this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

it has something called sandboxed google play services. they claim its more secure and private than microg. also in my experience notifications and location is more reliable with it than microg. also you can disable the constant notification for apps like signal and it still works afaik.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Their sandboxed implementation allows access to the entire profile. They even suggest creating a profile for those apps that require the Google play services. Microg at least removes Google as much as functionally possible in order to limit the data google receives. You lose some functionality, but not enough to cause any issues for me, even not with banking apps.

As far as the persistent notification for Signal: I can disable it, but won't receive notifications of new messages until I open the app; or I can hide it, but then won't receive any popup notifications at all (technically, they do come up, but they're hidden). Haven't found a way to hide the persistent notification and still receive popup notifications of new messages.

I think what GrapheneOS is doing with Google play services is amazing and, depending on your needs, may be better than microg. It's just not there yet for me. Additionally, google can suddenly decide that using Google play services like this is against their ToS and submit a cease and desist order against them, and GrapheneOS's implementation becomes illegal to distribute.