On the same page, last android device I had was a Samsung. Great hardware but really shitty software. It had two office suite (MS and Samsungs), Facebook and what not. All those I couldn’t uninstall only disable. Why the fuck I need to have Facebook installed on my phone?
Bought a Xiaomi phone, rooted it, loving it, so cheap and still private enough. I’ll just can’t get my head around in spending almost a grand for a freaking phone.
There were some videos on some of the installation CDs…that’s all I remember. I don’t think they were automatically installed on your hard drive, but I could be wrong.
+1 to this. Next time I’ll be buying a new phone, I’ll have a look at what phones are supported by LOS
Right now I’m on a Xiaomi CC9 with LOS. It felt a whole new phone after I got rid of MIUI (which didn’t receive any updates in about one year and half)
The problem is getting a brand new model compatible with LOS.
Last year I specifically got a Redmi Note 9 Pro (brand new unit), which at the time was a 2 year old model, because it was one of the few models that matched the specifications I was looking for AND it was officially LOS supported.
I mean, I’m pretty happy with it, this thing is a beast and I’m not one of those guys who need the last model of everything, but I paid the around same of what the new Redmi Note 11s costed at the time. No regrets; anything to have a Xiaomi without that MIUI cancer.
So…stupid question, how do you have service? Like, you would still have to contact one of them (t-mobile, at&t, verizon) to make the “cell” part work, right?
This is the sorta shit that will likely be in the EUs sights soon. Installing applications nobody asked for because of the carrier? That sounds fucking insanely invasive. It’s like Adidas installing a camera in your apartment because you bought a pair of sneakers.
That’s kind of an extreme example lol unless the game is asking for insane permissions. Still I get your point and hopefully the EU acts on it. Especially since they appear to be humanity’s only hope against shit like this
That’s probably because the EU generally isn’t run by a two party system, where both parties are actually just center-right neoliberals. If you want EU style protections, you have to actually fight for it, like pretty much every European country did.
The two party system isn’t the only problem though, there’s also:
Money being a form of speech – EU MEPs aren’t soliciting billionaires for money to spend on TV ads
The 10th amendment – prevents any national effort where the federal govt uses a power not explicitly granted to it in the constitution. Obamacare tripped up here for instance, and Obamacare is far from national socialized healthcare. It was a feature when people identified more with their local culture, but in an era when every American identifies as American-first, and engages the political system accordingly by only knowing or caring about national candidates and parties, it becomes a bug.
States that should have never been states – the US Senate took a heavy rural turn in the 19th century as vast, sparsely populated territories were given statehood. Nowadays this means to buy two US Senators you only need to gaslight ~600k people with advertising (the population of Wyoming). The founding fathers never really developed a solid plan for how the west would be settled, and it shows.
Powerful and unaccountable Court – the Supreme Court is given authority over both other branches, serving life terms, with few guidelines or restrictions. A party with the Presidency and Senate at the right time can gain a majority of the court and undo (or manufacture) precedent at the snap of a finger. The resulting system makes it far easier to capture the court than to pass a constitutional amendment. Think abortion should be legal? Here’s a roundabout legal justification for that. Oh the new majority thinks it shouldn’t be? Okay now it’s gone. It’s a chaotic way to handle bedrock rights like access to healthcare and privacy (neither of which are mentioned anywhere in the US constitution). The constitution should be malleable enough that the court is strictly tasked with interpreting the letter of the law. The US shouldn’t be relying on legal gymnastics to legalize abortion and gay marriage. It’s unstable and undemocratic.
Electoral College – the leader of the country, not just the Executive but the Head of State, is elected in a way that respects statehood more than personhood. It is more concerned with making sure Wyoming gets a fair vote than making sure John Doe in Queens does.
First past the post voting – this is another oversight by the founding fathers that many European republics were able to avoid, and it’s the root cause of the two party system. But it also makes gerrymandering possible, which completely breaks both state-level politics and the US House. It makes so many seats into “safe seats” that the “money is speech” briberies become much easier to allocate.
Racism – almost every dumb thing about American politics can be traced back in some form to slavery, segregation, or racism. Why is every state given 2 senators? Slavery. Why were some of those rural states admitted? Also slavery. Why did White Americans support progressive policies in the 30s, 40s, and 50s? Segregation. Why did the entire Deep South flip from Democrat to Republican in the late 60s? Also segregation. It’s America’s original sin and it’s still playing a role.
Every one of those things plays a role in the US not adopting stricter privacy standards, or leading the way in anything except military might. It’s why American politics is so broken that even a majority of voters wanting to fix it isn’t enough.
This is the sorta shit that will likely be in the EUs sights soon.
You mean the same regulator that unconditionally approved the buyout of Activision-Blizzard by convicted monopolist Microsoft? Yeah, no. Nothing is to be expected by EU regulators.
Yeah, I would like clarification if this came from the carrier or Samsung.
I keep my Galaxy S21 up to date, and these have not been installed for me. But I haven’t had an update in the last few days, so it’s possible it’s an upcoming update I haven’t seen yet.
But I bought my phone off Amazon; they’re usually cheaper that way, and it’s unlocked already. I don’t get them via my carrier (AT&T for what it’s worth).
Verizon does stuff like this too. It downloaded TikTok and other garbage every update. Once I couldn’t take it anymore I got rid of the app downloading it using ADB
Looking at what was installed it doesn’t look like the normal samsung bloatware. They’re both apps by Playtika, who seem to have nothing to do with Samsung. Malware would be my thought too.
And the “Mobile Services Manager” app seems to come pre-installed on carrier Android devices from Samsung and Motorola (i.e. bloatware), at least when bought from carriers in 'Murica. That “Mobile Services Manager” bloatware is meant to auto-install and update even more bloatware that carriers want to see installed on their carrier Android phones.
Perhaps but the applications displayed by OP would certainly not be installed by a carrier or Samsung. I’ve seen Facebook come pre-installed and other main stream garbage but the above is something completely different.
This kind of bullshit always comes pre installed on Samsung phones, even the ones from Google that are usually otherwise pretty stock android experiences. If they came in on an update then the responsibility is squarely on the carrier (they manage the OS updates, tailoring them to each device). On the Samsung phone’s I’ve had on Verizon this kind of bullshit has been the worst. I do consider it malware because it installs without user consent, but it’s officially authorized malware. I guess I should just be grateful I can still uninstall them after the updates, but it’s a recurring problem I know I’ll need to address after each update and one day I’m sure they’ll decide you can’t remove those junk apps.
That is why i rooted my phone as a tech noobie, and it gives me security warning everytime i restart it. As if their shitty apps are not security breach, lol.
Fortunately you can use magisk to hide the rooted status from most apps. At least in Finland, I have had no problems with Nordea or Danske Bank. I remember that some app was troublesome, but I think I figured that one out also eventually.
Magisk (latest release) + Universel SafetyNet Fix v2.4.0-MOD_1.2 (kdrag0n github) + add the apps to the zygist deny list + rename magisk manager. → does the job for me.
Yeah I have a Samsung phone and have never had this problem so I’m guessing it’s carrier stuff and op is unkowongly placing blame on the wrong company here
I wish manufacturers didn’t allow carriers to install junk on their phone.
On the other hand, this is how carriers can give you a good deal on a phone… They have to subsidise it by making deals with the companies that make apps like these.
If they have to trick you by installing unwanted apps on your phone, where you don’t even know it’s them doing it, then it sounds more like a scam than a great deal.
I agree. That’s unfortunately how it is today though - either you pay full price for an unlocked phone (which some people can’t afford), or you get junk apps on it. You can usually disable the junk apps at least.
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