This isn't a rant like last time I swear (but in a way it kinda is). I have a technical question.
So I'm pretty sure whatsappshould in theory work without google play services, as in it's only optional. But I recently debloated my samsung (still using One UI) via ADB and deleted my google account and all of this nasty stuff.
As you know, I can't ditch WhatsApp so I had to keep it, but it turns out that after debloating I couldn't enter the app unless my phone is disconnected from wifi, other than that it would crash instantly. If I reinstall Play Services, the app works fine even if I disable PS and freeze it and strip all of its permissions; it just has to be present for WA to work.
I'm suspecting it might have to do with gdrive chat backup because I used to use that feature a year back? As I said I deleted my google account and prior to doing so I removed Whatsapp's access to drive and had the cloud backup option set to "never". Or is it something to do with notifications? I'm not sure anymore but it's kinda frustrating to have Play Services on my phone when in theory Whatsapp doesn't need it to function.
I tried doing a fresh install of WhatsApp but to no avail, tried it from Aurora store, Apkpure and also Whatsapp's official website.
تعمیرگاه مجاز لوازم خانگی لاین تعمیر، یکی از تخصصیترین مرکز ارائه خدمات پس از فروش با انجام به موقع خدماتی همچون سرویس نگهداری و تعمیرات لوازم خانگی به محصولات خریداریشده شما با سالها تلاش به میزان گستردهای از تجربه و دانش دست پیدا کردهایم که بتوانیم مورد اطمینان بخش تولید این محصولات در ارائه هر چه بهتر خدمات پس از فروش باشیم.
At my 20s I just realised how useless YouTube is for me... Only few comedy channels actually gave me anything in return of my time.
I used YouTube for so long mainly with NewPipe client which has become unstable for me. And I no longer feel like dedicating a browser or using invidious to consume it.
I mainly watched tech and comedy channels and podcasts. I do continue listening some podcasts via RSS... Most channels are just advertisements and memes like waste of time...
This post is about how youtube as a platform in just about every way is bad and how I wish I could get the time spent back.
Since BB10 support is ending is there anything I can do with a classic or passport? Would flashing a priv with graphene os be a legit alternative? Also has anyone tried the BB10 support alternatives?
I know that Graphene OS is the best OS for privacy/security on a Pixel, but I have both a non-Pixel phone. What is the second best ROM in this case? I know that Lineage still has *some* Google telemetry since it's meant to be as close to AOSP as possible and not actually de-Googled. Maybe /e/ OS then?
Pets are more relaxed in their own homes, in the comfort of their own bed, surrounded by families they love. Compare this to the stress and fear often associated with a car ride and a busy veterinary clinic. Unfortunately, I took my Golden Retriever Jesse to a busy clinic where I didn’t know anyone. While the folks at the clinic were very nice, the whole process was stressful for Jesse and my family. It’s a very emotional time and meeting new people in a busy clinic was not pleasant.
https://gentlepetpassages.com/

Today I was greeted by this "Needs JavaScript. Google Chrome is a beautiful browser" error message at a website. Is it typical for the millennial generation that things need to look fancy before using it, or did the colorful Google logo make a very convincing argument ? How many years will it take before the surveillance capitalism empire of Google will tear down ?
Gphotos was the one service I couldn't substitute, now it seems that google sabotaged itself by making me abandoning gphotos lol
At least I can also run only debian, since there is no point on using windows with google drive sync.
Hi, I need to help choose server for beginner. I want to selfhost together for example : friendica, pixelfed, matrix, invidious, website (not for public), email, search engine and try different plugins and bridges
It should be just somthing personal for me to learn how to use decentralized software and be independent from big tech.
I went to setup an IA account today and was concerned enough at what I saw to track down the fact that although [Dec 31](https://web.archive.org/web/20201231115845/https://archive.org/account/signup) is recorded as not this way, beginning [Jan 21](https://web.archive.org/web/20210121095817/https://archive.org/account/signup) Wayback Machine begins to surface the addition of a line to support [Google Sign-In](http://web.archive.org/web/20210416072931/https://developers.google.com/identity/sign-in/web/sign-in). I wish they had not added that, since although its presence might help boost the site's visitor conversion numbers, it indirectly perpetuates this ease-of-use argument for why people should just stick with Google for most everything in online life (save social networking..) and so ironically ends up long-term harming IA's mission to provide universal access to all knowledge.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/60818
> Lots of people have been spreading the often-unnecessary advice to add a Permissions-Policy response header to their sites to opt-out of Google's FLoC, and some have been going so far as to ask FLOSS maintainers to patch their software to make this the default. When discussions got heated to the point of accusing webmasters who don't implement these headers of being "complicit" in Google's surveillance, I felt I had to write this.
>
> Everybody: please calm down, take a deep breath, and read the spec before you make such prescriptive advice about it.
>
> FLoC is terrible, but telling everyone to add a magic “opt-out header” in every situation conveys a misunderstanding of everything you need to know about the opt-in/out process.
The main goal is to improve battery performance and privacy by removing unnecessary and obscure system apps. This can also contribute to improve security by reducing the attack surface. The script has a menu that lets you choose what debloat list you want to use. I strongly encourage you to take a look at the lists because the default selection may not suit you. All packages are as well documented as possible in order to provide a better understanding of what you can delete or not.
Most “alternative” search engines to the big three (Google, Bing, Yandex aka GBY) just proxy their results from GBY. I took a look at 30 non-meta search engines with their own crawlers/indexers to find actual alternatives.
Feedback + additions welcome.
If you use [microG](https://microg.org), consider donating to support its development.
What is microG? Quoting its website:
> A free-as-in-freedom re-implementation of Google’s proprietary Android user space apps and libraries.
I just stumbled across this and it seems interesting. Sort of like Brave browser's model but for search. I'll just post the marketing blurb I found [here](https://www.presearch.io/ecosystem) instead of rehashing what they wrote much more eloquently than I could:
> **Presearch Engine**
>
>The Presearch Engine harnesses the power of a number of the world’s top search engines and other data sources to provide users with a compelling search experience that offers great results, protects user privacy, provides more choice and control, while also being censorship-resistant.
>
>**PRE Tokens**
>
>Rewards in the form of PRE tokens, the Presearch cryptocurrency are provided to searchers to incentivize them to switch to the Presearch Engine from Google and other search engines.
>
>**Presearch Nodes**
>
>Presearch nodes can be installed on any computer or server that supports Docker, and provide the computing resources to power the Presearch Engine. Those running nodes are also rewarded with PRE tokens.
>
>**Presearch Keyword Staking**
>
>The Presearch Keyword staking platform enables advertisers to bid on keywords using PRE tokens to have their ads displayed. Whoever stakes or commits the most tokens to a keyword has their ad displayed.
>
>**Presearch Marketplace**
>
>The Presearch Marketplace enables keyword stakers and node stakers, as well as project supporters to purchase PRE tokens directly from the project with Bitcoin, Ethereum or USD.
>
>**Ethereum Blockchain**
>
>The Ethereum blockchain enables PRE token holders to easily transfer, sell, buy and store their PRE tokens, as well as view all transactions on the network in an open, transparent manner.
They also have a referrals system whereby if you join using a referral, both parties get a bonus number of tokens. I'm not bothered either way and my intention isn't to spam this for profit so I didn't include the referral in the main post link. I'm mainly interested in your thoughts on this tech.
However, in case anybody would like the initial bonus, here's a referral link:
https://presearch.org/signup?rid=2247013
The director of the Climate Change Communication Research Hub, Associate Professor David Holmes, said the results demonstrated the importance of news media to search engines, with the top search terms clearly reflecting that people were trying to learn more about current affairs topics.
“It is in the interests of search engines to show news sites because that brings users who are in search of trusted and useful quality content,” he said. “These results suggest that Google’s competitors are well able to deliver that kind of professional content.”
Don't be fearful of change, sometimes you end up even better off. So experiment a little.
See https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/feb/03/googles-search-engine-not-as-good-as-its-competitors-for-news-research-finds
#technology #search #news