for most apps, but can’t do the security things that banking apps request.
But is it a problem if an app is run on google services? Like does google have access to your bank data? Do they get access to other data by having it on your phone?
They get access to A LOT of what that app does. Moreover, through Google services, a lot of ad libraries can get access to a list of all your installed apps, without even asking or informing you.
I bought a fairphone 6 recently. It works as you would expect any phone to work with no noticeable downsides.
I paid extra to have /e/OS preinstalled. I could have bought the android version and upgraded it myself, but I wanted to support open source development. I want to try Ubuntu touch, but it hasn’t been updated for the fairphone 6 yet.
I can’t use any banking apps on /e/OS by default, but that’s because the apps require google play services for “security”. Enabling these services is possible, but would defeat the purpose of getting the phone to de-google. Bank websites still work, just slightly less convenient.
I dislike the case. It leaves more of the phone exposed than I would like. It does seem to protect the phone from most drops though.
I’m still disappointed by the lack of headphone jack, but I hate Google more.
I was surprised that my favourite feature became the hardware switch. I rebound it to the torch. For moments when you want a light for just a few seconds, it’s so much more convenient.
Could you download Google play, download the banking apps and then delete Google play? Does it matter to have Google play if you only use it for a few apps?
Not only the play store is needed. You need to install an special package with the whole of Google services, often while in recovery/download mode.
But, to answer/illustrate your question, as a matter of fact, you can install Play store apps even without Play store. Aurora store is an app that connects to the Google servers too get you the very same apks. That’s when you realize, after installed the banking app, that it starts bitching about the Google services missing. “This app was designed to run with Google Play Services, and cannot operate without it”. And poof, it auto closes in your face.
We need to demand from our banks that they run without Google or Apple. Maybe there are banks who do?
Google is the one reassuring them that this way their banking app won’t be tampered with by anyone. It’s how they convinced them to trust the Google/Apple in the first place. That’s why they moved away from physical tokens and the like, because the trusted agent is now Google. I’d rather go back to tokens and a webpage I could use from the phone, TBH, but that’s almost a non starter these days.
Google Play and Google Play Services are separate things. Google Play allows you to download apps, whereas Google Play Services provides the foundation that most apps are built to run on top of.
You can download apps from google play or equivalent stores, but google play services is built into the device.
The de-googled version of play services is microG. It provides many of the same API services for most apps, but can’t do the security things that banking apps request.
But is it a problem if an app is run on google services? Like does google have access to your bank data? Do they get access to other data by having it on your phone?
They get access to A LOT of what that app does. Moreover, through Google services, a lot of ad libraries can get access to a list of all your installed apps, without even asking or informing you.
Thanks for sharing!