• 2 hours

    bullshit. no they won’t. stock android also gonna get age verification, and is considered bad by apple users, plus its a different ecosystem. stop sharing shit articles like this.

    • 48 minutes

      I might be a minority but the week liquid glass hit my phone I ordered a pixel, sold my iphone. iPad, apple watch, and air tags that weekend.

      I don’t know if that compares as one is a ui/function overhaul and the other is a data field for access to things.

      • 17 minutes

        No idea what liquid glass is, but that’s a heavy reaction.

        What are you sporting now?

        • 27 seconds

          It’s a tweak to the UI. Not perfect, but I barely even notice a difference from old UI. People just like to complain.

          The clear icons are ugly, but you don’t have to use them, so it doesn’t really matter.

  • 5 hours

    I always assumed that they were collecting that data from your contacts list already. I’d like to know how many people are actually affected by this or needed to “verify” their age after updating to 26.4

    Also, switching to Android isn’t going to help with this.

  • Folks, this is coming from your government. The phone makers want nothing to do with it and are actively fighting it in court as best they can. Switching between phone makers will not help, and is not the right place to put your energy. Address your concerns to your governments.

    • 24 minutes

      Taking it up with our governments is fruitless as well. The days of governments actually giving a shit about what we want are over. If you’re not flush with cash, your voice can and will be overridden at the drop of a hat.

    • 5 hours

      The phone makers want your data just as much as the government does. Data is money and power.

      • 4 hours

        They have other ways of determining your age without requiring an extremely unpopular ID check.

        • I don’t think there is any way to actually functionally verify age without either an ID check, or a check that ultimately traces back to an ID check from some entity further up the chain. Any successful age check will either dox your identity to the checker, or it can be trivially bypassed.

          • 1 hour

            You’re forgetting that they don’t NEED to know precise age unless they’re doing it for a government mandated age check.

            For marketing purposes, which is what they REALLY want your data for, they have a profile of you that’s accurate enough even if your age is off by 5 years.

            • The capitalist part that wants money can build an accurate enough profile with just statistical correlations, but the fascist aspect isn’t doing it “for the children” or even just money, it’s doing it to completely dismantle all digital privacy, so they can know what everyone is saying and doing online at all times.

              • 33 minutes

                But the fascist aspect isn’t doing it “for the children” or even just money, it’s doing it to completely dismantle all digital privacy, so they can know what everyone is saying and doing online at all times.

                Yes, that’s the government mandated age check requirements and anti-encryption legislation. Of course many of the people lobbying for these things are rich capitalists, but not exclusively - there are also religious nutcases and overall just people who enjoy having control over others. As far as megacorporations are concerned, they really just want all of your money and if they make you jump through hoops (age verification), you’re actually less likely to give them your money.

                • 27 minutes

                  As far as megacorporations are concerned, they really just want all of your money

                  Maybe awhile back, but at this point they are kind of melding with the fascists. Social media, mainstream news, financial architecture, and communication networks controlled by corporations are definitely being backed by increasingly fascist organizations which definitely value total control over everything else.

        • 4 hours

          Some are accepting having a credit card in Wallet as proof of age, as well as simply having an old enough Apple account

          • 2 hours

            My Apple account is only like a decade old but if YouTube asks me for age verification I’m gonna be writing them a sternly worded letter because my account is old enough to buy alcohol in my country

    • 6 hours

      The phone makers want nothing to do with it and are actively fighting it in court as best they can.

      Doubt. This way they have excuses to farm user data.

      • It was this coalition of big tech companies that blocked Texas SB2420 from going into effect on Jan 1 of this year.

        Believe me my dude if they wanted your birthdate they would have gotten it before. Or more likely they already have it without this.

  • Why not just make it so nobody under 18 can own a smartphone. Why these fucking useless age checks.

    • Rhetorical questions aside. Let’s not counteract a dystopia with another dystopa here.

      • If you grow up one of the tiny % of kids that grow up without one, it will result in some developmental disadvantages I think. On the other hand, modern social media will impose another set of disadvantages, but fact is that social media and the internet in general are a large part of modern society, so not being able to interface with it until you’re 18 will leave you behind a learning curve.

        • Actual studies say that kids that use phones and laptops are actually less intelligent. I think no phones until 18 would be doable. No laptops would be hard though.

          • 24 minutes

            Someone who didn’t touch a phone until 18 is going to be so susceptible to scams, catfishes, propaganda, digital manipulation, etc, that I definitely think it is a dangerous nuclear option. Controlled, monitored by good parents, layered introduction is definitely better in my opinion.

    • 7 hours

      Me using an android as a child taught me how to use linux, command line etc. seems arbitrary to deny the phone entirely. maybe certain online services should be though

      • as a child

        So you where under 12, when you learned how to use Linux? Its either that or you where actually a teenager not a child.

        But in general I do agree with controls set on children, locally by the parents that is - excluding teenagers.

  • 9 hours

    I am more happy than ever with my GrapheneOS phone. Especially after they refused to include age verfication I recommend everyone to switch to grapheneos or any other custom ROM android

  • 9 hours

    But they already switched to Android when Apple removed the headphone jack. Oh wait, that’s right - nobody did.

    • 11 hours

      GrapheneOS is Android and declines to introduce that

      Not sure when you’ll be labelled a terrorist by using a privacy respecting OS though…

        • 8 hours

          Thanks for that input!
          Just came back from a business trip in Spain.

          Maybe I missed it in the article, but do you know, how they do it?
          I guess on the phone network level, my phone isn’t shouting “GrapheneOS here!!”.
          So how do they profile me?
          Only after they already control me somehow or…?

          Still, this is getting more and more Orwellian

          Hopefully my Jolla will be to exotic in the first period, but on the long term, this all is a really worrying development with the aim of mass surveillance

          • They profile you by looking at you. Cop sees you use your grapheneOS phone and thinks you’re a drug dealer. There’s no tech involved. They just use it as a sign, same way they’ve used hoodies, skin colour, or nationality to suspect you of something.

            • 3 hours

              How should that work?
              My GrapheneOS Android doesn’t look any different than any other Android - and they’d need to look at my screen while walking by or something.

              They can’t even see the exact Android version without trying to access it - or having me show them explicitly my “About phone” screen or something

              I really don’t see how that should work in practice

              If they pick me out and want to scan my phone, then it could be used against me, that they can’t access my data.
              But hey, that’s what GrapheneOS is here for, to don’t allow anyone access to my data, who shouldn’t have access

              So, in practice this is not really relevant or do I misunderstand something?

      • By the way our corporate dictatorships are speed-running totalitarianism, I’d say before the decade is done. I will choose to be an antifa terrorist before I accept fascism.

        This is actually the least invasive form of age verification for Apple users. Apple already has a credit card on file for something like 90+% of the user base.

        The alternative the political whore class are promoting is apps individually verifying with a multitude of data brokers “ID providers”.

        This is the illusion of choice under the surveillance capitalism of corporate dictatorships. Rather than regulate capitalists, the gov colludes with them to exploit and enslave consumers.

      • Buddy if I haven’t been labeled a terrorist yet after the things I’ve publicly said I am never gonna be labeled a terrorist.

        • 7 hours

          You don’t know, in what list you maybe already show up
          Just because police hasn’t knocked on your door, doesn’t mean, that in case all that shit will be held up against you

          Who knows, who is already monitored, because just of a drunken or honest comment, that icks someone the wrong way

          • Its so dumb because unless you specifically type /s you can never tell if someone is serious online. Literally all context gets lost on social media. We used to allow humans grace before mass surveillance came along.

            • 3 hours

              Yep, “they” can just pull out a comment of context and put you into some kind of group

              As you said, stupid it is

              • If they make their lists too broad however, the lists become useless and we can all hide in the noise.

      • Considering they are more or less attempting that reasoning in regards to VPN usage in the states I’d say maybe a few weeks?

        • 8 hours

          How can they control that I’m accessing my own Wireguard or company VPN?
          Or does this only affect commercial (or free) VPN services one could use?

          The technical illiteracy of politicians is still astounding to me

          Edit: and how would they control TOR?
          I could potentially use a TOR to VPN chain. Albeit slow, it would still work.
          Registering with ID for TOR would be the most annoying amusing thing I’ve heard in a long time…
          (Don’t know why autocorrect didn’t like the word ‘amusing’. Had to finally type it out. Seems not much fun stuff happening in my life ;⁠-⁠))

          • Right. Or site to site tunnels. Or client vpns for companies.

            Some are uneducated, some are evil, either way we’re fucked lol

    • 10 hours

      Mainstream Android will likely go the same path but there’ll also probably be 10s of workaround and forks straight up saying fuck you, bitch.

      You won’t have any other option on iOS other that to take the boot up yo a.

      And you’ll probably use the usual “most people won’t do that, tho”. These are kids we are talking about and have you ever told a determined kid that they couldn’t do something?

      This kowtowing the corporations and governments is how we got here and fuck people who bend the knee before even trying.

  • I call bullshit. Apple fans happily take anything Apple pushes down their throats. Even a $999 monitor stand or a $40 microfiber cloth.

    • 12 hours

      I subscribe to TWiT cause I grew up on The Screen Savers and Call for Help and regardless of what people think of him I still like Leo Laporte, the guy is my childhood. Anywho I listen to all their podcasts and I’ll sometimes listen to their weekly Mac one and it is absolutely insane the cult like behavior with these mac fans on this show. Oh they’ll complain about the monitors and everything else but will still continue to defend it all by the end. There is one woman on the show that just rants and raves constantly about the dumb decisions Apple makes but openly admits that she’ll continue to buy their products.

      At least on the Windows podcast the one dude will go ham on Microsoft weekly and I feel is pretty much just on the podcast to make fun of them. Then you have the Linux podcast where those guys just make fun of everything and it’s honestly entertaining. Plus they have one guy who is in his 80s on there who is an absolute gem.

    • Career haters just love to shit on anyone who has a preference, and thinks they can boil down an entire group of population with a single pithy comment

      You sound like a career hater. We did this ad nauseum in 2007, grow up it’s embarrassing for you

  • 12 hours

    I’m dabbling switching to GrapheneOS. Apple was the lesser of (obvious) evils compared to Google, but that’s becoming less true daily.

    I don’t think I can make it my primary device yet, still need to de-cloud a bunch of services, but it’s very likely my next device won’t be an iPhone.

    • 11 hours

      I’m running GrapheneOS since about 2 years now and I’m more than happy.
      Didn’t had any real issues with it.
      Art the start Android Auto didn’t work, but it does now - although I don’t really use it.

      I have Google play service stuff installed, but sandboxed.
      And my banking apps work just fine.

      Friend of mine made the switch a few months ago and haven’t heard of any complaints either.

      Can highly recommend it :⁠-⁠)

      • 5 hours

        My current phone is old and just recently my bank app stopped working because the phones android version is too far behind. Is there any way to load Graphene OS on an android phone, and would it maybe help me get around having to use the website for my banking now?

      • 4 hours

        I’m mainly waiting for them to add banking apps. My bank is a small local credit union so it might be a while.

        • 3 hours

          I’m using my banking apps (business and private) without issues

          It’s not about GrapheneOS adding those apps, it’s about the bank allowing their apps to run on that Android device/version.
          (Or someone correct me here, but that also makes more sense to me, than a whitelist on GrapheneOS side)

      • 10 hours

        I’d use Android Auto + Sandboxed Google Play more if Android Auto allowed NewPipe, OsmAnd and other FOSS apps to be added to the dashboard.

        • 8 hours

          Have you tried going to developer options and allowing unknown sources? That’s how I get metrolist and other apps in Android Auto

        • 9 hours

          I somehow also get a lower resolution Google maps, when using Google Auto.
          That was the reason I don’t really use it.

          For music and stuff, I just use Bluetooth

          But good luck having Google add something as NewPipe to be allowed with Android Auto ;⁠-⁠)

      • What about hotel keycard apps?

        We use them when traveling because SO hates talking to people,lol. Or when its 3 am.

        • 9 hours

          I have never used those - didn’t even know those exist

          Usually I need the key card anyway to active the power in the room… Which sucks

          So, can’t say anything about that, but it’s just usual Android, so I don’t see much issues here.
          Banking apps are usually just more strict with which system they support, so that was my primary worry

          Edit: but as I don’t really know about those hotel keys apps, does this mean I have to install an app per hotel (chain), which probably tries to grab some personal data again, or is this just some key, I can use in some FOSS app?

            • 9 hours

              At least in Europe, there is often a slot in which you need to put in the key card the hotel provided (or often any card, because it’s just a switch and doesn’t check the card), so you don’t waste energy, while you’re not in the room
              Said slot for the card is just at the wall after you open the door. So you usually have power, before you’re even really inside, because you just reach in and out the card in place.
              It’s a bit annoying, but that’s pretty much it.

              As the room should be empty, when there is no card in the slot, I’m not sure how that makes it worse for shy people though o⁠:⁠-⁠)

              Needing to install an app and trusting my phone to be charged and functioning, when I want to enter my room, seems much more stressful for me ;⁠-⁠)

    • 12 hours

      That’s my next move. I’m done with the mobile OS duopoly bullshit.

      I’m also starting to self-host a lot of services.

    • 6 hours

      It a process. You can decloud while on the new device and the benefits will just increase with your progress.

  • iPhone users 🚶‍♂️‍➡️ switching to android

    Android users 🚶‍♂️switching to iPhone

    • Android users 🚶‍♂️switching to iPhone GrapheneOS

      Switching to iPhone would just be objectively worse in literally every way

      • 12 hours

        I switched to iPhone after being on android since kitkat. Worst decision I made. Basic functions of the device don’t work/crash out. There’s seemingly no global ‘back’. Each app can dictate how back works. So I’ve found myself having to remember which apps use the swipe back feature and which don’t. They brought in the ai autocorrect stuff which completely changes words that I type. The glass ui stuff is horrific. Some text is unreadable due to the transparency effect.

        Just terrible times all around. Looking to go to Graphene on my previous pixel phone next…

        • 11 hours

          You picked a bad time to switch. Arguably this is there worst version ever.

        • I had to spend a lot of time interacting with someone else’s iPhone recently while traveling, and the experience was shocking. Can’t believe how bad Apple has gotten.

          EDIT: LOL at the downvotes, enjoy your overpriced privacy nightmare that lacks basic, standard features or usability. It was extremely clear that the entire UX was shamelessly designed to limit you from doing anything that does not lock you in further to the Apple ecosystem

          • 11 hours

            They always have been this bad, if anything they’ve gotten (slightly) better over the years.

            • I’ve never had an iPhone, but I had a gen 2 or maybe gen 3 iPod touch way back in the day. I definitely jailbroke mine, so maybe that has skewed my memory of its usability, but it was not bad like trying to use an iPhone today.

  • iOS doesn’t (or at least didn’t for a very long time) let you install an app without registration. 99% of those people have their credit card data registered with Apple. Now they are pissed that Apple will asks them to use credit card to confirm they are adults? Hilarious.

  • 13 hours

    In fact, if they have the know-how, they should switch to something else. Android nowadays isn’t much different from iOS, and I’m pretty sure that what was included in iOS will eventually land on Android too.

    • 12 hours

      Yeah, it’s not about switching to Android, it’s about switching to the EU.

  • Jeez, every platform and company is going to that ID and face recognition crap. Should we say goodbye to our little bit of privacy and anonymity on the Internet?

    Why’s Apple even doing this? They’re not a social media platform to begin with.

    • 12 hours

      Facebook had lobbied so that the age verification is handled by the device rather than the application. The applications then need to check against this device API and conform accordingly.

      This ends up cheaper for Facebook and opens up for future legislation to embed similar shit in the OS for companies to exploit.