Force installed app
(midwest.social)
PrivacyAbout 3 days ago my phone installed without warning this app, I just removed with no problems, maybe you shoult see if you have too
I was on mine thanks pixel 9
Mine had that app too. It didn't try to do anything yet though, my firewall would have caught it.
I use Graphene, if you can, you should also use a custom rom.
On stock Android, Google has System privileges. If they want to do anything, they don't need to install an app visible to the user. Whatever this is, it probably has some kind of purpose. The problem isn't the app, but running an OS that the manufacturer has full control over.
what does it do?
Name would suggest it's part of the upcoming developer verification feature. The one that will prevent installation of any app from a developer not registered with Google, without jumping through some extra hoops.
Just disabled it and uninstalled all updates, thanks for the heads up
Weirdly it's not installed on my pixel 9. I shudder every time this piece of shit updates.
I know I should install graphene and I will but right now my life is a fiasco and I just can't undertake the slightest risk that an essential won't work. I've been installing custom roms since the PDA days so it's not that.
Its not the PDA days anymore. They're not ROMs anymore. Its a very easy and painless operation. Just plug it in and click some buttons in the browser.
Although it does involve restoring the system so...just make sure everything is backed up!
Graphene user, I highly recommend it to everyone I can.
We used to call software that installed things without permission a Trojan horse.
no google play services here.
so no weird apps installing themselves on my phone.
It keeps installing itself
I don't seem to have it but I had this"Android System Key Verifier" I just removed
That one is also safe to remove, but that one is a bit older and is apparently just for verifying contacts in E2EE messenger apps. Smells like spyware to me but Google provided no more context in the description than that so I'm not inclined to trust it.
Just be aware that it will likely bring itself back without notice, either in system updates or just pushed by the Play Store.
Thanks! Looks as though I also had the same. I've only been able to disable it for now
I don't even have a "disable" option...
Imagine being an Admiral Patrick alt and being upset about an invasive app forcing itself onto your device and user experience without permission
Ok I'm imagining it now what
I can only remove updates, not the actual app.
I was only able to disable it
It was suspiciously easy for me to uninstall it, too. I didn't even need adb. I wonder if uninstalling this would break things systemwide.
Needless to say I also turned off the "Google Play Protect".
Any info on whether there's a risk that this uninstalling would risk breaking things?
(I'd love to have a Linux phone or something similar; unfortunately I can neither afford one due to unemployment nor I could have it getting to me through the customs without being flagged by Brazilian telecommunications regulatory agency complaining about how it lacks a license to operate around here)
if youre stuck on stock rom theres a program called Universal ADB Debloater that has premade lists of bunch of safe to remove bloatwares and removes/disables them thru adb
I'll check it, but... Doesn't this risk rendering internet banking (for context, Brazilian banking) and government apps refusing to function? Last time I threatened to simply turn on developer mode (so to use things such as adb), gov.br stopped working for me (and it's basically the 2FA app through which I'm expected to have access to public healthcare appointments, driver's license, electoral/voter ID, etc).
wtf, if it's sensitive enough to warn for developer mode, this could indeed cause issues :/
It was also on mine
