You're not alone: This email from Google's Gemini team is concerning
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Google’s Gemini team is apparently sending out emails about an upcoming change to how Gemini interacts with apps on Android devices. The email informs users that, come July 7, 2025, Gemini will be able to “help you use Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, and Utilities on your phone, whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off.” Naturally, this has raised some privacy concerns among those who’ve received the email and those using the AI assistant on their Android devices.
Well I guess I’m glad I moved over to apple. But I guess the enshitification of all our phones is coming soon.
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I have a Pixel phone im bout to throw in the river
Why not throw graphene or another alternative on it (if supported) instead of turning it into e-waste?
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I do have it disabled, but this article suggests that it will ignore that and it will be integrated in apps that I really really don't want it in. I could stomach it if it was search and other functionality like that only, or even if it 100% ran local with no ability to phone home and train on my data, but it doesn't. Not that it can be listening to calls, reading messages, etc, I'm definitely hard out.
I think the article is misunderstanding what is happening (though to be clear I think the email is at fault for that). Google is making it so that app developers can integrate Gemini better by allowing Gemini to interact with those apps. There is a menu inside Gemini where you can switch these interactions on and off (Inside Gemini, click your profile in the upper right corner and press apps in the menu).
I'm assuming from the email that this will be enabled by default which is a choice they've made and which absolutely could be argued as invasive. That being said you'd actively have to use Gemini and have it be active on your phone in order for it to interact with those apps.
Assuming Google records whatever you do on your phone whenever you do those things, which many privacy minded people of course legitimately worry about and feel uncomfortable with to various degrees, this is not really anything but another way for your assistant to do more things. If they want to read your stuff that's not really dependent on a switch in the Gemini app.
So if you have Gemini entirely disabled I don't think this is relevant. Only if you actively seek to use it and do not want it to be able to integrate with external applications will these settings be relevant to you.
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Why do you keep Gemini installed? Does it even work offline?
I assume it's better to leave it and have it not work, then them sneak it on without me knowing or baking it into something else
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How are you evaluating inferior? I like the AI search. It's my opinion. You have yours.
Well, in this example, the information provided by the AI was simply wrong. If it had done the traditional search method of pointing to the organization's website where they had the hours listed, it would have worked fine.
This idea that "we're all entitled to our opinion" is nonsense. That's for when you're a child and the topic is what flavor Jelly Bean you like. It's not for like policy or things that matter. You can't just "it's my opinion" your way through "this algorithm is O(n^2) but I like it better than O(n) so I'm going to use it for my big website". Or more on topic, you can't use it for "these results are wrong but I like them better"
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This is my fourth comment shilling SFOS here, but it just might be what you're looking for. It is my daily driver.
Wish it was supported in more countries.
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I was at Google when it came out, I was like "sure this would be fine to use too, but everybody is on chat and Gmail and I kind of need to actually reach people..."
I think they just figured it would get dogfooded automatically because it was slicker than chat and Gmail, but under time pressure you're just not gonna do it unless you have to.
And there was zero chance I was going to get anybody in my personal life to use it.
We used it for our dev and systems groups at my former company for a while and really enjoyed it compared to anything else that was around. When it went away, we switched away to IRC due to how easy it was to host and maintain. I actually don't see a big overlap between Wave and chat and Gmail for how people use it, but I suspect that was a big part of the problem. The uses where Wave was superior didn't really catch on until Slack came on the scene and had MS and Google then scrambling to make similar tools.
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Just... Disable it. You can switch to the old assistant.
I've got them both turned off lol
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You guys are really making me consider GrapheneOS.
Its what made me buy a pixel phone.
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Android is Linux… sure.
But it’s not what anyone means when they say they want a Linux phone.
Its a vexingly pedantic point.
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I do have it disabled, but this article suggests that it will ignore that and it will be integrated in apps that I really really don't want it in. I could stomach it if it was search and other functionality like that only, or even if it 100% ran local with no ability to phone home and train on my data, but it doesn't. Not that it can be listening to calls, reading messages, etc, I'm definitely hard out.
Re-read the article. All this feature does is give you the ability to say 'set a timer for 10 minutes' or 'start a phone call to John'.
If you have 'Gemini apps activity' off then they won't use anything you say to train their models.
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Well I guess I’m glad I moved over to apple. But I guess the enshitification of all our phones is coming soon.
Yeah only reason Apple hasn't done it is because they haven't figured out a way to connect it all to its ecosystem.
Like they say, the Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
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Why do you keep Gemini installed? Does it even work offline?
Android users won't have a choice after a while.
I didn't want Google Now. Uninstalled it, and it's back and updated. Been fighting for years.
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Not what I said.
What you said only makes sense if you believe that to be true.
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I have a Pixel phone im bout to throw in the river
Second that, graphene os is really nice. I have all my intrusive work apps like team, google play stuff on a separate profile and my maim profile has all the private data and contacts.
Just watch a yt for setup and follow website instructions, take maybe a few hours to set up. -
Re-read the article. All this feature does is give you the ability to say 'set a timer for 10 minutes' or 'start a phone call to John'.
If you have 'Gemini apps activity' off then they won't use anything you say to train their models.
There is a clarification from Google in he article that I don't believe was there when I first posted. It still by default allows Gemini to have access to things I don't want it to access, which is anything. It can be blocked through the Gemini apps activity, but I don't think that was clear in the OG text.
None the less, they claim that it will be completely offline and that no information will be used to train their models. I believe that's probably true in the short term, but I don't trust them as far as I can throw them, and I've got fucked up shoulders. I've little doubt that they will change policy in 6 months to a year so that some data is sent anonymously.
I just want it so if I say don't allow this thing at all, ever, that stays true and they don't make me later opt out of that thing.
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Nextcloud sucks in many ways, but it is functional and works for me.
I use it, too. Never had any problems with it.
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minds well
/c/boneappletea
People say this so commonly where I'm from. I was never aware that this is not the correct way to say it.
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MitID is hard-required to sign into anything government or personal information required. Previously people would be handed a key-card (a white, fold-out card with a bunch of numbers on it. The numbers were one-time use, so the card would eventually run out, requiring a replacement after a few months).
These key-cards have been completely phased out. Now there is the MitID app or a key-device that is almost impossible to get (you'll basically have to prove that you don't have/can't use a smart phone).
The MitID app has almost no features at all. It's specifically used for authentication. You log into the gooberment website or bank website, then a encrypted, constantly changing QR code pops up. You open the MitID app on your phone, scan the QR code, and then you gain access.
This is all run through the private security company the Danish government has hired, called "NETS".
Something must have changed since I got my physical code display then, because I simply went to their webpage and ordered a free code display device a while ago.
https://www.mitid.dk/bestil-mitid-identifikationsmiddel/ -
Well, in this example, the information provided by the AI was simply wrong. If it had done the traditional search method of pointing to the organization's website where they had the hours listed, it would have worked fine.
This idea that "we're all entitled to our opinion" is nonsense. That's for when you're a child and the topic is what flavor Jelly Bean you like. It's not for like policy or things that matter. You can't just "it's my opinion" your way through "this algorithm is O(n^2) but I like it better than O(n) so I'm going to use it for my big website". Or more on topic, you can't use it for "these results are wrong but I like them better"
Traditional search often is also wrong, showing some 3rd party website or a link farm.
With AI search I get a summary AND the result list, so I have more info to make a decision.
