Facebook really out here copying everyone's features for their own app lmao.

First they stole stories from Snapchat and now they've made their own version of TikTok for Instagram (idk if it's on FB) and called it "Reels."

They're becoming the Apple of social media 🤭🥴

Better the NSA than the Chinese government. Sorta. 🤦🏻‍♀️

@Root my exact words to a friend were "I'd rather it be Google stealing my data than those commie bastards" lmao

@Stuxnet 😂😂😂
I said something pretty similar when I learned about TikTok.

@M1sf3t That’s why the only social media I use is devRant. And only four or five people on here know my real name.

@sk23ll Absolutely agreed. And there is so little you can do to protect yourself — and it is getting increasingly difficult to do. The overwhelming majority of people are not technically capable enough to pull it off, and doing so breaks an ever-increasing number of services, too.

It is quite literally a war on personal privacy, and the average person is oblivious at best and complacent or colluding at worst.

@M1sf3t Corruption just leads to more corruption. The more corruption, the worse it is for everyone save those at the top of the garbage pile. See also: communism.

@M1sf3t All hail our AI Overlord.

Seriously, the biggest problem with any system is the people running it. If it weren’t for corruption, capitalism works amazingly freaking well. There’s a reason also every country in the world uses a capitalist system, including the politically-communist China.

No corruption, no problems. At least if the system employed works well.

But with people, and therefore corruption and laziness, even the best-planned systems always lead astray.

@M1sf3t That’s why I’m a libertarian. Not left, not right. I find both sides crazy.

One of my friends tried to get rid of Googled apps (those which are dependant on some Google-specific feature) with using FOSS apps, but it just didn't go too well.
Somehow, developers too opt for Google services since they seem outright easier than having to clam in a bunch of different services or write implementations from scratch. Even Android at this point is pretty much Google controlled, however AOSP derived projects so exist (not at all meant for regular users).

I'm on MIUI though XP XD.

I mean, they've got a bunch of readymade APIs, environments, codelabs to get started, (and let's not even get to Firebase developers here drool over 🤣).
I read somewhere the only "ungoogled" browser at this time would be Chromium lol. (though it could've been a skeptical comment, I'm not sure I remember)

Finally found someone 🤣🤣🤣🤣.
Most devloopers here go gah gah over it.

I see your point 😄

@rittmang Ever heard of Firefox? As for ungoogled browsers.

And i have an ungoogled phone, works great!

@linuxxx I feel like your "works great" is a wee bit off of actual out the box "works great" lol

@M1sf3t I'm talking about his de-googled phone.

@M1sf3t not really. Vanilla Android is inching closer to iOS. It's only ass backwards when OEMs put their God awful skins over it.

@linuxxx Sure I have, use it daily on my Linux as a matter of fact. Like I said, that was a totally random opinion I read somewhere on the Internet which I now forget where.
Having said that, Firefox does have a search engine partnership with Google which expires in November this year, reportedly. After that, who knows if Google gonna continue paying them?

@Stuxnet I can do everything i want with my phone, how doesn't that work great?

@linuxxx you're also willing to spend the time to set up things that many would consider to be a pain in the ass.

Thus, your "works great" might be off from actual "works great." Especially when shit breaks lol

@Stuxnet Well, if it'd take me hours, I'd agree but nowadays, it usually takes less than 15 minutes with a default lineage supported phone and i consider that quite manageable