AI6YR Ben
Sean Kleefeld@ai6yr Yeah, I got that this morning and had pretty much the same reaction.
Jack@ai6yr Seriously... We can't maintain an app for one of the most basic features of the phone...?
Anyway, Samsung Messages is what I use, so I guess I'm looking for suggestions for a replacement now, if you know of any. 💀
It'll be okay, we'll make it.@jack @ai6yr
I use QUIK from F-Droid. It does most everything I've needed it to.
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/dev.octoshrimpy.quik.fdroid/
I use QUIK from F-Droid. It does most everything I've needed it to.
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/dev.octoshrimpy.quik.fdroid/
@onedawnconstant @ai6yr Awesome, thank you for the rec and I'll check it out!
Sarah E Bourne@jack @onedawnconstant @ai6yr I've been using QK SMS for a few years - satisfied user! I had used Signal before that, until they made it for between Signal accounts only.
@onedawnconstant @jack Curious if this will work post-Google lockdown. Looks like Google is looking to basically own everything on Android.
@onedawnconstant @jack Curious if it's just better to bite the bullet and switch to Apple, which is equally bad, but a little less so.
@ai6yr @onedawnconstant What do phones like Light Phone and other "dumb phone"s (acknowledgement of ableist language here, but haven't seen other terms for them yet...) that basically just call/text/take photos use for operating systems?
https://www.thelightphone.com/
(not a brand endorsement in any way and haven't used them, just one that's on my radar)
Eric LawtonI originally picked Android when it was almost as bad as Apple, only a little less so. Many years ago.
Sigh.
Solo la 🌍 salva a la 🌎Edge case? Maybe. But I've been playing with LineageOS on an Android *tablet* and it ain't so bad. This is intended to replace my (beloved/hated) iPad, and it is just about there.
The only pain points left are of course iMessages and a favorite crossword app.
Between F-Droid and a fair number of apps just providing their APK files, the Play Store isn't so critical. And Termux gives Linux-y script fun.
But yeah, cell phone/data aspects, different story.
d.rift@onedawnconstant @ai6yr @jack given GrapheneOS now has Motorola partnership, I think they're in for the long haul. The AOSP base system isn't keeling over just yet.
@ai6yr @onedawnconstant So admittedly SMS is not at all within my tech knowledge and this may be wrong:
But because it's THE phone texting protocol at its most basic, I can't imagine Google would outright block SMS from getting sent/received through 3rd party apps, right?
Nazo@ai6yr @jack Actual access to things like SMS/MMS should continue to work normally, so if you can get an app on there it will work.
Initially their lockdown is mostly just going to be making it a real pita for end users to actually enable installing apks by seeking approval (though apparently they're stepping up approval for getting official signatures so I guess people also may have to turn off Google's app scanning — which one should really do anyway because Google.) Something installed via F-Droid or whatever should still work.
I'm sure eventually they'll start locking things down more like Apple, but that is presumably still years away. Probably...
This app definitely sounds like it's worth looking into.
W6KME@jack @ai6yr Android phones all come with Google Message installed as well as Samsung, and usually a third app from AT&T or Verizon or whoever. Verizon threw in the towel a couple of years ago.
Google is surely stealing everything we text with the Samsung and telco apps, so at least using the Google app reduces the number of megacorps using our texts.
@W6KME @ai6yr That's a fair point. And to be fair, I already use exclusively Signal for anything particularly "sensitive". But it just feels bad to have been trying to de-Google my life for so long and just add another Google service back. 😂
If there's no decent open source options, I don't see a way to NOT have SMS texting right now, so I'll relent. But still want to see what's out there.
Chris Mackay 🇨🇦@tantramar @jack @ai6yr Signal is a different thing to be used in different ways and does not replace the normal SMS/MMS messaging but instead establishes a separate thing.
This is like someone saying "I need a type of apple that I can grow locally" and your response is "oranges."
@nazokiyoubinbou @jack @ai6yr Yes, I was definitely aiming for “asshole” and not “helpful”. Just like you. 🙄
Crystal@tantramar
if only it were so, but no, I am only able to receive signal texts from my contacts who have access to the signal app and whenever I try to log into my banking or medical website sign-in their text message is never sent to my signal app. Unluckily, I have today switched my Samsung cellphone default from its message app now to Google Messages. I hate doing that.
if only it were so, but no, I am only able to receive signal texts from my contacts who have access to the signal app and whenever I try to log into my banking or medical website sign-in their text message is never sent to my signal app. Unluckily, I have today switched my Samsung cellphone default from its message app now to Google Messages. I hate doing that.
@MossyQuartz Talking others into using anything new or different — even if they don’t have to give up anything — will always be an uphill battle… because people.
Two-factor authentication is another kettle of worms entirely. Signal can’t do that. Sorry if I missed that requirement earlier.
@tantramar Ohmygoodness, yes it is always stressful to even think of changing from familiar to anything else. Don't even get me talking about these digital addicts who need everything computerized and never learned to create a pencil and paper columnar spreadsheet worksheet or an index-card file! My important data is backed up on index cards, recipe cards, and a printed monthly worksheet!
@jack @ai6yr I was actually a little bit shocked to learn that AOSP's own messages app is ancient and hasn't really been worked on in forever. You'd think LineageOS or one of those would have taken it up long ago. I'm under the impression Graphene has done some patches to it, but as far as I know they didn't submit any PRs or anything. (And I'm getting some bugs with it like not getting sound notifications from contacts configured specifically to make a sound, but then maybe that's fixed by now — I have an old version since my phone model is no longer supported and probably will have to move off Graphene soon.)
I guess it's still the only real FLOSS alternative. It may be worth extracting the apk from Graphene perhaps.
Scooter8647 🇺🇦 🇳🇿@ai6yr I have both on my phone and was never sure which was which. I guess we're expected to have their app icons memorized.
@ai6yr "We made our OS so bloated, insecure and unmodifiable that we can't even fix our own app, so take the wheel google!"
J.R. Orci
John@ai6yr boy is that a two-sided coin. On the one hand people do have completely rational reservations about Google and privacy, but on the other, Google has driven open standards for these kinds of communications. No blue bubble, green bubble nonsense.
Jernej Virag 
@buckfiftyseven @ai6yr Google Messages also supports E2E encryption for RCS which Samsung app doesn't.
Chantaru
Jim Spath@ai6yr Feel like Verizon did this already, throwing customers into Google's maw. Except I think I went with the Samsung "app" that is now terminal.
If only the settings would differentiate the sources of the palette of message apps.
