I installed NetGuard about a month ago and blocked all internet to apps, unless they’re on a whitelist. No notifications from this particular system app (that can’t be disabled) until recently when it started making internet connection requests to google servers. Does anyone know when this became a thing?

We’re the courts not enough control for creditors? Since when are they allowed to lock you out of your purchased property without a court order?

I don’t even live in the US, so what the actual fuck?

  • catloaf@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Were the courts not enough control for creditors? Since when are they allowed to lock you out of your purchased property without a court order?

    I don’t think courts are typically involved for civil repossession.

    But it sounds like this is used when the device isn’t your purchased property, but leased on contract.

    I guess it makes sense for them to do this if people started leases, paid the first month to get the phone in their hand, then walked away with the nice new phone they paid like $35 for, to sell or just use off-network.

    • MisterFrog@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      Well, I would say this is what small claims is for.

      Should the bank should have keys to a mortgaged house? When you don’t own the house outright yet? I’m gonna go with no.

      And second, why is it installed by default on all phones? Really not cool.

      • brbposting@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        why is it installed by default on all phones?

        Absolutely batshit.

        Should the bank should have keys to a mortgaged house? When you don’t own the house outright yet? I’m gonna go with no.

        Hmm, do they only not have keys because you can’t drive a house away?

        So obviously poverty fuggin sux and we need universal basic income etc.

        In today’s BS world:

        If we ban car repossession, what happens to car prices and access to transportation?

        Likewise - if digital repossession of phones is prohibited, will there at least be a couple impoverished people who have to use dumb phones even though they could’ve afforded a reposessable smartphone?

        Maybe a few people have to go without those cheaper phones because allowing lenders to killswitch phones causes greater harm to the whole. Anybody wanna speculate?

        • MisterFrog@lemmy.worldOP
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          1 year ago

          I’ll just point out that phone plans (to pay off a phone) and vehicle loans have been a thing and worked fine before this bullshit.

          So yes, the level of access ought to remain the same I’d this were banned.

  • YⓄ乙 @aussie.zone
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    1 year ago

    Mate we live in a 5 eyes country so whatever shit you see in the USl by default you’ll see it here. Its sad but that’s how it is and regular 9-5s can’t do much about it

  • coffeeClean@infosec.pub
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    1 year ago

    The fun aspect to this is that some banks have forced customers to use an Android for all their banking ops. So:

    ① You’re late paying a bill
    ② Creditor locks your phone
    ③ You cannot access your bank to make the payment because your phone is locked

    Brilliant.

  • root@aussie.zone
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    1 year ago

    Asus Zenfone 8 purchased outright in Australia. App does not exist on my phone.

  • MisterFrog@lemmy.worldOP
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    1 year ago

    Requests the app made today.

    This is my phone I own outright, by the way. I don’t have any creditors.

    • Salix@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      I find it interesting that yours is com.google.android.devicelockcontroller.

      I checked mine on GrapheneOS and it looks like it’s the AOSP version of the package: com.android.devicelockcontroller

    • Refurbished Refurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 year ago

      adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.devicelockcontroller

      If you’re using Shelter, then in addition to that command, replace --user 0 with --user 10

      You don’t need root to do this. You can also uninstall other bloatware using this same method.

      • _tezz@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        New to this depth of phone administration, where are you entering this command? Is there a developer CLI I should be looking for or is this done with a third party app or something?

      • bigkahuna1986@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        I tried this on a Pixel 7 and am getting:

        panther:/ $ pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.devicelockcontroller

        Failure [DELETE_FAILED_INTERNAL_ERROR]

        I also tried disable and got:

        Cannot disable a protected package: com.google.android.devicelockcontroller

      • MisterFrog@lemmy.worldOP
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        1 year ago

        Hero, I just have to get around to doing it 😅 (I will, but grumble, grumble this is why most people don’t bother battling for privacy)

    • codapine@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Mvp comment there. I checked mine and I am in the US, on a phone I originally bought on credit. I do not have that app installed. Go figure. 🤷‍♂️

      Definitely worth checking out your app list to make sure. I wonder if it accidentally came downstream from AOSP into the alt ROMs, and that’s why it’s not in my stock, proprietary, US market, flagship Google pixel device.

        • John Richard@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Your Store screenshot is not the same app. What is the ID of the app in your original screenshot cause at this point it looks like you just make things up for clout. Anyone else find it strange that people can post almost anything about Google whether true or not and the bot accounts come out from under the woodwork just to share more fake info.

          • Arthur Besse@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            Anyone else find it strange that people can post almost anything about Google whether true or not and the bot accounts come out from under the woodwork just to share more fake info.

            I find it strange that in the face of obviously conclusive evidence that this is a real app that Google made and which many people in this thread have installed (despite not even having bought their phone on credit) you are here posting multiple comments arguing that it is somehow not real…and you even flagged the post. I don’t think you’re a bot but I must say that your dedication to defending Google, especially in this case, is strange to say the least.

      • MisterFrog@lemmy.worldOP
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        1 year ago

        I am at such a loss, because I can see it in NetGuard, and open it’s app details from there, but it doesn’t work even appear in system apps in Shelter.

  • BrikoX@lemmy.zip
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    1 year ago

    In 2020 Google claimed it was supposed to be limited to a single region in partnership with a single carrier. And was never meant to be put up on Play Store.

    A spokesperson from Google reached out to clarify some details about the Device Lock Controller app. To start with, Google says they launched this app in collaboration with a Kenyan carrier called Safaricom.

    Google has confirmed that the Device Lock Controller app should not be listed on the Google Play Store for users in the U.S., and they will work to take down the listing.

    Source: https://www.xda-developers.com/google-device-lock-controller-banks-payments/

    Of course, it was a lie since it’s still on Play Store an of today and in use.

    • Jimmycrackcrack@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      I’m surprised it would be on the play store since presumably if you were a carrier or creditor of some kind you want this installed in a pretty clandestine way and wouldn’t want to draw attention to it by having an app store listing.

      • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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        1 year ago

        Being on the play store means it can be updated and managed like a normal app and not stuck on whatever version shipped with the OS

      • dev_null@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        I’d assume they want to be able to update it and that’s why it needs a store listing.

    • Ledivin@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Of course, it was a lie since it’s still on Play Store an of today and in use.

      FWIW, I just searched it up and it’s listed as unavailable in my region (USA) 🤷‍♂️ so at the very least, they scoped it down a little bit

      • fishos@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Checked my pixel 6 and it’s on mine. Might not be in the store for everyone, but it’s installed on my owned device.

      • MisterFrog@lemmy.worldOP
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        1 year ago

        Just because it’s not in the Playstore, doesn’t mean it’s not installed.

        It’s not listed in the Australian Playstore either, yet here we are with it making internet requests.

        It’s definitely installed.

          • Caaaaarrrrlll@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            I’m on Google Fi and a Pixel 8 Pro with Android 14 purchased last month.

            It’s there.

            System Settings -> Apps -> See all apps -> Three-dot Menu -> Show system -> Search for DeviceLockController

            It also shows unavailable in the Play Store (USA) despite being installed.

            Edit: I turned on my older Pixel 4XL on Android 11 and it’s not installed there. 👀 Worth noting, both phones were/are on the same plan, but I’ve paid off the 4XL while the 8 Pro is still in payments.

        • Baku@aussie.zone
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          1 year ago

          It’s not just you, it’s phoning home for me too. Pixel 7, also Australia, bought outright from officeworks. I don’t log network reqs so I don’t know exacts, but it’s using 25kb every 3 days or so, so it’s doing something.

      • BrikoX@lemmy.zip
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        1 year ago

        So they region locked it from US, but it can still be pre-installed as a system app from AOSP. And it’s available in EU, while was meant to be in Kenya only.

    • Gerowen@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’m using CalyxOS and it’s pre-installed as a system app, so this seems like something that’s being built in at the AOSP level of development.

        • AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today
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          1 year ago

          Did you check your system apps? It’s an AOSP app, so I would be surprised if this were the case. It could be under either com.google or com.android.

            • AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today
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              1 year ago

              I still would be very surprised if this were the case. Unfortunately it seems that OxygenOS does not have public repositories to actually check the source code (!), but there are apps that will actually show you all of your installed packages and I bet one of those would show that it’s installed.

    • MisterFrog@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      It must be globally, I’m in Australia. What utter bullshit, since I would have never known if it weren’t for my NetGuard firewall app.

      • noorbeast@lemmy.zip
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        1 year ago

        Being Australian this is likely one to report to the ACCC, as Aussies at least have basic consumer protection, though that get murky with overseas tech entities.

        • MeetInPotatoes@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          though that get murky with overseas tech entities.

          I mostly agree, but you gotta admit the EU has been sticking it to the tech giants lately.

        • MisterFrog@lemmy.worldOP
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          1 year ago

          Unfortunately the ACCC gives fewer fucks than you may expect. An airline once cancelled a flight on me and kept the cancellation fee, despite producing no evidence that any government had forced them to cancel the flight (this was during COVID).

          ACCC did not care one bit

          So while we do have some consumer protection (better than most) I would be surprised if they cared.

          • MalReynolds@slrpnk.net
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            1 year ago

            It’s 5 minutes out of your life to try, as an aussie, please do, for charity if nothing else, who knows, you might benefit…

            • MisterFrog@lemmy.worldOP
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              1 year ago

              I am a serial complaint lodger, just that I’m much busier than I used to be. I may do it once I figure out what’s going on with it on my phone.

                • MisterFrog@lemmy.worldOP
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                  1 year ago

                  Thanks for you understanding friendo 🇦🇺

                  If it tickles your fancy, I once lodged a complaint with the national measurement institute to get a bar to stop selling American pints.

                  And they now sell it by the mL, beautiful

      • No1@aussie.zone
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        1 year ago

        I’m in Australia, and when I search for Device Lock Controller in Play Store, it says “This app is not available in your region”

        This happens on 2 separate devices from different manufacturers. Both devices were purchased in Australia and have Australian ROMs

        • MisterFrog@lemmy.worldOP
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          1 year ago

          Check your installed apps (I left an edit in th post where to check). Just because it’s not listen in the Playstore for Australia, doesn’t mean it’s not installed.

        • Baku@aussie.zone
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          1 year ago

          Also in Australia and it shows that to me as well

          But going into my app list and showing system does show it

  • Sims@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    That’s just disgusting, but still so normal in the market religion. Google act as judge and executioner above all local laws. Never ever buy a phone that can’t be rooted and reconfigured. …oh, and never again deal with anything Google… …oh, or any other big US tech for that matter. …fuckit, never deal with ANY Capitalist cheater/scumbag unless you have to.

            • einfach_orangensaft@feddit.de
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              1 year ago

              I own a Pinephone64 allready but its still far from the baseline funktionality of a android device. It has hardware switches for the wireless modules tho…

              • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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                1 year ago

                I’ve thought about getting one, but it’ll just be a novelty until it can support MMS properly (trying to get family to switch) and battery lasts a full day. I’ll need a few more apps, but I’ll figure out how to get it working through emulation or something if the above are fixed.

    • TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      You do not need rooting, just an ADB command from computer connected to phone.

      adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.devicelockcontroller

      adb shell pm uninstall --user 10 com.google.android.devicelockcontroller