Hans-Christoph Steiner

#FreeSoftware #Privacy #GuardianProject #Debian #FDroid #TorProject #CalyxOS

home page: https://at.or.at
matrix: Hans-Christoph Steiner (npub158w…p2m9):matrix.org
gitlab: https://gitlab.com/eighthave

Last Notes

2026-09-30 09:06:50 UTC

To anyone following the #EU #KIDS #Act, does anyone understand how the current proposal would affect #FDroid and #FOSS? From what I have seen, it seems to not directly regulate us, but I just heard that it might.
#EUKIDSAct #AgeVerification #FreeSoftware #OpenSource

2026-09-25 10:38:13 UTC

"People Training OpenAI’s AI Fired for Using AI to Train the AI"
https://www.404media.co/people-training-openais-ai-fired-for-using-ai-to-train-the-ai/
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

2026-07-16 10:02:02 UTC

At the core of #AndroidDeveloperVerification are a couple potentially useful ideas. #Google has entirely wrapped them in a pile of anti-competitive garbage designed to defend their massive #monopoly profit margins, but nonetheless, those specific technical ideas might still be useful. #iOS's "notarization" is basically the same. That leads me to ask the key question:
What would a #FOSS-respecting system of #verification look like? What #identity info is useful for trusting the #developer?

2026-05-22 10:46:32 UTC

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I fully support the DMA! Let's keep up the good work and make that we fully enforce effective laws like this. There is still so much to be done

2026-05-13 06:45:57 UTC

Hey #Google, cool you're adding a bit of #BinaryTransparency. Unfortunately, it doesn't mean much without #FreeSoftware #OpenSource and #ReproducibleBuilds. When can we expect you to adopt those practices?
https://blog.google/security/bringing-binary-transparency-to-the-android-ecosystem/
For the record #FDroid has offered binary transparency since 2017 https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroidserver/-/merge_requests/226
And we even offer binary transparency for your #Gradle and #AndroidSDK binaries
https://f-droid.org/2021/02/05/apis-for-all-the-things.html#binary-transparency-logs
How about expanding your logging to all your binaries?

2026-04-24 13:14:49 UTC

Apparently, #Google has lost track of their goal for #Android "We wanted to make sure that there was no central point of failure, where one industry player could restrict or control the innovations of any other. " https://web.archive.org/web/20120501080416/http://source.android.com/about/philosophy.html
That page is 404 Not Found now...
#KeepAndroidOpen

2026-01-12 12:28:34 UTC

Adversarial interoperability should be legal. Users should be able to use software on their own devices the way they want to. The tariff wars have opened up a new political opportunity to make that happen. @npub1fdr…lvhs explains it well:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/10/trump-beginning-of-end-enshittification-make-tech-good-again
#BigTech #FreeSoftware #FOSS #AdversarialInteroperability #startups #UserFreedom

2025-11-26 09:13:28 UTC

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I'm curious about how you plan to do this:
"We also plan to continue allowing developers to submit apps to Accrescent without registering their apps through Android developer verification"
From what we've seen, those apps would not be installable on Android, but only AOSP ROMs that remove the new restrictions. Did Google provide anything concrete that lets Accrescent install "unverified" apps on Android devices? We've only heard vague promises.

2025-10-15 06:47:29 UTC

When building software, I believe it is important to work in public. Software can give small groups of developers immense power over lots of people. Like how governments work in public and corporations have to be more public than private company, developers should be transparent not only with their source code, but also the discussions and processes while building it. This can be hard to get used to, but not bad once used to it. Great examples of this are #Debian #GitLab and IMHO #FDroid

2025-10-13 08:15:56 UTC

As much as most people do not like how services like #Spotify and #YouTube Music abuse both listeners and artist, they use them because they are easy and friction-free. For alternatives to gain anything but a tiny following, the software behind them also must be easy. That requires a chunk of work, but it is achievable by a small team. There are already options: #subsonic #funkwhale #ampache and more
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/12/spotify-boycott-artists
#Boycott #AI #DeathToSpotify #music #streaming #FOSS #FreeSoftware

2025-09-20 16:06:24 UTC

Free Software is the only way to ensure digital sovereignty and independence. Kudos to the Austrian Military for switching to #LibreOffice and perhaps more importantly, it is great that they are already set up to contribute back to the project, and doing so!
https://www.heise.de/en/news/Austria-s-armed-forces-switch-to-LibreOffice-10660761.html
#Austria #Österreich #FreeSoftware #FOSS #OpenSource #DigitalSovereignity

2025-09-19 13:21:20 UTC

#Google's competition lawyers claim that uninstalling is the same as "disabling" even though Android itself says they are not the same:
"If you disable this app, Android and other apps may no longer function as intended. Keep in mind, you can't delete this app since it came pre-installed on your device. By disabling, you turn this app off and hide it on your device."
There is no such warning when uninstalling:
"Do you want to uninstall this app?"
#Android #DMA #DigitalMarketsAct #GooglePlay
https://social.librem.one/system/media_attachments/files/021/224/965/original/22ed5cea7edd02c3.png

2025-09-18 07:15:22 UTC

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Good advice about privacy, but tying it to the murder of Charlie Kirk is a bit off IMHO. I'm no fan of Charlie Kirk, but I'm even more opposed to murder. And even more so murdering people for speaking their opinions. On top of that, Charlie Kirk's murder probably will strengthen his allies, not weaken them.

2025-06-30 12:29:44 UTC

An open call to #Android #developers! The #EuropeanCommission needs help evaluating #GooglePlay's #security claims. I'm going to do what I can. Anyone with knowledge of how app installation, uninstallation, sandboxing, signing, etc. could really help here. If you want to contribute, please reach out!
#DigitalMarketsAct #EU #Google #GooglePlayServices #policy

2025-05-22 07:34:53 UTC

Ever wonder how easy it would be for proprietary software like #WhatsApp to get around the end-to-end encryption? #TeleMessage provides a real world example. This is why there is no replacement for Free Software when it comes to privacy.
https://micahflee.com/despite-misleading-marketing-israeli-company-telemessage-used-by-trump-officials-can-access-plaintext-chat-logs/
#e2ee #FreeSoftware

2025-02-26 11:17:49 UTC

We're starting to implement support for split APKs in #FDroid. #Google wants to gather as much data about its users as possible, so trying to hide info about language, country, device specs was not a design concern for them. It is central for us. We want the official client to leak as little data as possible to any server, be it ours, mirrors, or custom repos. We welcome input:
https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroidclient/-/issues/2963
#Android #APK #privacy #DataEfficiency #efficiency #technology #data #metadata

2024-09-17 11:37:56 UTC

On my own time, I have to read a ~50 page document produced for the #EuropeanCommission in order to effectively participate in a two hour meeting where #FDroid is pitted against #BigTech on the #DigitalMarketsAct and its requirements around installing and allowing other #AppStore options.
Its all NDA'ed so I can't ask for help.
This game is really rigged for the megacorps. Wish me luck! Here's to fighting the good fight!