Coming soon to a carrier phone near you: Lock screen ads
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OldLadyJosie
Ars Tribunus Militum
I think in this case you'd go with 'unremovable'.
Also 'fucking stupid' but I recognize that probably isn't journalistically sound.
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As if you needed another reason to not buy your phone from your carrier.
Unfortunately, a lot of people will probably be fine with this. Probably no one here on Ars, but your average person who just wants a cheap phone would likely trade being served even more ads if it meant it saved them $100.
And of course Google is an investor. Anyone who sells ads will be all over this. Those are ads front and center on a device that everyone has their eyes glued to all the time.
Unfortunately, a lot of people will probably be fine with this. Probably no one here on Ars, but your average person who just wants a cheap phone would likely trade being served even more ads if it meant it saved them $100.
And of course Google is an investor. Anyone who sells ads will be all over this. Those are ads front and center on a device that everyone has their eyes glued to all the time.
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There's a series of children's animations made based on a Canadian children's author. My son upon occasion listens to them/watches.
One of the animations has a song that goes, roughly.
No, no NOOO, no, a million, zillion , billion times no. No.
That would be my reaction to this sort of crap.
One of the animations has a song that goes, roughly.
No, no NOOO, no, a million, zillion , billion times no. No.
That would be my reaction to this sort of crap.
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Chiming with the other people coming up on phone upgrade time. I've got a Pixel 4a that's perfectly serviceable but getting a bit long in the tooth, and I've been keeping an eye out for a decent upgrade path once it's time to think about replacing it, maybe end of summer. ...I think I hate Apple less than I hate ads.
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Lol, good luck with that. I go out of my way to avoid companies whose ads annoy me. Doubt it'll ever effect me though, I don't buy phones from carriers.
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Google needs to lock this down in the OS with a claim of security.
I can't wait for the first full screen lock screen ad that looks like a lock screen and manages to capture my PIN. /S
I can't wait for the first full screen lock screen ad that looks like a lock screen and manages to capture my PIN. /S
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Any phone that has that garbage pre-installed will not be purchased from me if I cannot uninstall it. Maybe the GDPR will save us, as I cannot see the EU allowing this nonsense, but most likely the usual culprits would just make 2 versions of their phone, one to comply with the EU regulations, and another for the rest of us without functioning governments. (Yes, I know the EU isn't a basket of puppies, but compared to the US right now, you all are living the good life).
I would rather continue to buy old second hand phones for the rest of my life than let this garbage eat up my data and pollute my lock screen.
No.
Shakespeare was wrong. First it shouldn't be all the lawyers. It should be all of the privacy-invading ad-"tech" companies.
I would rather continue to buy old second hand phones for the rest of my life than let this garbage eat up my data and pollute my lock screen.
No.
Shakespeare was wrong. First it shouldn't be all the lawyers. It should be all of the privacy-invading ad-"tech" companies.
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Is there more information than the vague "planning to launch on Android smartphones in the US?" It seems like everyone is envisioning every Android phone automatically updating to include this crap, but "planning to launch on Android smartphones" is a phrase that has a LOT of wiggle room.
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I mean, the idea that this is a false flag operation being run by Apple in secret to make the competition look bad is not the most outlandish thing I've heard this week, thanks to how ridiculous the world is these days.
But the number of Android phone makers on board makes it pretty clear they're willing to self-immolate and don't need Apple to nudge them along that route.
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OldLadyJosie
Ars Tribunus Militum
I don't often wish ill on people, but the brain trust behind this one really needs to get behind someone in line buying a 4K television with pennies that they count out slowly over the course of several years.
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Oh, god NO.
I would go to extreme measures to prevent/remove that. My first semi-delusional mental image was using a wood chisel to physically remove ads from the lock screen.
I would go so far as to buy an iPhone, which I haven't had since....I think iPhone 3 or whatever it was called then.
I would go to extreme measures to prevent/remove that. My first semi-delusional mental image was using a wood chisel to physically remove ads from the lock screen.
I would go so far as to buy an iPhone, which I haven't had since....I think iPhone 3 or whatever it was called then.
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There's an easy way to whittle down my next phone selection. Any device that comes with this software, and won't let me remove it, will immediately be out of consideration. In the unlikely event I manage to miss it and get a device preloaded with it and that won't let me remove it, will immediately be returned.
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Meanwhile Google quietly rolled out a program that gives Americans new Pixel phones every other year *plus* service for the price Verizon wants for a phone alone.
Any carrier that tries to go here is going to get crushed.
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I'm really tired of seeing a picture of my family and missed notifications when I first look at my phone. Seeing a bunch of ads sounds like a nice change of pace!!!
In all serious I can see this becoming a thing for cheap phones. Which is a shame because the people that this would target probably have lower data caps and possibly influenced by this kind of marketing more. What would be super terrible is if they make you interact with so many ads a month. Oh you haven't interacted with 5 ads this month you can't get to your home page without interacting with at least one today. I can see this being abused and I hope this doesn't gain any traction.
In all serious I can see this becoming a thing for cheap phones. Which is a shame because the people that this would target probably have lower data caps and possibly influenced by this kind of marketing more. What would be super terrible is if they make you interact with so many ads a month. Oh you haven't interacted with 5 ads this month you can't get to your home page without interacting with at least one today. I can see this being abused and I hope this doesn't gain any traction.
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Nah, I think they really nailed it with "Sharpshoot your audience" in that second one.
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I'm in the same boat with an old OnePlus. It hasn't been the good experience I had with my previous two OnePlus phones and there doesn't seem to be a bunch of solid options. I briefly considered Apple, but I think ultimately I'll just grab a new pixel or an s22 on sale. I'm too old and set in my ways to change how I use my tech. The move from windows 10 to 11 already shaved two years off of my life.
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Even if I can remove it, it's still on my shit list. I will not reward anyone who pulls this shit with a sale.
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You think Verizon or AT&T is going to hesitate to hop on this train for more than a hot second, if they think consumers won't literally light their devices on fire as a result?
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Given how fucking awful it is I can only imagine AT&T already has something in the works.
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Well. I hate Apple and all their interfaces but looks like I may have no choice.
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This.
I should not have remove it in the first place.
I like to buy stuff that is configured correctly out of the box
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Are you kidding? The EU will mandate equal access to all lock screens, take that Apple! /s
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TFA said (among other things):
We really fucking need GDPR-like legislation in this country (US).
We really fucking need GDPR-like legislation in this country (US).
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With companies like Google, Vivo, Motorola, Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme, and Samsung listed I don't feel like there are going to be many other companies left where users can "vote with their wallet" in the android ecosystem. Even worse, if people have almost no other options then other companies are going going to misconstrue captive with acceptance and join in.
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Leela: Didn't you have ads in the 20th century?
Fry: Well sure, but not in our dreams. Only on TV and radio. And in magazines. And movies. And at ball games and on buses and milk cartons and t-shirts and written on the sky. But not in dreams. No siree!
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This call from your mother to tell you that your father died of a massive coronary infraction last night is brought to you by Chick-Fil-A.
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