Re: Washington Post says Google sold Android phones with hidden insecure feature

Jeff Layman wrote on Fri, 16 Aug 2024 21:56:30 +0100 :

But I could have told you the answer anyway - GOS builds from Google's
sources, so they don't include closed source apps like this.  If you choose
to install Google Play then that's closed source, but they carefully vet what
gets installed.

Since Aurora is the same thing as the Google Play Store is, I can't imagine
that anyone who installs GrapheneOS would ever put the Google Play Store on
it.

What on earth would be the reason to put the Google Play Store on a
non-Googled device when Aurora is a thousand times better anyway?

Makes no sense.

GrapheneOS also have an official statement which debunks the whole story:
https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/14993-debunking-fake-stock-pixel-os-vulnerability-from-an-edr-company

 
It's hard to know who to believe these days... :-(

I have one Occam's Razor rule that a web site that explains BOTH SIDES of
the story is almost always more knowledgeable & more reputable than a web
site (or article) that only explains ONE SIDE of the story.

I read the link that Theo kindly supplied, which changes the picture a lot.
 <https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/14993-debunking-fake-stock-pixel-os-vulnerability-from-an-edr-company>

Anyway, I looked in Muntashirakon App Manager for "showcase.apk" and it's
not on my T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy A32-5G so I'm not going to worry much.