Privacy

32442 readers

713 users here now

A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.

Some Rules

Posting a link to a website containing tracking isn't great, if contents of the website are behind a paywall maybe copy them into the post
Don't promote proprietary software
Try to keep things on topic
If you have a question, please try searching for previous discussions, maybe it has already been answered
Reposts are fine, but should have at least a couple of weeks in between so that the post can reach a new audience
Be nice :)

Related communities

much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

1138

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

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

364 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.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 51 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Version 14 is installed on my Pixel 7 in the USA. I bought this phone outright, no credit, directly from the Google store.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Not on my phone though. Pixel 4a, bought outright from Google but in Canada, no credit.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Did you hit the three dots on the top right and select "show system"? It only shows after that.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I didn't, but this is what shows after I did. Still not there.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I get this from the Google Play store:

Looking for Device Lock Controller?

This app isn't available on Google Play in your region.

So, cool?

I bought mine from Google Fi w/ cash and have never used it on a major carrier. I'm guessing it's a carrier thing, and not a stock Android thing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

No, it may not appear in the appstore (doesn't for me), but does appear in my apps (when you show system apps)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Mine doesn't appear in either for me, and I did show system apps. It must be a recent Android thing because my phone is almost 5 years old.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Good to hear! And thanks for providing this data point. I may get around to doing a survey, and trying to rope in some people who know their way around android development to see what's going on here.