Unwanted Software Policy – Google | Hacker News Reader

Unwanted Software Policy – Google

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14 pointsehershey16 comments

> If the software makes updates, it should provide a clear notification to the user. The user must have a meaningful opportunity to review and approve any principal and significant updates or settings changes.

...or I guess, just do it like Chrome and don't even tell the user that you have automatic updates.

It's funny that unwanted software (Google Meet) is forcibly presented to me in both Mail apps (android/pixel3) and in calendar invites too. Using Mail and Cal to push Meet. Extra, repeated clicks to keep Meet out of the equation. It's confused more than one invitee who sees the Meet "suggestion" and missed the proper Zoom link.

"It tries to trick users into installing it or it piggybacks on the installation of another program"

Doesn't Chrome do this with it's constant nag popops on Search if you're using any other browser, or how it's bundled with other software?

> Doesn't Chrome do this with it's constant nag popops on Search if you're using any other browser,

No, that isn't tricking it piggybacking.

> or how it's bundled with other software?

Does it install without user consent?

>Does it install without user consent?

This depends on whether you actually consider a small precheckmarked box buried 5 pages deep into a installer you are intended to mindlessly skip through clicking OK to the tiny legalese text to be consent or not

Not sure if they still do it but Chrome absolutely used to fulfill the "trick user into installing it" criterion: It was frequently bundled with other software and auto-installed unless you unchecked a box deeply hidden in an "advanced settings" screen.

"if we focus on the user, all else will follow"

Hysterical laughter!

Reader, Inbox, Google Play Music, ...

Who is the user? Ad buyers?

"It should be easy for users to disable or uninstall software."

Does that include Android Auto, Google TV, and Youtube Music on my Pixel 5?

I would love to delete them, but I am unable to.

Wait, these are not removable on pixel? You can't even disable them??

I am pretty sure I have none of these on any of my android devices. I have even removed the Google app.

I have a Pixel 5 running Android 11 and cannot delete those apps.

Unless I am mistaken you should be able to disable the apps which is effectively equivalent to removing them. They can't be removed because they are on the read-only system image but they should be treated the same was as if they weren't there if they are disabled.

I agree that it would be nice if these weren't preinstalled at all but I don't find disabling to be that bad. Better than iOS for sure where the best you can do with most pre-installed apps is stuff them in a folder.

I have never understood why there is no system by Google, where abandoned system apps are removed by the Play Store updater.

>> They can't be removed because they are on the read-only system image

My question is: WHY are they part of the read-only system image?

Is Google TV, YouTube Music, or Android Auto essential to making the phone work?

If not, why can't I delete them? It seems like monopoly power in action to me.

> They can't be removed because they are on the read-only system image but they should be treated the same was as if they weren't there if they are disabled.

The "just pretend I'm not here :)" of software development.

It was a conscious decision to mark them as "system apps" and put them on the system partition. They didn't have to do that.

Also note that android apps are more equivalent to plugins or shell extensions than executables. An app can register various OS hooks and callbacks that can trigger behaviour even if no process of that app is running. I'm not sure all those hooks are unregistered if an app is deactivated.

It seems to me they are, I've disabled youtube and all youtube links open in Firefox, just as nature intended.

Ah, fair enough - I wasn't aware of that. If that's indeed what "deactivate" does, it's an option.

It still seems wasteful for space to me and more prone to bugs (e.g. if some hook is forgotten in the disable routine).

wow! is this satire? or is this irony?

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