I remember getting flamed so hard for saying that Google/android was incredibly invasive tech. I was laughed at, called an apple fanboy and accused of schilling.
Sadly, it looks like I’m the one laughing now.
this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2025
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Lol and Apple doesnt do any of that?
Show me evidence they do.
I can't. Everything they release is proprietary and locked down, so let's just trust their narrative.
I can only recommend well researched eyeopener from Techaltar: https://youtu.be/JHnBOUNxHsw
So, they’re doing shit you can prove, but they’re doing it. Do I have that right?
I will be honest that I don't know what exact shit are we discussing here I rather wanted to point out that Apple might not be as much privacy first company as they like to present themselves.
If they’re not, I’m sure it should be easy for you to provide evidence to support your claim. That’s all I’m asking.
That is the shit we are talking about.
They haven't done anything with that data yet*
While clearly the lesser evil in this moment, I wouldn't count on that lasting forever.
As every user at some points mentions: They are a public company and once they can't satisfy their shareholders, they will turn on the data faucet to 3rd parties. They already have the an advertisement CDN.
They already have everything in place to achieve that situation.
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My gf got one of those emails, but she doesnt have the Gemini app installed on her phone. All of the instruction articles I can find only explain how to turn it off if you have the app.
Does not having the app mean that she's safe from this, or does it mean that she needs to download the app to disable the "feature"?
I also don't have a Gemini app but if you search for Gemini in the Settings main menu, it shows up.
I don't have the app, and searching for "gemini" only gives "gemini settings" which when clicked opens the promt of "do you accept changing Google assistant to gemini", clicking "not now" just sends me back to setting search.
Thank you. We had actually already checked this but had not found Gemini in the settings.
Turns out typing "gem" in the settings search is not enough. Only typing "Gemini" returned a result.
Sneaky, aren't they?
What I hate most about this is the lack of control over this it implies. Sure, maybe you don’t install this on your device, but all that’s needed for Google to access your messages now is for someone you message to have it installed and enabled, then anything you send to them will be gobbled up by Google.
Me on my de-googled phone:
Yeah, and it's presumptious of them to access the WhatsApp account I don't have...
And to want to access my calendars to book appointments for flights I can't afford
For those on Pixel devices, check out GrapheneOS. If not CalyxOS or LineageOS
Its important that we have devices that we control. If your phone doesn't allow bootloader unlock so you can install a different operating system, that's a problem. Claims that security is compromised if bootloaders can be unlocked are just companies using a convenient excuse to maintain control over a device you paid for.
The reason they don't want you to unlock your bootloader is because of security....
...security of their revenue stream, that is.
Pixel has a built in feature that screens my calls and sends spammers to a bot. Graphene has no equivalent to this.
In order for that feature to work, you need to give google permission to see who's calling you and when activated (and possibly even when not activated) listen to the phone conversation. That data is going back to google servers for processing. Gemini is also feeding off of that data. If you're concerned with the original post regarding WhatsApp data being fed to Gemini, why would you be okay with allowing google to listen in on your phone conversations, all for the small convenience of avoiding spam bots?
If you have voicemail and caller ID, just don't pickup the call if it isn't from a known contact.
If you're also thinking that google isn't collecting data without your consent, they literally just got fined 300+ million for doing exactly that.
The whole reason GrapheneOS develops only for Pixels is that you can relock the bootloader though, right? (Along with other security features)
Anyway yeah companies still suck for not letting you relock them.
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If the Gemini app is not installed, it can't do this right
Gemini was automatically installed for me, and the app connections were all enabled, like the article describes. Better check and be safe than to be sorry
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I'm rather confused. I don't have any app called Gemini installed, but despite this "Hey Google" brings up Gemini. So I have no app to disable, and no way to turn off interaction with other apps. This is on a Samsung A55 in Europe, happily taking advice on how to proceed.
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This is my assumption too. It's disabled for me. I have no plans to change that.
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Not that I support this, but hasn't Google Assistant been able to do that for years? Sending texts via the voice assistant has been, like, one of the main selling points.
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Signal is also a great alternative to WhatsApp. Molly for the extra privacy focused.
I have Android 16 on a Pixel 8 but no Gemini. Is it not installed if I chose "No thanks" when I got the info screens about it?
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