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Android 2015 Freedom vs Android 2025 Locked-Down Dystopia Comparison
MobileDev Post #7085 · source on Telegram

Android 2015 Freedom vs Android 2025 Locked-Down Dystopia Comparison

Description

A two-panel meme using the Squid Game actor (Lee Jung-jae) showing contrasting expressions. Top panel labeled 'ME USING ANDROID 2015' shows a smiling face alongside icons representing the open Android ecosystem: Google's 'Don't Be Evil' motto, WhatsApp+, custom ROMs, sideloading, xposed framework, and root access. Bottom panel labeled 'ME USING ANDROID 2025' shows a grim expression alongside screenshots of increasingly restrictive Android policies: Reddit posts about making banking apps work with Magisk, Android 11 blocking /android/data folder, keybox.xml integrity checks failing (MEETS_BASIC_INTEGRITY, MEETS_DEVICE_INTEGRITY, MEETS_STRONG_INTEGRITY all failing), TrickyStore, A/B Partitions, 'AOSP is no longer open source', 'Google will block sideloading of unverified Android apps starting next year', and 'Magisk ksu or apatch?' discussions

Categories

MobileDev Google Security

Common Tags

Android Google MobileDevelopment OpenSource SecurityVulnerabilities DarkPatterns VendorLockIn PrivacyConcerns DeveloperHumor TechNostalgia

Comments

25
Anonymous ★ Top Pick Android 2015: 'Here's the source code, do whatever you want.' Android 2025: 'Here's the source code, but if you compile it yourself your banking app won't open.'
  1. Anonymous ★ Top Pick

    Android 2015: 'Here's the source code, do whatever you want.' Android 2025: 'Here's the source code, but if you compile it yourself your banking app won't open.'

  2. Anonymous

    By 2025, flashing a custom ROM will require more attestations than deploying to prod - at least prod still trusts our CI, SafetyNet doesn’t

  3. Anonymous

    Remember when we complained about Android fragmentation? Now we're nostalgic for the days when we could actually fragment our own devices without Google's SafetyNet throwing a tantrum every time we tried to access our own file system

  4. Anonymous

    The Android developer's journey: from 'Don't Be Evil' and unlimited /data access to explaining to your architect why the banking app won't run because your bootloader was unlocked three phones ago. We went from rooting phones for fun to needing a PhD in attestation bypass just to install an APK from F-Droid. At least we still have... wait, AOSP isn't fully open source anymore? *checks if Magisk still works* Time to update the resume with 'Expert in navigating Google's integrity API labyrinth' as a skill

  5. Anonymous

    Android's glow-up: from AOSP playground to hardware-backed attestation fortress, where even Magisk needs Zygisk to hide from Play Integrity's all-seeing eye

  6. Anonymous

    2015: flash zip, reboot, profit; 2025: write an attestation shim, tango through A/B, and pray your bank app doesn’t escalate to Compliance

  7. Anonymous

    2015: flash TWRP, sideload APKs, ship yourself to prod; 2025: negotiate with Verified Boot, Zygisk, and Play Integrity while banking apps treat you like the red team - A/B partitions made rollback easier for OEMs than for power users

  8. 扇子 11mo

    yeah that's true but why are a/b partitioning and magisk on the bad list

    1. @Algoinde 11mo

      Magisk symbolizes the effort to avoid touching the system partition (and I guess magiskhide too) had both titanium backup and link2sd, what a great era of no bullshit

  9. Алексей 11mo

    The Austrian artist was right

    1. @RiedleroD 11mo

      how did you know that I sent this in? /j

      1. @callofvoid0 11mo

        coincidence?

      2. @ZgGPuo8dZef58K6hxxGVj3Z2 11mo

        Is this fedi?

        1. @RiedleroD 11mo

          yep

          1. @ZgGPuo8dZef58K6hxxGVj3Z2 11mo

            Have you digged into fedi protocol? Does it have "optional flags", "tags" or "custom feature query"?

            1. @RiedleroD 11mo

              I haven't looked at activitypub yet, sorry

    2. @RiedleroD 11mo

      anyway I'm not sure what you're insinuating but for being vaguely antisemitic:

      1. dev_meme 11mo

        Literally 1984 🤣

        1. @RiedleroD 11mo

          jawohl :P

      2. @bad94e81 11mo

        How the hell is bashing Google over Android enshintification vague antisemitic?

  10. @anonusernametg 11mo

    I HATE GOOGLE WITH A PASSION

    1. @ZgGPuo8dZef58K6hxxGVj3Z2 11mo

      Same

  11. @ZgGPuo8dZef58K6hxxGVj3Z2 11mo

    I have been saying this for years

  12. @notterra 11mo

    damn i miss /obb

    1. Deleted Account 11mo

      SpongeBob?

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