this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2025
498 points (99.0% liked)

Technology

72306 readers
7430 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Google’s Gemini team is apparently sending out emails about an upcoming change to how Gemini interacts with apps on Android devices. The email informs users that, come July 7, 2025, Gemini will be able to “help you use Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, and Utilities on your phone, whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off.” Naturally, this has raised some privacy concerns among those who’ve received the email and those using the AI assistant on their Android devices.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com 144 points 1 week ago (24 children)

Linux has become good enough to replace desktop operating systems.

Now, we are back at square one. I’ll be the first to inaccurately declare, “This will be the year of the Linux phone.”

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 46 points 1 week ago (4 children)

All I need is a good enough emulation of android apps to fool them (eg for banking).

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 23 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (8 children)

Sailfish OS has it.

Unfortunately the project has some closed source bits which, imho, aren't an issue when you look closer (some parts of the UI). Maybe I'm naive but I trust this EU company.

I use it as my daily driver. It certainly is frugal compared to recent Android versions, but fully functional.

It's an actual Linux OS (as opposed to any Android version). Things work the same way they do on my laptop & server.

load more comments (8 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Looking at postmarketOS for my phone too, so sick of this shit

[–] xiwi@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (5 children)

PostmarketOS is cool, but as an actual phone replacement it is tough, at least last time I tried.

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I haven't tried, but I took a closer look at their wiki yesterday:

  • the Main (official) devices are QEMU, i.e. virtual
  • the list of Community devices is long, but whenever I clicked on something there were significant caveats

IMHO they should focus their efforts on getting at least one actual phone working fully.

I want this project to succeed, but until then I use Sailfish OS, btw.

load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (22 replies)
[–] Sunflier@lemmy.world 138 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (8 children)

Dear tech bros,

We, the people, don't want to use your AI shit. Please stop shoving it down our throats. Thank you.

Sincerely,

-The people

[–] Tiger666@lemmy.ca 39 points 1 week ago

Hahahahhshahahahhahahahhahahahahahahahaha.

Sincerely,

Tech bros.

[–] dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 15 points 1 week ago (14 children)

Is it really the people or just a subset of people that use Lemmy, the vast majority of people seemingly don’t care as is evidenced by the sheer number of people using things like social media.

What might be important to use in this echo chamber isn’t reflective of society on the whole.

[–] SupraMario@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago

It's mainly tech savy people who don't use it. Tons of people in companies use this shit. The number of people who use "ai" to take auto notes in meetings is insane. It's a massive security risk but they do it anyways thinking it won't be stored.

load more comments (13 replies)
[–] baguettefish@discuss.tchncs.de 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

yes but what if a company has the ability to create billions of close friends who can recommend sponsored products to you? why would it care about whether you want that or not?

also bard was a way better name for google's LLM. it has its origins in an isaac asimov story about a robot who is programmed to tell random stories.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] r00ty@kbin.life 55 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Pretty sure I disabled Gemini as one of the first things I did when I got my phone. But, yes when I read that, to me it did seem like a serious overreach for something that was going to be "on by default" for most users.

[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago (7 children)

How, its baked in? Gemini isnt installed on my phone but its there. Like the circle to search.

[–] r00ty@kbin.life 19 points 1 week ago

Gemini is an app, I disabled that. I also shut off the key press and there's some other places you can turn off some of the automatic AI features, and also there's a setting to disable the "online" AI in general.

But that's why in another comment I said, I am still not sure I turned it all off (or even if it is possible to).

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] besselj@lemmy.ca 54 points 1 week ago (5 children)
[–] Akip@discuss.tchncs.de 27 points 1 week ago (2 children)
[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 27 points 1 week ago (4 children)

X is blocked on network level here, could you please copy&paste?

[–] Matty_r@programming.dev 39 points 1 week ago (1 children)

GrapheneOS @GrapheneOS We're going to be moving forward under the expectation that future Pixel devices may not meet the requirements to run GrapheneOS (https://grapheneos.org/faq#future-devices ) and may not support using another OS. We've been in talks with a couple OEMs about making devices and what it would cost. 1:02 AM · Jun 13, 2025

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 10 points 1 week ago

https://xcancel.com/GrapheneOS/status/1933177989480456365

GrapheneOS @GrapheneOS Jun 12 We're going to be moving forward under the expectation that future Pixel devices may not meet the requirements to run GrapheneOS (grapheneos.org/faq#future-de…) and may not support using another OS. We've been in talks with a couple OEMs about making devices and what it would cost.

Jun 12, 2025 · 3:02 PM UTC

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] besselj@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Long enough for GOS to port Android 16 or get their own OEM, I hope

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] rumba@piefed.zip 46 points 1 week ago

I guess my next phone is going to run NixOS.

[–] higgsboson@dubvee.org 40 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (11 children)

I agree it would be concerning if I allowed Gemini access to my phone. Fuck that. This shit is exactly why I am on GrapheneOS.

load more comments (11 replies)
[–] TingoTenga@lemmy.world 29 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Let's not stop at Google. Break them all up!

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] MudMan@fedia.io 26 points 1 week ago (5 children)

So there's an opt-out.

The article seems concerned that the email announcing this doesn't include a specific path to the opt-out right in the email (which is a weird concern, considering the email provides two links to... presumably that information)?

I'm not sure what this means, either, but it seems the "whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off" line is saying that you can still have Gemini send texts for you even if you disable Google storing your apps usage server-side? I don't use Gemini as an assistant, so I'm not sure, but looking at the Gemini settings menu on my Android phone that's what it seems to map to.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] RejZoR@lemmy.ml 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I've not received any mails or notifications. Though I don't use Gemini at all. Or Google Assistant. Or any assistant.

[–] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I don't use them either, but still got the email.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] TheFriar@lemm.ee 21 points 1 week ago

“Google is making it easier for Google to pry into your personal data.”

“Water is making it easier for water to make you wet.”

[–] fannymcslap@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] ranovich@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Laughs in degoogled android

[–] Kirca@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago

Cries in non-eu, non-degoogled android

[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 19 points 1 week ago

"We spent a lot of money on this, so you're going to have it."

[–] commander@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (8 children)

I swear all of this was predicted to happen by open source advocates of the 80s and they'd be called alarmists/whatever and then 30 years later you had Snowden leaks and all the surveillance bills and now Microsoft, Google, and Apple are all advertisement companies mining data through the software and devices they sell

The best people can do is just keep using and advocating for Linux adoption. Try out degoogled Android or a more traditional Linux phone device. Need more users and funding to get the software kinks worked out. They're not as good as the high end Android and Apple stuff, but it's a process

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] classic@fedia.io 16 points 1 week ago (1 children)

So is Gemini on there as an app? It isn't listed as such on my phone

[–] DarkCloud@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

Yes, it's on there. I have a phone, never downloaded or installed Gemini, but because it's a motorola with a special extra button... I can push that button and up pops Gemini.

The only way I can stop it is by disabling the Google app, then the button becomes innert again (which is how I like it).

So yes, it's embedded in the Google app. Disabling the Google app may aslo cause other issues (such as Google Home/Chromecast not working).

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] Krudler@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago

Remember when Google+ was the future?

[–] shneancy@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (3 children)

is gemini on all androids? i remember there once was something called bixby, now when i accidentally hold the home button for too long it tells me to enable "circle". i've disabled all of those "smart" features but fuck knows what is going to get automatically installed in an update next week

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›