Is anyone familiar with the specifics of how Circle to Search (linked) works? I was looking for a FOSS alternative to the google circle to search tool and came across it. It seems to describe its implementation in a clear way on the GitHub page, but I have not validated that it does actually operate using that architecture, or that it keeps to its promises about not caching info that is pulled from its third party OCR tools. On android it asks for "advanced permissions" which I presume are needed to take screenshots and share these with the third party OCR service. Since I havent validated how it works though, I wanted to check if anyone else has before I provide it those permissions.

I have been steady researching this and I have stumbbled upon what lloks like an unfinshed doc for the [Developer Verification Progra](https://developer.android.com/developer-verification/guides/limited-distribution)m Key notes - still no rollout schedule - Fee can be found in FAQ. Says it will be $25 - That you will have to provide a state-issued ID even for the now free "Limited Distribution" that has a 20 device maximum - In the FAQ it shows that this is covering all devices Android 7.0 and up and admits that the Advanced Flow in Google Play Services. - still does not address how they are justifying this at all They have stolen a free product and are now activity locking out the people who built it. [ASOP does not belong to them it belongs to us](https://disintermedia.net.nz/android-time-to-stop-hunting-the-replicants-decker/). Time to get it back I think.

Starting in August, installing APKs from unverified developers will require a new procedure called Advanced Flow. It involves enabling developer mode, rebooting the device, and waiting 24 hours with biometric verification. After that, you choose: allow the APK installation for 7 days or indefinitely. The procedure is a one-time process and applies to all versions of Android. Will the 24-hour wait stop you from installing APKs outside the store?

Over the years I've tested out pretty much all the Android keyboards, but swipe typing always kept me on GBoard, even though GBoard did not support voice typing for anything except Google, so I had to switch keyboards for that. Recently I learned that HeliBoard has support for gesture typing with the Google library. But I couldn't find any instructions on where to get the necessary files or how to do it. Well, someone posted a link to the file elsewhere so I'll [share it here](https://github.com/erkserkserks/openboard/blob/46fdf2b550035ca69299ce312fa158e7ade36967/app/src/main/jniLibs/arm64-v8a/libjni_latinimegoogle.so). And it works! Extremely well. I can also pin a button for voice typing and then select Transcribro for that (which uses OpenAI Whisper locally and works super well. Another gripe I had with GBoard was the cursor moves way too fast when swiping on the space bar. Not so with Heliboard. You can also swipe backwards from the backspace key and it will highlight text and then delete it when you let go.

If you haven't seen this yet, Google is planning to require mandatory developer identity verification for all Android apps, including apps distributed outside the Play Store, taking effect September 2026. This affects every independent and open source Android developer directly. This is not just about the Play Store. After September 2026, on any certified Android device, applications from unverified developers will be blocked by default. The only proposed bypass, the "advanced flow", exists only as a blog post and has not appeared in any beta, dev preview, or canary release. No one outside Google has seen it. The community has been fighting back at keepandroidopen.org: - Read the full breakdown of what this means - Sign the open letter (organisations only) - Contact your national regulators — contacts listed by country on the site - Add the countdown banner to your project September 2026 is closer than it looks. The time to push back is now.

I just updated my 2025 Moto G Stylus 5G to Android 16 only to discover the only feature I updated for doesn't work on my device thanks to Qualcomm.

Trust me, I push Signal _hard_ and even donate to it monthly. As I'm sure many of you know, there are always a few contacts who unfortunately refuse to use it. In this case: do you prefer to use insecure SMS in something like QUIK SMS or Fossify Messages, or do you prefer to bite the Google bullet to get end-to-end encrypted messages (even if the metadata isn't encrypted)? I can see good arguments for both sides, so I am curious what Lemmy's take is.

Quote from Proton VPN: > Google has known about a bug that breaks VPN apps for 7 months, leaving users exposed with no warning or error, just a VPN app that stopped working in the background. > > If you're using ANY VPN on Android, you can help us by getting Google's attention to fix it. > > We first reported this bug to Google in September 2025. > > Others like Mullvad and Wireguard reported it even earlier, in August. > > Google's response? "I don't see anything unusual." > > The bug corrupts Android's network stack at the system level after a VPN update, causing users to blame their VPN provider. > > Restarting the app doesn't help, with the only fix being a full device reboot or VPN app reinstall, something which most users never figure out. > > This affects several VPN providers on Android 16, and only Google has the access to diagnose it properly. > > After 7 months of waiting, we're now asking publicly: Google, when are you fixing this? > > Issue Tracker Links: > > https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/441315112 > > https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/4474331

Link to the app: <https://f-droid.org/packages/com.jksalcedo.librefind/>

I'm using e/os and I want to be sure that, when connected to my local network, my local dns server is used, however, no matter what I do, my phone always use google's one. Is there any way to fix this?

The image is from *GSM Arena*. The phone *Infinix* has only 45W charge capability yet it does slightly faster than two other phones with much faster charging rates(and same battery capacity). I know some phones throttle charging speeds but that is usually post 80% threshold. Why the discrepancy then?

[@mikestevens](https://aus.social/@mikestevens) nice profile pic change for c/android! for anyone else curious, checkout the android community over on Lemmy (accessible via KBin too!) [https://lemmy.world/c/android](https://lemmy.world/c/android) [@android](https://lemmy.world/c/android) for anyone that wants to try and view it on Mastodon (although it's not formatted great) [\#android](https://aus.social/tags/android) [#lemmy](https://aus.social/tags/lemmy) [#RedditAlternative](https://aus.social/tags/RedditAlternative) [#KBin](https://aus.social/tags/KBin)

Does anyone happen to know the reset network connections script or command that runs when I hit the network reset button? Or how I can achieve a similar result?

Cross-posted from ["Release 2026.01.24 is out"](https://sopuli.xyz/post/40180848) by @[email protected] in [email protected] --- Release 2026.01.24 is now out on all distribution channels! Beyond fresh OpenStreetMap data, it includes adding road outlines for better readability, renaming of the "Bookmarks & Tracks" to the clearer "Favorites" and many more updates: https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/releases/tag/v2026.01.24-5

It's been a while since I was into unlocking and ROMing my devices, but I've got the itch again. XDA used to be a good place, but... I hope I'm out of there loop or something, because it's almost a ghost town compared to years ago. I've got us carrier unlocked devices; OnePlus N10 and N20, Moto G7Power. https://lemmings.world/comment/7913421

Whenever I play audio over a usb-c to mini jack adapter the popup randomly appears and stops all audio playback. Makes it impossible to use tapDancer. I've tried disabling Google Assistant to no avail.

I'm looking for an upgrade on my CDMA carrier in the US and it really seems like my only options are Samsung, Pixle, Motorola, or IOS. Am I missing something or do companies just not support this technology? I got excited about the zenphone 10, but it looks like it is GSM only.

I am looking for a cheap android phone with better processing power, good camera and battery life.

I've been wanting to Curb my Doom Scrolling Habits as of Recent as I've been wasting waaaay to much time opening the Same Apps 5 Times in 10 Minutes. One Method thats been Said to Work wonders in that Regard is to have Apps only be accessible after typing in a Password. After doing a bit of Light research it seems I'll need an App for this as I don't wanna deal with Samsungs "Safe Folder" needing a Samsung Account stuff. Do any of you have Suggestions for Trust Worthy Apps for this?

Replacing Nokia 8.3 5G cuz it's broken

In November I'm visiting Dominican Republic for the first time. I want to take underwater photos & video. TIA.

I'm having trouble finding a good WiFi or Bluetooth walkie app. Both of them on f droid are too old to run on android 16

I just connected to my home Wi-Fi and got the notification, "Google play has switched off your Wi-Fi." It hasn't done this before, but after a while it connected again with no complaints. First question: Why? Second question: How to prevent it from doing that again? I don't like it that "Snoople" can choose that my home Wi-Fi should not be used. They have no right to making that decision. **Network details.** I have pi-hole running as a DNS with a lot of block-lists active (haven't added a new one since 2021) All are up to date. Wi-Fi uses WPA3, and up to date.

What IRC client do you all recommend for Android? I'm looking for a non-paid option that will allow me to connect to a passworded host. Any suggestions?

> Starting on June 24, Google will start showing your movie and TV reviews, as well as Search notes, in a public profile.

> Google Messages gets a new animation for sending and receiving messages, making your conversations more delightful. Check it out!

> After previewing last October, Google Wallet will soon let supervised kids access NFC tap-to-pay on Android phones...

cross-posted from: https://lemdro.id/post/22683886 > [Play Store 3D Pinball Space Cadet Download](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.itch.ksylvestre.spacecadet) > > From the article: > > If you grew up in the Windows XP era, than you probably spent hours playing its iconic free game, “3D Pinball Space Cadet.” Now, “Space Cadet” pinball has been ported to Android, and it’s completely free. > > One of the many things that Windows XP will be remembered for is the pinball game that essentially everyone who ever used the operating system played at some point or another. The game has been immortalized many times, and now it’s available on Android. > > Developer Kyle Sylvertre [used ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/1kql66u/space_cadet_pinball/)a decompiled version of Space Cadet Pinball from [k4zmu2a on GitHub](https://github.com/k4zmu2a/SpaceCadetPinball) to bring the game to the Google Play Store for Android users. The game is optimized for touchscreens with the left and right sides of the display acting as the triggers, and you can also tap the far right side to use the ball launcher. The game runs in portrait mode, supports 18 languages, integrates with Google Play Games for a leaderboard, and is less than 5MB in size. > > And it’s all completely free too. > > There are no ads or in-app purchases here, as the developer “[just wanted](https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/1kql66u/comment/mt7tkx0/?context=3%5C) to see it on Android with a Google Play leaderboard.” On that note, cheats are disabled to keep the integrity of that leaderboard, but the developer [hints ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/1kql66u/comment/mt6y8ar/?context=3%5C)that cheats might come back with an option to turn off the leaderboard. > > In any case, it’s a nice hit of nostalgia. Drop your high score in the comments below.

Howdy fellow lemmings, I know your collective knowledge is greater than mine, so I have come to you for your wisdom. My OnePlus 9 is nearing the end of it's life. The power button doesn't work or registers a double press (I use tap2wake and tap2sleep instead) and some other parts are hinting that they're starting to die. Also, something in 915Mhz or 925Mhz seems to be causing random UI reboots at the grocery store. Might be hardware or custom rom related. I'm looking for something with: 1. Unlockable bootloader with option for root. I may or may not root this time around, depends on how tailscale to my pihole at home works. I absolutely must be able to strip out the bloat and preferably the google apps as well (though I'd like to keep the option for play store), I'm extremely ad-phobic. 2. Open hardware that third party developers can properly use. I'm running CrDroid on my OP9 and it's ridiculously great, but cannot make good use of my camera. There are quality issues, cropping issues, and functionality issues and I've experienced similar with other phones I had in the past. Are there manufacturers who publish specs resulting in better 3rd party camera implementations? I would be fine with a more midrange phone, as I don't play many games, but I need the camera to work well. 3. A large/active modding scene is appreciated 4. Bonus points if they don't advertise a bunch of AI bs that I don't want or need 5. Location is USA, though phone can be from anywhere as long as it works. I need at least a few bands to be able to use the phone in Germany. Can anyone advise on which manufacturers meet my requirements? My understanding is: OnePlus - unlockable, rootable, custom ROM cameras suck unless the rom uses default op9 camera and it seems that this doesn't work well with more AOSP-y ROMS Pixel - varies by manufacturer ASUS - I'm seeing concerns about unlocking and Roms though it seems they have been good in the past Nothing Phone - unlockable/rootable Fairphone - seems ideologically pure, but performance, camera, and battery life may not be awesome Suggestions and insights are appreciated.

Android 15 (code named Vanilla Ice Cream) is set to revolutionize user experiences, promising enhanced productivity, superior media capabilities, optimized battery impact

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21184378 >The longevity of Android updates has always been a problem, but one that’s been getting better with time. Google has, behind the scenes, introduced some big changes for Android manufacturers that will make it easier for more Android phones to offer support for up to 7 years, just like Pixel.