{"items":[{"children":[{"children":[{"properties":{"category":["google","android","monopoly","techliteracy"],"content":[{"html":"

\"/tmp/plug-1695-VbZP/live_view_upload-1777383628-267747297191-1\"

\n

I caved. I finally caved. After almost 10 years of using a (mostly) google-free phone, I decided to go back to having a fully goggled phone. The catalyst was the app of my Krankenkasse suddenly refusing to work, after it checked my phone for "security". Yesterday I wiped my phone at least 3 times and came the conclusion that the ONLY way to run this app is with the original ROM (Fairphone OS in my case) AND the bootloaded locked.

\n

I was using iodeOS with an unlocked bootloader for a few years before and was enjoying most apps working perfectly, plus fast updates and the newest android version.

\n

While I applaud my Krankenkasse for enforcing high security standards, I still believe that using custom ROM will not decrease the security of your phone. The bootloader is a security risk, depending on your threat model. The iodeOS adblocker has been increasing the security on my phone, IMHO.

\n

But like I said, I caved. For now, I'm fucking done playing this DeGoogling game of cat and mouse. This case has once again demonstrated that while it's pretty easy to avoid the google apps and even the services (Drive, Search, Maps, you name it) with a bit of determination, you CANNOT escape the power of the PLATFORM that is Android and Google Play Services. Android is NOT an open platform. It is a tightly closed and guarded fortress and if you want to play in googles playgroud, you better play by the fucking rules.

\n

And since tech literacy seems to be a luxury that not many people can afford, which I don't blame them for, google keeps its power and gets to decide what you can and cannot do on Android.

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I fucking hate it. But right now, I need this Krankenkasse app to work. Right now, that's more important than my ideals.

","value":"/tmp/plug-1695-VbZP/live_view_upload-1777383628-267747297191-1\nI caved. I finally caved. After almost 10 years of using a (mostly) google-free phone, I decided to go back to having a fully goggled phone. The catalyst was the app of my Krankenkasse suddenly refusing to work, after it checked my phone for \"security\". Yesterday I wiped my phone at least 3 times and came the conclusion that the ONLY way to run this app is with the original ROM (Fairphone OS in my case) AND the bootloaded locked.\nI was using iodeOS with an unlocked bootloader for a few years before and was enjoying most apps working perfectly, plus fast updates and the newest android version.\nWhile I applaud my Krankenkasse for enforcing high security standards, I still believe that using custom ROM will not decrease the security of your phone. The bootloader is a security risk, depending on your threat model. The iodeOS adblocker has been increasing the security on my phone, IMHO.\nBut like I said, I caved. For now, I'm fucking done playing this DeGoogling game of cat and mouse. This case has once again demonstrated that while it's pretty easy to avoid the google apps and even the services (Drive, Search, Maps, you name it) with a bit of determination, you CANNOT escape the power of the PLATFORM that is Android and Google Play Services. Android is NOT an open platform. It is a tightly closed and guarded fortress and if you want to play in googles playgroud, you better play by the fucking rules.\nAnd since tech literacy seems to be a luxury that not many people can afford, which I don't blame them for, google keeps its power and gets to decide what you can and cannot do on Android.\nI fucking hate it. But right now, I need this Krankenkasse app to work. Right now, that's more important than my ideals."}],"name":["ReGoogling my phone"],"published":["2026-04-28T15:40:45+02:00"],"summary":["/tmp/plug-1695-VbZP/live_view_upload-1777383628-267747297191-1\nI caved. I finally caved. After almost 10 years of using a (mostly) google-free phone, I decided to go back to having a fully goggled phone. The catalyst was the app of my Krankenkasse suddenly refusing to work, after it checked my phone for \"security\". Yesterday I wiped my phone at least 3 times and came the conclusion that the ONLY way to run this app is with the original ROM (Fairphone OS in my case) AND the bootloaded locked.\nI was using iodeOS with an unlocked bootloader for a few years before and was enjoying most apps working perfectly, plus fast updates and the newest android version.\nWhile I applaud my Krankenkasse for enforcing high security standards, I still believe that using custom ROM will not decrease the security of your phone. The bootloader is a security risk, depending on your threat model. The iodeOS adblocker has been increasing the security on my phone, IMHO.\nBut like I said, I caved. For now, I'm fucking done playing this DeGoogling game of cat and mouse. This case has once again demonstrated that while it's pretty easy to avoid the google apps and even the services (Drive, Search, Maps, you name it) with a bit of determination, you CANNOT escape the power of the PLATFORM that is Android and Google Play Services. Android is NOT an open platform. It is a tightly closed and guarded fortress and if you want to play in googles playgroud, you better play by the fucking rules.\nAnd since tech literacy seems to be a luxury that not many people can afford, which I don't blame them for, google keeps its power and gets to decide what you can and cannot do on Android.\nI fucking hate it. But right now, I need this Krankenkasse app to work. Right now, that's more important than my ideals."],"updated":["2026-04-28T15:40:45+02:00"]},"type":["h-entry"]},{"id":"main-sidebar","properties":{"name":["Jonathan"],"nickname":["inhji"],"note":["Jacked in since 1996."],"url":["https://inhji.de/"]},"type":["h-card"]}],"properties":{},"type":["h-screen"]}],"properties":{},"type":["h-screen"]}],"rel-urls":{"https://aperture.p3k.io/microsub/171":{"rels":["microsub"]},"https://bandcamp.com/inhji":{"rels":["me"],"text":"\n Bandcamp\n "},"https://chaos.social/@inhji":{"rels":["me"],"text":"\n Fediverse\n "},"https://codeberg.org/inhji":{"rels":["me"],"text":"\n Codeberg\n "},"https://git.inhji.de/inhji":{"rels":["me"],"text":"\n Git Server\n "},"https://github.com/inhji":{"rels":["me"]},"https://indieauth.com/auth":{"rels":["authorization_endpoint"]},"https://inhji.de/":{"rels":["me"],"text":"\n Jonathan\n "},"https://inhji.de/assets/css/app-1f12478d5a9377a7a35f1a48326d8f64.css?vsn=d":{"rels":["stylesheet"]},"https://listenbrainz.org/user/inhji":{"rels":["me"],"text":"\n ListenBrainz\n "},"https://musicbrainz.org/user/inhji":{"rels":["me"],"text":"\n MusicBrainz\n "},"https://tokens.indieauth.com/token":{"rels":["token_endpoint"]}},"rels":{"authorization_endpoint":["https://indieauth.com/auth"],"me":["https://github.com/inhji","https://inhji.de/","https://bandcamp.com/inhji","https://listenbrainz.org/user/inhji","https://codeberg.org/inhji","https://chaos.social/@inhji","https://musicbrainz.org/user/inhji","https://git.inhji.de/inhji"],"microsub":["https://aperture.p3k.io/microsub/171"],"stylesheet":["https://inhji.de/assets/css/app-1f12478d5a9377a7a35f1a48326d8f64.css?vsn=d"],"token_endpoint":["https://tokens.indieauth.com/token"]}}