We really need a legislation to force Android vendors that are selling their phones in EU to allow "bootloader unlocking".
Like, come on. It's literally a one-bit check by an "application" before loading the Linux kernel. Yet, vendor after vendor is removing the ability to skip this check for muh "security".
It's never about security, it's about control. If you can't install your own OS, they can collect your data to sell and push ads onto you.
It's basically like buying a laptop in 2008 with Windows Vista and pre-loaded malware that made it unusable. Everyone wiped it and installed a clean copy of XP or Linux, imagine being unable to do that...
If we don't stand up to vendors, in the future they'll take this option away. I hope they realize there'll be no reason to buy Android anymore (no way to "sideload" due to Play Protect, no way to replace the OS/remove GApps) and everyone will go "fuck it, I'm just gonna get an iPhone".
For many years Android/iOS duopoly was unbreakable, but thanks to Google's recent (stupid) decisions this could (and I hope will) change. Current "smartphones" are just the prefect tools of digital dystopia.
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