As part of installing it, they need to add all the privileged permissions and whitelisting in order for it to work properly. They make an attempt to do it. It's not meant to be any less trusted. Play services is only designed to run as a privileged app with a ton of power.
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In my opinion, the ideal solution to all of this is for governments to require that Google makes Play services available as a regular app functioning without privileged permissions. Most of all the functionality could work. Backups, etc. wouldn't and it'd have more UX friction.
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No automatic app updates, needing to prompt users to install or remove apps, needing to ask for a battery optimization exception, needing to run a foreground service, etc. Of course, every service provider has all these restrictions unless an OEM bundles their stuff in the OS.
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Neither of those things requires / involves root access when done properly. Backup services need to be built into the OS for important security reasons. However, it's entirely possible to have a generic encrypted backup service supporting any sync service via SAF, etc.
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GrapheneOS still maintains the OS security model including the application security model. It has nothing to do with what you claim.
Don't need to be have it explained why you think things are designed the way they are as someone deeply involved in implementing these things.
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If you don't want that security model, nothing stops you from turning on debug mode for an app, signing it with your key and installing it. You don't need to do that to backup and restore data unless the app excludes it from backups. A debug build of either OS or app bypasses it.
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Google Android isn't iOS. It doesn't stop you from easily installing whatever software you want including modified proprietary apps. It's trivial to change the debugging flag and sign the app with your own key. OS doesn't help them obfuscate their code, etc. in any way either.
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Google doesn't make the hardware or operating system for any Android devices with a permanently locked bootloader. I never said you had to do what I suggested for every app update and you obviously wouldn't be doing it by hand. It's trivial to change debug flag and sign an app.
Non-Pixel phones don't run Google Android. They only use certain components from Google as part of licensing Google's mobile apps/services. It's not their OS.
Part of the point of what I was talking about here is how they're gradually expanding that to provide more components.
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A Samsung phone does not run an OS from Google. It's a misconception. It's an OS from Samsung signed with their keys and updated by them. They include highly privileged components (Play services, Play Store, mainline modules) from Google under a license/partnership with them.
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You don't lose the advantages of app signing. The signature of the app gets verified, then it gets signed with a different key. You lose the advantages of verified boot which you clearly don't want anyway since that's completely incompatible with what you want.
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