Just switch to the F-Droid version.

Better: make sure all the apps you use come from F-Droid

This works very well for tech enthusiasts and people who self-host nextcloud at home.

The issue is when you are a government or university, it becomes harder to get all your users (which are probably not all tech savvy) to install a third party app store deal with the Android warnings about installing from third-parties, etc etc.

And this is probably the user base Google are targeting with this move (assuming it's malicious) . When the higher ups complain that their files are not syncing and need to install things with a special procedure they sometimes wonder why they are not using M365 or Google which seems hassle free.

Not to mention the "see this big alert saying this isn't safe? Well for this one time it /is/ safe so do so" While curbing the mentality of "oh it was safe last time so it must be safe this time"

It's not as simple as telling people to use F-Droid. People with non-rooted phones won't get automatic updates via F-Droid which is a big hurdle. Unless I'm misremembering? I wouldn't know because I run rooted CalyxOS now. Last time I used F-Droid on a plain Android phone is a while ago for me.

They bullied Syncthing the same way. Fortunately, Syncthing-fork is still developed and available on F-droid.

I understand a well-curated app store (which Play Store is not) placing some limits on apps getting all files access. In a modern security model, that's not a permission most apps should have, however synchronization and file management apps obviously should have it.

I get update notifications from f-droid but have to update inside the f-droid app.

Obtainium is better, get the apps directly from the source

They added that a while ago for all users on Android 12 and up

And if you grant access to your own apps, but deny them to your competitors, that is totally a monopoly abuse

Expand on this please. I am unfamiliar.

"We don't care," - Google, probably.

In the Basic version only, last time I checked the "original" F-Droid couldn't do it. And there's also some minimum API level an app has to target to be eligible for automatic updates (found that out through updating microg and having to click "update" still)

This and the fact gallery cloud provider API stuff is locked down to whoever Google gives permission to should get a lawsuit.

I have automatic upgrades on my non-rooted phone. I use droidify but i'm pretty sure the official F-droid client works the same way.

Google be Like : just use Google Drive

What if , no….

Its an open source software manager, you put in a source (like github) and it manages it (even doing auto updates).

I actually like that the F-Droid maintainers check over the apps and warn about anti-features/stop offering new versions if they enshittify.

Their apps also cause tons of problems compared to the ones directly from the source

People with non-rooted phones won’t get automatic updates via F-Droid which is a big hurdle.

Not true if the app to update targets a high enough API version (I think API 34 or 35) and if you use F-Droid Basic.

NOTE: The Basic version of F-Droid Client has a reduced feature set (e.g. no nearby share and no panic feature). It targets Android 13 and can do unattended updates without privileged extension or root.