It is not important that you can "turn it off", it is important that it is installed. Off doesn't mean not running in the background, sucking up your personal information.
Have already been since at least two years or so, although maybe on a slightly more limited scale.
The lower mid-range Motorola phone of my gf had a hard-to-disable active wallpaper app that displayed nice pictures, but had a prominent field leading directly to online ads when accidentally pressed (which happened a lot).
Also reactivated itself after each OS update.
Enshitification in progress...
Xiaomi pushes their wallpaper "carousel" quite hard, I never activate it because it wants way to intrusive permissions. I wonder if it's in the same boat...
Might well be.
I had a Xiaomi ~5 years ago, whose preinstalled file manager suddenly started displaying ads after a year or so.
We switched to Motorola because of this, as they then still were known for crap- and bloatware-free system.
Has apparently changed recently.
One of the reasons it was easy to convince my gf to get a Fairphone now.
Forgot about that, I installed FX (a super good free file manager, bought the pro version for like 10€ IIRC, or less, mostly to support it). Said to myself no more Xiaomi, but my last is still a xiaomi because it's, IMO, still so much better and cheaper.
Phone manufacturers know where you touch your screen the most often and put their shittiest apps in that spot so you accidentally engage. It's the only reason I open up Google's AI, because I did it by accident.
And don't get me started on the inconsistent ways to go back. Sometimes it's a button at the top left or right, sometimes swipe from the left, sometimes swipe down, sometimes up. I'll stick with my android and a dedicated button, thank you.
I'd be curious to know which phone model. I've only been using low end Motorola phones for years but I've never seen such a thing. I think mine have all been the Moto G series.
Lol, I underestimated how many "Moto G" phones there are. I have the "Moto G 5g" at the moment, but had the "Moto G power" historically. But there are like 5 phones a year with "Moto G54" or similar branding.
I found what looks like active wallpapers on my phone, but I didn't see any ads. For me it was hidden away in the settings and I only recall seeing it when first setting up my phone since my launcher handles the wallpaper now.
I do remember a bunch of apps like TikTok and some random Solitaire game being installed "for my convenience" when the phone was first setup, but I could remove them completely.
I wonder if very specific versions install different crap.
It's a bummer if so because it's what I recommend to friends if they ask.
That is true. I just installed Lineage OS on my old G84, hope that it will last me a while.
Has probably been the last decent phones to still feature a headphone jack...
Not an option for my gf though, when her G54 broke.
She now rocks a Fairphone 5 and is quite happy with it. And the next broken screen (that will definitely happen...) we can just replace easily now.
It's been around for years. I remember one of my friends had a Walmart phone back in 2015 or so that would occasionally pop up ads before opening an app.
We desperately need a phone OS the user can modify at will, by design and not by rooting, and on mainstream hardware.
I know, the argument goes that the only reason phones are so reasonably priced is the upside of upsell for manufacturers. But phones are not "reasonably priced," they are sold at a large profit and the upsell is just greed.
Ubuntu Touch exists and I have it installed on my backup Fairphone 5. In terms of the OS itself, it seems pretty solid and performs well. However it is very spartan in terms of both the interface itself as well as the apps available to interact with the OS in various ways.
It's a very small team working on it and as far as I can tell they aren't exactly drowning in funding. I bet if every person that would like to see another OS option donated a cup of coffee amount of money to them every month they would probably have what they want in the next 3-5 years.
We need to just start beating the shit out of marketing people. Just any time you meet someone and find out they're involved in advertising, punch them in the mouth. Doesn't matter if they've personally done anything to you. They've gone too far.
there's a quiz show on TV in my country. a few days ago they chose some marketing manager. they have dropped out at like the 3rd question, winning nothing. this is rare. Normally I'm cheering for players but I was gleeful for his loss.
They announced that they're working with an OEM to support new non-pixel phones (perhaps even shipped with GOS).
The Pixel 9 series will be supported for another 6 years, and GOS support for the Pixel 10 is probably coming after Google releases QPR1 source. Hopefully there will be viable replacements by then.
Google is obviously going to keep making this more difficult but the rest of the world isn't going to just sit still.
The majority of people will trail behind by 5-10 years, same as always. As long as a small minority at the cutting edge continue to use and develop better things, everyone will have access to them eventually.
That's not what's happening. GOS has said they are partnering with an OEM, which means a yet-to-be-named manufacturer will ship their devices with GOS preinstalled.
But GOS has said things like this before with no outcome. So we will see what happens.
That's not true tho? The OnePlus 13(current latest phone) has tons of custom ROM support and can be easily unlocked. Have you looked at xda at all to check your claims?
Oh, fuck off Nothing, you were to be my next phone! Now I need to find a different European brand which does high-end smartphones. Which means only HMD remains unless something changed in the last few months.
If you haven't heard of Nothing, I don't blame you. The Android phone company made waves back in 2022, largely on the back of its founder, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, but it only recently started making phones on par with flagship devices like the Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy. Mostly, the brand has instead become known for its mid-range accessories and budget phones, which pack in a lot of power for their price points, but otherwise stand out through trendy and minimalistic designs. It's a smaller market, but a loyal one.
That's why it's a bit odd to see the company put both its minimalism and fandom at risk by putting ads on its lock screens, via a new "Lock Glimpse" feature.
Added in Nothing OS 4.0 late last week, when turned on, the feature will show you one of a rotating selection of wallpapers, which all feature linked content via text at the bottom of the image. For instance, a wallpaper showing a strawberry sundae might look spiffy, but in practicality, it's essentially an ad for a page with a strawberry ice cream recipe.
There used to be Amazon versions of phones doing this like 10 years ago. They were a like 10-20% cheaper and with a lil Android knowledge you could permanently disable them over ADB and have a cheap usable phone
It's rather funny corporate world salad. Fanboy comments are great too! :) Here is one example:
For me, Nothing doesn’t really have a choice. When you’re a young brand, you absolutely have to bring in cash to keep the business running. Sometimes you have to make decisions you’d never have considered at the start, simply because over time, you realize it’s essential to evolve, to develop, and to keep growing. Even if customers aren’t always happy, we have to remember that some constraints are unavoidable to survive in this sector, especially when competing with the giants.
I think the message shared by Nothing is helpful; it will definitely allow them to get feedback from the community. All in all, Nothing is still a very small company in the smartphone world — even if, for us enthusiasts or users, they already play an important role. It takes courage to communicate transparently about your choices, and I hope this will help them move forward in the right direction.
To me this almost reads like a parody of a fanboy.
If the spam/bloatware is great ("enhances the user experience"), why do the claim it's only for low end devices? Surely they'd want to enhance the experience for all Nothing devices.
This isn't new. Just search for Glance. US/EU users may not have heard of this but entry level smartphones in India have long come bundled with this piece of spam, irrespective of OEM. From Chinese manufacturers to even Samsung/Motorola was guilty of bundling this.
Last I heard of Glance, they had embraced AI (because why not?). Either case, it was nothing more than an ad infested bloatware and whilst possible to toggle on/off (default state was on), removing it was usually tougher (if at all possible via adb, I am not sure of this part).
I actually like it. Smartphones in India are usually a little cheaper than elsewhere, since they assume they can make up the lost revenue with ads. And at least on Xiaomi devices, you can stop all OS-side ads by removing just one app.
In the near future: You are mandated to carry the Advanced Information Device System at all times. It shows informational content (we call them ads) and tracks your location.
For a small monthly subscription fee you can add a web browser, email, or other applications to go with your AIDS.
79 Comments
BoloMKXXVIII@piefed.social · 88 pts · 308d
It is not important that you can "turn it off", it is important that it is installed. Off doesn't mean not running in the background, sucking up your personal information.
umbrella@lemmy.ml · 9 pts · 308d
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 307d
or draining your battery.
Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de · 55 pts · 308d
Have already been since at least two years or so, although maybe on a slightly more limited scale.
The lower mid-range Motorola phone of my gf had a hard-to-disable active wallpaper app that displayed nice pictures, but had a prominent field leading directly to online ads when accidentally pressed (which happened a lot).
Also reactivated itself after each OS update.
Enshitification in progress...
Valmond@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 308d
Xiaomi pushes their wallpaper "carousel" quite hard, I never activate it because it wants way to intrusive permissions. I wonder if it's in the same boat...
Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de · 8 pts · 308d
Might well be.
I had a Xiaomi ~5 years ago, whose preinstalled file manager suddenly started displaying ads after a year or so.
We switched to Motorola because of this, as they then still were known for crap- and bloatware-free system.
Has apparently changed recently.
One of the reasons it was easy to convince my gf to get a Fairphone now.
Valmond@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 308d
Forgot about that, I installed FX (a super good free file manager, bought the pro version for like 10€ IIRC, or less, mostly to support it). Said to myself no more Xiaomi, but my last is still a xiaomi because it's, IMO, still so much better and cheaper.
semisimian@startrek.website · 8 pts · 308d
Phone manufacturers know where you touch your screen the most often and put their shittiest apps in that spot so you accidentally engage. It's the only reason I open up Google's AI, because I did it by accident.
Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de · 5 pts · 308d
Except Apple as it seems. They tend to routinely put essential interactive elements in the top left corner or so, farthest away from my right thumb.
On the other hand, Iphones don't have sneaky ads hidden in the system, so there's that...
frongt@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 308d
Unless it's in the top right for no good reason.
And don't get me started on the inconsistent ways to go back. Sometimes it's a button at the top left or right, sometimes swipe from the left, sometimes swipe down, sometimes up. I'll stick with my android and a dedicated button, thank you.
MimicJar@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 308d
I'd be curious to know which phone model. I've only been using low end Motorola phones for years but I've never seen such a thing. I think mine have all been the Moto G series.
Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de · 3 pts · 308d
l think it has been the G54.
App was preinstalled, not removable and obtrusive like hell.
MimicJar@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 307d
Lol, I underestimated how many "Moto G" phones there are. I have the "Moto G 5g" at the moment, but had the "Moto G power" historically. But there are like 5 phones a year with "Moto G54" or similar branding.
I found what looks like active wallpapers on my phone, but I didn't see any ads. For me it was hidden away in the settings and I only recall seeing it when first setting up my phone since my launcher handles the wallpaper now.
I do remember a bunch of apps like TikTok and some random Solitaire game being installed "for my convenience" when the phone was first setup, but I could remove them completely.
I wonder if very specific versions install different crap.
It's a bummer if so because it's what I recommend to friends if they ask.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 308d
Moto is good for custom roms
Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 308d
That is true. I just installed Lineage OS on my old G84, hope that it will last me a while.
Has probably been the last decent phones to still feature a headphone jack...
Not an option for my gf though, when her G54 broke.
She now rocks a Fairphone 5 and is quite happy with it. And the next broken screen (that will definitely happen...) we can just replace easily now.
aramis87@fedia.io · 40 pts · 308d
Lock screen ads are coming to all smartphones. Because you know that, once they get one group to accept it, they're going to shove it onto everyone.
rikudou@lemmings.world · 3 pts · 308d
Back to my trusty Xperia with SailfishOS, I guess.
frongt@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 308d
It's been around for years. I remember one of my friends had a Walmart phone back in 2015 or so that would occasionally pop up ads before opening an app.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 307d
if they can put ads on map apps, whats to stop to put it on every app.
natecox@programming.dev · 39 pts · 308d
turdcollector69@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 308d
Yeah it appealed to me too but now it doesn't.
At this point I'm just going to get a flip phone and pretend it's the 00's.
manxu@piefed.social · 38 pts · 308d
We desperately need a phone OS the user can modify at will, by design and not by rooting, and on mainstream hardware.
I know, the argument goes that the only reason phones are so reasonably priced is the upside of upsell for manufacturers. But phones are not "reasonably priced," they are sold at a large profit and the upsell is just greed.
TonyOstrich@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 308d
Ubuntu Touch exists and I have it installed on my backup Fairphone 5. In terms of the OS itself, it seems pretty solid and performs well. However it is very spartan in terms of both the interface itself as well as the apps available to interact with the OS in various ways.
It's a very small team working on it and as far as I can tell they aren't exactly drowning in funding. I bet if every person that would like to see another OS option donated a cup of coffee amount of money to them every month they would probably have what they want in the next 3-5 years.
I don't see that happening though.
I think mostmanxu@piefed.social · 3 pts · 308d
You think most? But that's a great suggestion, I'll check out their funding page.
TonyOstrich@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 308d
Lol, sorry, I re-wrote my final sentence, and didn't delete how I started it originally 😅.
Auli@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 307d
It won't happen carriers won't allow it.
ReversalHatchery@beehaw.org · 3 pts · 307d
they can have the slim modem, they shouldn't get to know anything about the other parts of the OS
rikudou@lemmings.world · 2 pts · 307d
Well, in some countries carriers don't have a say in that.
olafurp@lemmy.world · 27 pts · 307d
We need more Linux phones
lightnsfw@reddthat.com · 25 pts · 307d
We need to just start beating the shit out of marketing people. Just any time you meet someone and find out they're involved in advertising, punch them in the mouth. Doesn't matter if they've personally done anything to you. They've gone too far.
yakko@feddit.uk · 7 pts · 307d
Excommunicado
ReversalHatchery@beehaw.org · 5 pts · 307d
there's a quiz show on TV in my country. a few days ago they chose some marketing manager. they have dropped out at like the 3rd question, winning nothing. this is rare. Normally I'm cheering for players but I was gleeful for his loss.
lightnsfw@reddthat.com · 1 pts · 307d
Yeah, fuck that guy.
Devjavu@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 307d
Looks at brother
ReversalHatchery@beehaw.org · 5 pts · 307d
don't forget, any time you meet him
djdarren@piefed.social · 25 pts · 308d
chuckles in GrapheneOS
jnod4@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 308d
You know the project will soon be dead after gpixels will lock their bootloaders? Just the way oneplus did, reel people and then enshittify
GenderNeutralBro@lemmy.sdf.org · 19 pts · 308d
They announced that they're working with an OEM to support new non-pixel phones (perhaps even shipped with GOS).
The Pixel 9 series will be supported for another 6 years, and GOS support for the Pixel 10 is probably coming after Google releases QPR1 source. Hopefully there will be viable replacements by then.
Google is obviously going to keep making this more difficult but the rest of the world isn't going to just sit still.
Auli@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 307d
I mean they have and well continue to do so. The majority of people don't care. Other manufactures removed unlocking and people don't care.
GenderNeutralBro@lemmy.sdf.org · 4 pts · 307d
The majority of people will trail behind by 5-10 years, same as always. As long as a small minority at the cutting edge continue to use and develop better things, everyone will have access to them eventually.
AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today · 5 pts · 308d
They're making their own phone now. It's not going to die, at least not in that way.
lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 308d
That's not what's happening. GOS has said they are partnering with an OEM, which means a yet-to-be-named manufacturer will ship their devices with GOS preinstalled.
But GOS has said things like this before with no outcome. So we will see what happens.
Auli@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 307d
Look at what happens to Cyanogen when they did their own phone. Doing their own hardware doesn't mean they well survive.
djdarren@piefed.social · 3 pts · 308d
Perhaps, but they can't lock the bootloader on my Pixel 9 that's not running Google's version of Android.
Stez827@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 308d
You do realize you can unlock the bootloader of pretty much every OnePlus device right?
jnod4@lemmy.ca · 0 pts · 308d
Not anymore for the new ones, they stopped
Stez827@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 307d
That's not true tho? The OnePlus 13(current latest phone) has tons of custom ROM support and can be easily unlocked. Have you looked at xda at all to check your claims?
jnod4@lemmy.ca · 0 pts · 307d
Https
Stez827@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 307d
Dude that's china only and is the standard there. OnePlus phones are just oppo phones with a different coat of paint and this is what oppo phones are
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 307d
i heard OP for the newer ones, im on the 12r right now.
rikudou@lemmings.world · 24 pts · 308d
Oh, fuck off Nothing, you were to be my next phone! Now I need to find a different European brand which does high-end smartphones. Which means only HMD remains unless something changed in the last few months.
Lightfire228@pawb.social · 8 pts · 308d
Fair phone 6 running /e/OS is honestly amazing
Completely degoogled ROM, using MicroG to emulate google play services
dysprosium@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 7 pts · 308d
European Fairphone would never do this, I think. Or just install custom ROM
Devjavu@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 307d
shift.eco
zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 24 pts · 308d
Not to my phone they aren't, get fucked.
anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz · 22 pts · 308d
lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 16 pts · 308d
Aaaaand there's the enshittification, just like I expected.
Remember kids - 99% of the time, if it's too good to be true....
ErmahgherdDavid@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 307d
Hell, even when it's not too good to be true and you already feel ripped off! The audacity of these mfs!
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 307d
Dystopia
joyjoy@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 308d
Please stop copying Microsoft.
nathan@piefed.alphapuggle.dev · 10 pts · 308d
There used to be Amazon versions of phones doing this like 10 years ago. They were a like 10-20% cheaper and with a lil Android knowledge you could permanently disable them over ADB and have a cheap usable phone
lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 308d
Motorola G4 comes to mind. Great little devices.
6nk06@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 308d
I'm glad they fixed the missing part in their minimalist experience.
rizzothesmall@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 308d
No they fucking aren't
ook@discuss.tchncs.de · 15 pts · 308d
sanpo@sopuli.xyz · 10 pts · 308d
Probably "never buying anything from a shitty company that does that".
rizzothesmall@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 308d
Yeah that. I can't think of anyone who would buy a phone that spams you with ads on the lock screen. Gross.
kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 12 pts · 308d
That's the best part. You didn't buy it that way. They gave you a free upgrade.
mPony@kbin.earth · 3 pts · 308d
like the nice lady in that Black Mirror episode.
aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 7 pts · 307d
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 308d
Finally! Heil Satan!!
nieceandtows@programming.dev · 5 pts · 307d
The Samsung A series phone we recently bought in India had lock screen ads. I was gobsmacked. It wasn't even easy to disable it.
Alphane_Moon@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 308d
I've seen Carl Pei described as the biggest edgelord in the smartphone industry. I think it's a very apt description.
It only makes ad spam by Nothing so much funnier.
Check out the forum post by Nothing about this spam initiative:
https://nothing.community/d/45348-nothing-os-40-beta-on-phone-3a-series-lock-glimpse-future-plans/
It's rather funny corporate world salad. Fanboy comments are great too! :) Here is one example:
To me this almost reads like a parody of a fanboy.
If the spam/bloatware is great ("enhances the user experience"), why do the claim it's only for low end devices? Surely they'd want to enhance the experience for all Nothing devices.
Devjavu@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 307d
Not to mine they ain't. Even if there was no device left without, because then I wouldn't have one.
biscuit@lemdro.id · 3 pts · 307d
... and that's why I'll stick with Pixel devices, thanks.
Alchalide@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 307d
Give me a Samsung with pixel os. I've had an 6a and the hardware is just bad.
Rivalarrival@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 307d
Luigi Claus is coming for the executive officers of some smartphone manufacturers.
DegenerationIP@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 307d
Radiantly9267@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 308d
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 307d
it wasnt as pervasive, seems likes it happening to other phones now too. especially with things being bootlocked.
kirk781@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 308d
This isn't new. Just search for Glance. US/EU users may not have heard of this but entry level smartphones in India have long come bundled with this piece of spam, irrespective of OEM. From Chinese manufacturers to even Samsung/Motorola was guilty of bundling this.
Last I heard of Glance, they had embraced AI (because why not?). Either case, it was nothing more than an ad infested bloatware and whilst possible to toggle on/off (default state was on), removing it was usually tougher (if at all possible via adb, I am not sure of this part).
Glance walked so Nothing could run :p
emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works · 0 pts · 308d
I actually like it. Smartphones in India are usually a little cheaper than elsewhere, since they assume they can make up the lost revenue with ads. And at least on Xiaomi devices, you can stop all OS-side ads by removing just one app.
1984@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 308d
Never enough ads.
pir8t0x@ani.social · 1 pts · 308d
HELL NAH
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip · 0 pts · 308d
In the near future: You are mandated to carry the Advanced Information Device System at all times. It shows informational content (we call them ads) and tracks your location.
For a
smallmonthly subscription fee you can add a web browser, email, or other applications to go with your AIDS.