this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2024

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Privacy

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Google Allows Creditors to Brick Your Phone (lemmy.world)

submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

359 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I installed NetGuard about a month ago and blocked all internet to apps, unless they're on a whitelist. No notifications from this particular system app (that can't be disabled) until recently when it started making internet connection requests to google servers. Does anyone know when this became a thing?

Edit 2: I bought my Pixel 6 phone outright, directly from Google's Australian store. I have no creditors.

Were the courts not enough control for creditors? Since when are they allowed to lock you out of your purchased property without a court order?

I don't even live in the US, so what the actual fuck?

Edit 1: You can check it's installed (~~stock~~ Pixel 6 android 14) Settings > Apps > All Apps > three dot menu, Show system > search "DeviceLockController".

I highly recommend getting NetGuard, you can enable pro features via their website if you have the APK for as low as 0.10€, but donate more, because it's amazing. You can also purchase via Google Play store.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Mate we live in a 5 eyes country so whatever shit you see in the USl by default you'll see it here. Its sad but that's how it is and regular 9-5s can't do much about it

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

That "rated 3 and up" is killing me.

Finally a solution for those jobless deadbeat infants.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Since when are they allowed to lock you out of your purchased property without a court order?

That's an oxymoron. Creditors have the ability to lock you out of a device you haven't paid for yet. Standard terms and conditions in B2C and B2B; you don't own it until you've paid for it in full.

Also locking you out of a device you don't own yet is cheaper than taking you to court.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Anything that connects to internet is something that you don't own. Companies can change their T&C anytime and take control of your device if it connects to internet. Hence smart people never buy anything that connects to internet.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Where did you hear that? Can you share a link? It's not entirely true, but it does apply to most IoT products.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Watch Louis Rossman on YouTube. All this recent videos are about Roku , Vultr and other big brands changing T&C,

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Right, that's true of cloud-based services, but not "anything that connects to the internet."

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

🤦‍♂️

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

There oughta be a law

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (2 children)

What's stopping someone from enabling debug mode, downloading adb tools and running pm uninstall --user0 then the package name? Surely with the app removed, the app can't brick your phone. Or running a custom rom like lineage or graphine os?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

My guess is they are leveraging the techninical and technology illiteracy of the average consumer to not only not know this can be done but to even know how to even look it up. I have done some tech support for people that I have known for 20 years here and there and I am still oustanded at how little people know about tech outside social media sites, or have but only the most superficial knowledge on anything outside their work related applications. Many, many People just can't do their own research today specially, or so it seems in the aggregate. Unless perhaps if it is a hobby.

Also, perhaps some of these people may have shitty phones that may not have an option to install a custom ROM, too. Assuming they even know want a custom ROM even is.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

What’s stopping someone ...

Your average someone has no idea what any of that means.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

I've used odb before to debloat and I barely remember how I did it 😂

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

the phone world is fucked. Use a landline phone :)

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