I will switch to Android
I’ll believe it when I actually see it
Why don’t governments force parental responsibilities instead? We wouldn’t need all our data sitting there waiting for the next data breach.
Because the data is what they want, of course.
Because they don’t actually care abt kids or the Epstein class would all be in jail and they wouldn’t be facilitating the bombing of schools.
Yeah but then you’ll have a green bubble
It’s amazing how apple managed to get Americans took care about that. Meanwhile no one else cares. No one uses iMessage in Europe or Asia.
Nobody over the age of 12 cares in the US either
Maybe in your bubble.
Get a better bubble then
Imagine being so horrible at your job as a “journalist” or an editor or a publication that you would allow an article like this to be written under your name or publication without ever mentioning the fact that age verification is being pushed by governments, not phone and computer companies (they are trying to fight its implementation), and that it is equally coming to ALL platforms (yes, even Linux) – as required by law. If you want to fight this ridiculous age verification shit, petition (and vote out) your government. I would also argue that this author and publication should be permanently blacklisted for purposely publishing this obviously biased and misleading misinformation.
‘Even Linux’ you say? Absolutely wrong. Linux is the kernel, and this is what is allowing some Linux distros to flip the finger at this bullshit laws. As for android, yeah, ‘tech-giant’ controlled android OSs will have to comply, but alternatives like GrapheneOS won’t, and most likely will not follow this rule. We have options, people that don’t want to use them are welcome to keep doing as they’re told. While I get that the options are ‘comply or leave this market’ for OS developers, whether small groups of nerds or trillion dollars behemoths, its still a choice, Apple made theirs.
Lol sure, like android is not gonna do the same
Easier to develop on Android devices than apple, so the more that switch, the larger the market and the more likely we are to get an android alternative to grow. Especially if an influx of apple users drive designs that are closer to apple, which would come at the expense of the android user experience. So as android moves to apple designs to appeal to he new Apple users, more android users will want a different experience.
With closed source tech getting worse, the masses will move away from it towards good willed opensource tech. Its inevitable.
except that they don’t even know about the existence of the open tech, and that they are too complicaaaateeeed
bullshit. no they won’t. stock android also gonna get age verification, and is considered bad by apple users, plus its a different ecosystem. stop sharing shit articles like this.
I might be a minority but the week liquid glass hit my phone I ordered a pixel, sold my iphone. iPad, apple watch, and air tags that weekend.
I don’t know if that compares as one is a ui/function overhaul and the other is a data field for access to things.
We all know that every other manufacturer is gonna copy apple, exactly how basically overnight everyone switched to the flat icons of iOS 5
Example: Google has already redesigned the Google maps icon on Android to look more “glassy”
We all know that every other manufacturer is gonna copy apple,
Yup. It will start with Samsung and creep over to the other mfgs.
It’s happened with several other features and “features”.

Is that so?Yes. Here is how the icon was in August 2025, before the launch of apple liquid ass:

And Google home had a similar “glass” icon redesign
Both bad.
Want the original one before the whole 4-color redesign back
No idea what liquid glass is, but that’s a heavy reaction.
What are you sporting now?
It’s a tweak to the UI. Not perfect, but I barely even notice a difference from old UI. People just like to complain.
The clear icons are ugly, but you don’t have to use them, so it doesn’t really matter.
In the apple basic apples they hid data that was normally visible and showed data that was irrelevant to the current function or plain redundant. Having to notifications un readable due to the transportnt was awful UX design.
Overall it comes off as if an intern was told to update the UX and had no per-review when deployed.
I loved my apple ecosystem system and wish I didn’t change but the functions that have been slightly adjusted over 10+ years were turned upside down in one patch.
The complaint is justified as you look around online very few people outside of tech bloggers had anything positive to say about liquid glass.
It’s just the Aero glass from win 7 on an iPhone. I don’t mind it
GrapheneOS baby
Kicked my 15pro
Won’t be any different. It’s just a matter of time before Android goes the same
GrapheneOS is Android and declines to introduce that
Not sure when you’ll be labelled a terrorist by using a privacy respecting OS though…
You’re already on the list of future terrorists
Spanish police already profiles you for using grapheneOS
https://www.androidauthority.com/why-i-use-grapheneos-on-pixel-3575477/
Thanks for that input!
Just came back from a business trip in Spain.Maybe I missed it in the article, but do you know, how they do it?
I guess on the phone network level, my phone isn’t shouting “GrapheneOS here!!”.
So how do they profile me?
Only after they already control me somehow or…?Still, this is getting more and more Orwellian
Hopefully my Jolla will be to exotic in the first period, but on the long term, this all is a really worrying development with the aim of mass surveillance
Yeah I think it’s like “this guy that we suspect of being a drug dealer uses grapheneOS, which proves that he’s a drug dealer”.
They profile you by looking at you. Cop sees you use your grapheneOS phone and thinks you’re a drug dealer. There’s no tech involved. They just use it as a sign, same way they’ve used hoodies, skin colour, or nationality to suspect you of something.
How should that work?
My GrapheneOS Android doesn’t look any different than any other Android - and they’d need to look at my screen while walking by or something.They can’t even see the exact Android version without trying to access it - or having me show them explicitly my “About phone” screen or something
I really don’t see how that should work in practice
If they pick me out and want to scan my phone, then it could be used against me, that they can’t access my data.
But hey, that’s what GrapheneOS is here for, to don’t allow anyone access to my data, who shouldn’t have accessSo, in practice this is not really relevant or do I misunderstand something?
They’re profiling people carrying pixel devices, per the article.
By the way our corporate dictatorships are speed-running totalitarianism, I’d say before the decade is done. I will choose to be an antifa terrorist before I accept fascism.
This is actually the least invasive form of age verification for Apple users. Apple already has a credit card on file for something like 90+% of the user base.
The alternative the political whore class are promoting is apps individually verifying with a multitude of
data brokers“ID providers”.This is the illusion of choice under the surveillance capitalism of corporate dictatorships. Rather than regulate capitalists, the gov colludes with them to exploit and enslave consumers.
Buddy if I haven’t been labeled a terrorist yet after the things I’ve publicly said I am never gonna be labeled a terrorist.
You don’t know, in what list you maybe already show up
Just because police hasn’t knocked on your door, doesn’t mean, that in case all that shit will be held up against youWho knows, who is already monitored, because just of a drunken or honest comment, that icks someone the wrong way
Its so dumb because unless you specifically type /s you can never tell if someone is serious online. Literally all context gets lost on social media. We used to allow humans grace before mass surveillance came along.
Yep, “they” can just pull out a comment of context and put you into some kind of group
As you said, stupid it is
If they make their lists too broad however, the lists become useless and we can all hide in the noise.
Unless they choose to dragnet style round everyone up.
Considering they are more or less attempting that reasoning in regards to VPN usage in the states I’d say maybe a few weeks?
How can they control that I’m accessing my own Wireguard or company VPN?
Or does this only affect commercial (or free) VPN services one could use?The technical illiteracy of politicians is still astounding to me
Edit: and how would they control TOR?
I could potentially use a TOR to VPN chain. Albeit slow, it would still work.
Registering with ID for TOR would be the mostannoyingamusing thing I’ve heard in a long time…
(Don’t know why autocorrect didn’t like the word ‘amusing’. Had to finally type it out. Seems not much fun stuff happening in my life ;-))Right. Or site to site tunnels. Or client vpns for companies.
Some are uneducated, some are evil, either way we’re fucked lol
Mainstream Android will likely go the same path but there’ll also probably be 10s of workaround and forks straight up saying fuck you, bitch.
You won’t have any other option on iOS other that to take the boot up yo a.
And you’ll probably use the usual “most people won’t do that, tho”. These are kids we are talking about and have you ever told a determined kid that they couldn’t do something?
This kowtowing the corporations and governments is how we got here and fuck people who bend the knee before even trying.
Folks, this is coming from your government. The phone makers want nothing to do with it and are actively fighting it in court as best they can. Switching between phone makers will not help, and is not the right place to put your energy. Address your concerns to your governments.
The phone makers want your data just as much as the government does. Data is money and power.
They have other ways of determining your age without requiring an extremely unpopular ID check.
Some are accepting having a credit card in Wallet as proof of age, as well as simply having an old enough Apple account
My Apple account is only like a decade old but if YouTube asks me for age verification I’m gonna be writing them a sternly worded letter because my account is old enough to buy alcohol in my country
Before wasting your time with a letter that will go straight into the rubbish, spend a little time seeing if anyone has created a work around, Hopefully Revanced or YTLitePlus can patch the age verification out.
I don’t think there is any way to actually functionally verify age without either an ID check, or a check that ultimately traces back to an ID check from some entity further up the chain. Any successful age check will either dox your identity to the checker, or it can be trivially bypassed.
You’re forgetting that they don’t NEED to know precise age unless they’re doing it for a government mandated age check.
For marketing purposes, which is what they REALLY want your data for, they have a profile of you that’s accurate enough even if your age is off by 5 years.
The capitalist part that wants money can build an accurate enough profile with just statistical correlations, but the fascist aspect isn’t doing it “for the children” or even just money, it’s doing it to completely dismantle all digital privacy, so they can know what everyone is saying and doing online at all times.
But the fascist aspect isn’t doing it “for the children” or even just money, it’s doing it to completely dismantle all digital privacy, so they can know what everyone is saying and doing online at all times.
Yes, that’s the government mandated age check requirements and anti-encryption legislation. Of course many of the people lobbying for these things are rich capitalists, but not exclusively - there are also religious nutcases and overall just people who enjoy having control over others. As far as megacorporations are concerned, they really just want all of your money and if they make you jump through hoops (age verification), you’re actually less likely to give them your money.
As far as megacorporations are concerned, they really just want all of your money
Maybe awhile back, but at this point they are kind of melding with the fascists. Social media, mainstream news, financial architecture, and communication networks controlled by corporations are definitely being backed by increasingly fascist organizations which definitely value total control over everything else.
deleted by creator
Taking it up with our governments is fruitless as well. The days of governments actually giving a shit about what we want are over. If you’re not flush with cash, your voice can and will be overridden at the drop of a hat.
The phone makers want nothing to do with it and are actively fighting it in court as best they can.
Doubt. This way they have excuses to farm user data.
It was this coalition of big tech companies that blocked Texas SB2420 from going into effect on Jan 1 of this year.
Believe me my dude if they wanted your birthdate they would have gotten it before. Or more likely they already have it without this.
I call bullshit. Apple fans happily take anything Apple pushes down their throats. Even a $999 monitor stand or a $40 microfiber cloth.
Yes every single iPhone owner also bought those 🙄
They also bought insanely expensive airpods because their phone didn’t have a jack plug anymore, so now they have fancy wireless airpods but to make sure they don’t lose them they buy Apple airpod wires for $45. You just can’t make this shit up.
Not every iPhone owner is an apple fan. I’m just aiming at the die hard Apple groupies.
And a $150 !! or $230 !!! sock
Best cumsock I’ve ever used
I subscribe to TWiT cause I grew up on The Screen Savers and Call for Help and regardless of what people think of him I still like Leo Laporte, the guy is my childhood. Anywho I listen to all their podcasts and I’ll sometimes listen to their weekly Mac one and it is absolutely insane the cult like behavior with these mac fans on this show. Oh they’ll complain about the monitors and everything else but will still continue to defend it all by the end. There is one woman on the show that just rants and raves constantly about the dumb decisions Apple makes but openly admits that she’ll continue to buy their products.
At least on the Windows podcast the one dude will go ham on Microsoft weekly and I feel is pretty much just on the podcast to make fun of them. Then you have the Linux podcast where those guys just make fun of everything and it’s honestly entertaining. Plus they have one guy who is in his 80s on there who is an absolute gem.
Lifestyle brands, amiright 🤷♂️
Career haters just love to shit on anyone who has a preference, and thinks they can boil down an entire group of population with a single pithy comment
You sound like a career hater. We did this ad nauseum in 2007, grow up it’s embarrassing for you
You sound like
Ah yes, the amazing argument any pseudoscientist uses to prove their wild assumptions and prejudices. The well known “looks like” argument.
I have a very nuanced opinion about Apple and it’s users. I’m just talking about the insane Apple fanbase who, while being ass-raped by Apple, continue to defend the company and buy their products. There are few companies with such a die-hard fanbase. I’m not claiming all Apple users are Apple groupies. I’m just aiming at the people who buy a monitor stand for $999 or a $0.02 microfiber cloth sold for $40 which a normal person wouldn’t do.
I’m not claiming all Apple users are Apple groupies.
Oh ok cool so you’re just delusional from comment to comment?
Get help, hate ages you real fast. You’re way too upset over this
you’re just delusional from comment to comment?
What xD
Get help, hate ages you real fast. You’re way too upset over this
Right back at ya mate
@lIlIlIlIlIlIl you sound like someone worth #blocking
Why do you even announce it? Just block and move on, no one cares
Because he has his own opinions and doesn’t jump into the anti apple hivemind?
Please block me too :)
I am more happy than ever with my GrapheneOS phone. Especially after they refused to include age verfication I recommend everyone to switch to grapheneos or any other custom ROM android
Same. GrapheneOS, no playstore
Did you install the play store
I always assumed that they were collecting that data from your contacts list already. I’d like to know how many people are actually affected by this or needed to “verify” their age after updating to 26.4
Also, switching to Android isn’t going to help with this.
Why not just make it so nobody under 18 can own a smartphone. Why these fucking useless age checks.
Surveillance.
Exactly, children and teenagers are meere tools.
Me using an android as a child taught me how to use linux, command line etc. seems arbitrary to deny the phone entirely. maybe certain online services should be though
What were you using command line in Android for as a child?
as a child
So you where under 12, when you learned how to use Linux?
In general, I do agree with controls set on children, locally by the parents that is - excluding teenagers.
I first used linux with Ubuntu Hardy Heron, I was 8 or 9 years old…
the ‘macs are cool’ to ‘modifying windows to look like mac’ to ‘try linux’ pipeline was realI did move back to windows with the windows 7 ‘black’ beta I found on kickasstorrents tho.
Ah… 2008 was a much simpler time (on the internet)
I also discovered Linux when I was around 8-9, Ubuntu 10.10 was my first distro (was already 5 years out of date by then but it’s all I had), partially daily drove 14.04 2-3 years later, then went full daily some time in 2021. here I am today using a linux phone, all because “hey dad how do I make windows look like Mac”
I was obsessed with computers and machines ever since I discovered them for the first time
To be fair, having experience in OSes from childhood is certainly a life lesson to the upcoming years within teenhood and adulthood. I’m not undermining this attribute, as within a world of complexity, having any experience already puts you further than most.
Rhetorical questions aside. Let’s not counteract a dystopia with another dystopa here.
This. Smart watches exist. Kids don’t need smartphones.
If you grow up one of the tiny % of kids that grow up without one, it will result in some developmental disadvantages I think. On the other hand, modern social media will impose another set of disadvantages, but fact is that social media and the internet in general are a large part of modern society, so not being able to interface with it until you’re 18 will leave you behind a learning curve.
Actual studies say that kids that use phones and laptops are actually less intelligent. I think no phones until 18 would be doable. No laptops would be hard though.
Actual studies say
The general consensus is the studies say that usage of devices impacts everyone. Let’s not cherry pick a particular minority here, just to explain that stripping their already insignificant rights is a good thing. In addition teenagers, which are not children, are dismissed here. According to studies they are more similar to adults in therms of decision making capabilities - dismissing that is ageism.
I think no phones until 18 would be doable
This is essentially the same speak as the laws trying to ban privacy for all. First of all where is the consent? Also, what is the sense of punishing the minority for being who they are, stripping their rights, if the perpetrators are still unharmed? In essence, phone and laptop usage wouldn’t be so bad for anyone (not just kids or teenagers), if we focused on the actual problems not turn to discrimination.
Someone who didn’t touch a phone until 18 is going to be so susceptible to scams, catfishes, propaganda, digital manipulation, etc, that I definitely think it is a dangerous nuclear option. Controlled, monitored by good parents, layered introduction is definitely better in my opinion.
No idea why would they be more susceptible to scams. You think they would be more gullible? Or that they would be so confused about the ability to talk over phone? Smartphones for kids are security devices that let them communicate with parents so you would have to replace them with something, either dumbphones or smartwatches. Both would let them communicate with people over phone so it’s not like at 18 they would be exposed to something completely new.
Still, laptops would be more complicated because how do you ban those? A lot of grooming and child abuse happens through Roblox. How would you solve it without some sort of age verification? I think we either have to accept that kids will be exposed to those things or do what Chat Control 2.0 is proposing and impose age verification in high risk platforms. Since I don’t have kids I’m fine with just accepting the risk…
Please stop trying to justify fascist laws. Ageism is still discrimination. And like people, without prior experience it is quite logical they will be susceptible. This of course applies to anyone any age.
The only problem here is the predatory system that is designed to exploit people. The victims are not the predators so justifying how their rights should be stripped based on an arbitrary number makes this whole argument insignificant.
Like other types of discrimination: racism, sexism, there are other ways than to introduce more social segmentation which always leads to fascism.
This doesn’t make any sens. They would be susceptible without what experience? With scammers? You think children learn about scammers by interacting with them? I remember when I got my first “Nigerian prince” scam email. I was maybe 16 and I had no idea what it was. No one knew back them. What previous experience would help me deal with it? I’m sure being older would help but I’m not sure if someone trying to scam me when I was even younger would. There would just be higher change of me falling for it.
Also, the system is not predatory, there are simply predators in the system. The age verification laws are like bad tasting batteries and child proof bottles. Parents should make sure their kids don’t have access to batteries or pills but since a lot of them don’t care the government has to step in and put some protections in place. You can’t simply ban pedophiles from roblox and you can’t trust parents to oversee what their kids are doing online so politicians come up with some safety measures. Unfortunately all solutions are huge pain in the ass for everyone else.
Saying that age is just an ‘arbitrary number’ is delusional. We don’t let kids buy cigarettes, alcohol, drive or vote. The concept that kids can’t be trusted to make informed decisions is well established in every society in the world. Calling it ‘ageism’ is silly.
I’m dabbling switching to GrapheneOS. Apple was the lesser of (obvious) evils compared to Google, but that’s becoming less true daily.
I don’t think I can make it my primary device yet, still need to de-cloud a bunch of services, but it’s very likely my next device won’t be an iPhone.
I’m running GrapheneOS since about 2 years now and I’m more than happy.
Didn’t had any real issues with it.
Art the start Android Auto didn’t work, but it does now - although I don’t really use it.I have Google play service stuff installed, but sandboxed.
And my banking apps work just fine.Friend of mine made the switch a few months ago and haven’t heard of any complaints either.
Can highly recommend it :-)
My current phone is old and just recently my bank app stopped working because the phones android version is too far behind. Is there any way to load Graphene OS on an android phone, and would it maybe help me get around having to use the website for my banking now?
If it’s not a Pixel, it’s currently not possible. If you don’t need the security features of GrapheneOS, you could look into LineageOS on a wider range of supported devices.
Currently GrapheneOS is only supporting Pixel phones - and not sure about the oldest ones, that get supported
But here is their FAQ with the current list of supported devices:
https://grapheneos.org/faq#supported-devices
I’d use Android Auto + Sandboxed Google Play more if Android Auto allowed NewPipe, OsmAnd and other FOSS apps to be added to the dashboard.
Have you tried going to developer options and allowing unknown sources? That’s how I get metrolist and other apps in Android Auto
I somehow also get a lower resolution Google maps, when using Google Auto.
That was the reason I don’t really use it.For music and stuff, I just use Bluetooth
But good luck having Google add something as NewPipe to be allowed with Android Auto ;-)
There is actually a working YouTube client for android auto, but you have to “sideload” it
That whole site just screams scam
Ah, cool, didn’t know about that
Thank you very much! :-)
I’m mainly waiting for them to add banking apps. My bank is a small local credit union so it might be a while.
I’m using my banking apps (business and private) without issues
It’s not about GrapheneOS adding those apps, it’s about the bank allowing their apps to run on that Android device/version.
(Or someone correct me here, but that also makes more sense to me, than a whitelist on GrapheneOS side)
What about hotel keycard apps?
We use them when traveling because SO hates talking to people,lol. Or when its 3 am.
I have never used those - didn’t even know those exist
Usually I need the key card anyway to active the power in the room… Which sucks
So, can’t say anything about that, but it’s just usual Android, so I don’t see much issues here.
Banking apps are usually just more strict with which system they support, so that was my primary worryEdit: but as I don’t really know about those hotel keys apps, does this mean I have to install an app per hotel (chain), which probably tries to grab some personal data again, or is this just some key, I can use in some FOSS app?
Great for shy people ha,
Thats crazy ive never been in a hotel with no power until you swipe.
At least in Europe, there is often a slot in which you need to put in the key card the hotel provided (or often any card, because it’s just a switch and doesn’t check the card), so you don’t waste energy, while you’re not in the room
Said slot for the card is just at the wall after you open the door. So you usually have power, before you’re even really inside, because you just reach in and out the card in place.
It’s a bit annoying, but that’s pretty much it.As the room should be empty, when there is no card in the slot, I’m not sure how that makes it worse for shy people though o:-)
Needing to install an app and trusting my phone to be charged and functioning, when I want to enter my room, seems much more stressful for me ;-)
That’s my next move. I’m done with the mobile OS duopoly bullshit.
I’m also starting to self-host a lot of services.
The problem is graphene is entirely dependent on one arm of that duopoly though.
its nice out here! waters fine
It a process. You can decloud while on the new device and the benefits will just increase with your progress.
























