https://www.androidauthority.com/how-android-sideloading-restrictions-may-work-3595355/

I trust the promise of ADB installations (because I don't think Google is so eager to advertise the currently tiny competition with more freedoms), but daaamn. Previously a master toggle in dev settings (somewhat noob-proof), then granular, but more accessible screen right during installation as if to please regulators by showing how easy it is to sideload, and now an attempt at consolidation while making things look "the same" to an end user.
It looks like I was right and sideloading apps from undoxed devs will remain as a thing, but made more painful. Global stock ROMs may now become China simulator where you need to install Shizuku to conveniently sideload a split apk without physical connection. And now Google allows themselves to choose what they'll stamp on, so even Shizuku may have to be sideloaded over ADB first. Guess Google already started counting that YouTube premium money expected from noobs who gave up xD
(just kidding, they'll probably download random malware from Google Play as long as it stops YouTube ads)

okay fuck Waymo’s, lmao

It locked with my phone inside and it has no way to contact support on the outside

I had to block it from leaving and use a random persons phone to call them

Waymo aside, a friend promised me a guide for all of you (and me) on how not to use an ancient gcam and yet have a natural output. Stay tuned.

https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2025/09/08/chat-control-must-be-stopped/

Let your representatives know that poking holes in end-to-end encryption doesn't make anyone safer and will also affect them.

https://grapheneos.social/@GrapheneOS/115164183840111564

Delaying access to security patches by 4 months to nichest OEMs and the public to satisfy sloppy biggest partners with bureaucratic update policies is a little bit crazy.
Government-funded threat actors are safely assumed to be in possession of patches in question as they're exposed to lots of individuals for the sake of not creating any inconvenience. It's hard to not agree with GOS on this one.

Unless some semantics are involved and they're referring to QPRs as if they're SPL (still a valid concern)? 🤔

♻️🌱 (it's also combined with Snapdragon 6 gen 3, which is a refresh of first gen)

https://www.androidauthority.com/android-risk-based-security-updates-3597466/

So this is great news for the laziest OEMs. If Google determines that no patch is important enough to make it a part of monthly SPL (despite being aware of vulnerabilities), an OEM is literally ennoscriptd to a free string update. Yes, an update that literally changes nothing except the security patch date – the date alone.

But wait, if Google knows what constitutes an important patch, why OEMs can't even name the less important vulnerabilities they decided to patch out of their own will? Oh, maybe they aren't as much unimportant as Google would want you to believe and malicious parties can now count on a longer exploit lifecycle... That would be unfortunate.

Honestly, this is really ugly. As much as it's hard to swallow it, GOS is absolutely right in their Mastodon thread. Not relying on an OS vendor known to merge private patches as soon as possible now means being months behind instead of just one. Unless they start leaking and getting merged by more custom ROM projects, a person reasonably expected to be targeted no longer can trust any builds (including stock) that aren't known to utilize them.

In current state of things, yes, no important person should use anything but an iPhone or the supposed special edition of GOS. I'm mad that I have to shill them.

Btw, to this day, there are people who think moon modes actually work like this (they don't, they just invent craters)

I present you a world record: industry's largest watermark of 34 million pixels.

There's a certain Telegram feature used for most simple form of scams you could possibly imagine. Instead of taking time for growing multiple channels with something that interests their followers, a significant channel's owners post invite links to empty channels with manual acceptation, promising whatever kind of content gullible people would want to see.
Such a channel collects a number of join requests only to turn into a "legitimately followed" scam place, right before accepting all of the requests.

Why do I mention this? Telegram doesn't let you see or cancel the pending requests as a user. A just little bit tech savvy person who'd have been duped would realize that the request is taking too long for acceptation and possibly cancel it if such an UI was available. Telegram could also limit the maximum time a request can remain unaccepted before cancellation, for example to a month, for the sake of making the scammer life a little bit harder. Another option would be to require second confirmation that mentions the channel name from the moment of your request, you'd get an option to join or resign and you wouldn't count as a member before it.

Personally, I'd want it to be educational, so that old people would make the connection between scams popping up in their chat lists and the kinds of promises they were given. Their worldview could genuinely change once they start seeing money behind the "wholesome", "secret" and "alternative" and realize why they're specifically targeted.


(It's a month old post I decided to post now after seeing this scheme is alive and well, I felt like describing it is somewhat unproductive compared to directly filling a report, but official interactions tire me and maybe someone could make it reach the right place better than I can)

I can't think of a good caption, just usual iOS sideloading experience. I still wonder how three letter agencies bear with this system while limiting the money trail, it seems impossible.

So GN8 can absolutely do it at 16:9 in 30 fps (duh, I don't think any sensor vendor would dare to advertise DAG/DCG if the lightest realtime configuration couldn't be handled), 4:3 and whether it's anywhere to be seen on P10 is TBD