@evacide I've already removed Gemini via adb once. I'll do it again if it comes back after this forced opt-in.

I am not going to tell anyone that the Gemini app package is actually called com.google.android.apps.bard. I am also not advising anyone to follow these instructions:

1. Download and install ADB on your computer from the Android SDK Platform-Tools package

2. Enable Developer Options on your Android device:

3. Go to Settings > About phone > Software information

4. Tap "Build Number" seven times

5. Go to Settings > Developer options > USB debugging

6. Connect your Android device to your computer using a USB cable

7. Open Command Prompt or Terminal in the folder where ADB is installed

8. Verify the connection via command prompt or terminal by running the command: adb devices

9. Then run one of the two following commands:

adb uninstall com.google.android.apps.bard

Or

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.apps.bard

10. Then verify the package has been removed by running: adb shell pm list packages | grep bard

First, I think we need to state some of the problems as clearly as possible:

Modern technology is designed to rob you of as much agency as possible while also maximizing the amount of your attention it steals, and while it's busy dazzling you and stealing your attention, it's also spying on you and siphoning up as much information as possible about you so that it can sell that information to people who want to influence your choices or otherwise wish to exploit you.

I worked inside the factory for a number of years. I saw how the sausage was made. I sat in the room while a very excited man explained how they had tweaked some aspects of our application to make it more likely that kids would think about and ask about our platform when they weren't using it, based on behavioral science or some shit, and my stomach turned and I dropped out of the industry.

I've seen the kinds of "telemetry" that otherwise useful software pulls about people, and the ways that information gets repackaged and sold. I have first hand experience in the pit.

All of the above is true of basically every commercial software product and platform in existence with only a scant few exceptions. If a piece of software or a website is successful, and it's not actively operated and supported by a non-profit (and sometimes even if it is) it's probably fucking you over somewhere.