Android Q Reaches Public Beta With Improved Privacy, Opus/AV1 Support, ANGLE On Vulkan

[jacob]

Improved privacy? Google is anything but privacy.

But it's improved; now they guarantee that no one except Google will spy on you, collect, monetize and misuse your private information.

[re:fi.64]

To be clear, the privacy is more targeting malicious apps. You may feel how you wish about Google's own behavior, but your flashlight sending your pictures to a Nigerian Prince is probably not the best idea on any level.

[jacob]

nowadays I'm trying boromite https://www.bromite.org/system_web_view it replaces chrome and chromium android web component with an anti fingerprint tailored version. At least google leaves you with the option to replace every single component, apple doesn't give you that.

The fact that Apple is much worse doesn't mean that Google is good. It's like saying the 737MAX is good because it doesn't necessarily immediately explode the second you board.

[m132]

To be clear, the privacy is more targeting malicious apps. You may feel how you wish about Google's own behavior, but your flashlight sending your pictures to a Nigerian Prince is probably not the best idea on any level.

So is Google Translate OCR requesting access to microphone, calendar, messages and body sensors

[re:fi.64]

So is Google Translate OCR requesting access to microphone, calendar, messages and body sensors

Calendar and messages? Neither of those are even a disabled toggle on the settings.

Microphone makes sense for voice translation.

[bemerk]

How far away from open source drivers being used for Android are we? FreeDreno and Panfrost and Lima progress very well

[ldesnogu]

As long as phones have modems running proprietary firmware which have access to unencrypted, main, system memory, you have a very deep privacy danger lurking in your phone.

Even if a modem doesn't have access to main memory it's still being passed data which could be sent anywhere, and that data is not necessarily encrypted.

Now a newbie question: is a modem really granted access to main memory? If so how is it done? Explicitly by the main CPU or is it a property of the SoC itself?

[cybertraveler]

Even if a modem doesn't have access to main memory it's still being passed data which could be sent anywhere, and that data is not necessarily encrypted.

Now a newbie question: is a modem really granted access to main memory? If so how is it done? Explicitly by the main CPU or is it a property of the SoC itself?

Give this a read:

https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/ModemSharedMemory

[hajj_3]

How far away from open source drivers being used for Android are we? FreeDreno and Panfrost and Lima progress very well

There's no way that arm are going to replace their closed source drivers with panfrost, their drivers will have more features and probably better performance. Only if panfrost gets on par would arm think about switching. Also panfrost only supports opengl not vulkan, arm's driver supports both.

[Danniello]

At least google leaves you with the option to replace every single component, apple doesn't give you that.

Maybe my knowledge is not current but, as far as I know, you cannot uninstall or replace Google Play services in original Android system that is sold for example on Google Pixel phones. I mean without rooting and changing bootloader and even then - it is simpler to install full modded system than only remove Google Play...

If you want phone that will be really yours (hardware and software part) - you need to wait for Purism Librem 5. Perhaps somewhere in 2020 Purism will be really alternative for Android... I do not believe in "Q3 2019". In 2019 maybe they will manage to deliver something like "early adopter edition" without many must-have functions... I am patient - I will buy it as soon as it will be available (and at least usable - maybe thanks to Android dualboot?).