3w ago

there is a remote controlled ai agent on every google device that can not be turned off

since yesterday.. oop: https://mathstodon.xyz/@johncarlosbaez/114816283089805862

article: https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/07/unless-users-take-action-android-will-let-gemini-access-third-party-apps/

haven't found a public google announcement, the screenshot seems to be from emails

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ok what phone should I get next
- Anything compatible with Graphene OS (https://grapheneos.org/); a second-hand Pixel will work best, if you can find one cheap. I use it as my daily driver on a Pixel 7a and it's great; it's the most stable and easiest-to-install custom ROM I've ever used, and I've been rooting my Android devices for over a decade now.
  
  So my Fairphone is not supported because the security updates aren't good enough. Serves me right trying to find an ethical approach to mobile computing.
  I understand GrapheneOS' philosophy but buying a google product to get away from google software is certainly... a choice. Refurbished or not buying a Pixel would serve Google's interests, nevermind the fact that I bought my current phone a couple years ago hoping to get close to a decade of use out of it.
  Realistically software freedom on mobile phones is doomed until the industry improves the firmware situation. Every project suffers from severe drawbacks because of it.
  
  Does it support banking apps yet? Last time I tried it anything to do with financials, Bitwarden, or 2FA just didn't work at all.
  Edit: and I've heard you can get Google play store on it now right? Cause I'll need all of my apps back
  
  Is there an easy way to migrate everything into graphene or do I have to start fresh?
- If your current device supports LineageOS, you can install that. I've got no traces of Gemini on my Pixel 7, even with "gapps" installed.
- Ham radio.
- Ideally none at all. A linux phone if you have to have one.
  
  We can't all be Jack White. I've tried. You cannot live in this society with no phone. Unless you have no friends and no job.
  
  what's a linux phone? I thought android was written on Linux
- refurbished pixel > version 8, and graphene and pray android stays open source, otherwise idk brickphone for emergency only tbh
- I’m considering a pine phone, but honestly idk.
- one that supports calyx os
- It depends on whether you're using apps that require Play Integrity attestation, like some banking apps do.
  If that's the case, consider the humble iPhone!
  
  Apple likes to pretend they aren't evil since they're just evil in a different way than google.
Op please change the title as to not further fuel the misinformation. Arstechnica seems to enjoy burying the actual information 3 paragraphs in where they know nobody will read them and your embellishments aren't helping.
There's nothing anywhere that suggests the ai is "remote controlled".
Arstechnica suggests that humans have access to the data and as evidence they linked a site saying humans don't have access.
Ars seems to want us to think the red rectangles in the image are contradictory. They aren't as Gemini Apps can be individually turned off independent of Gemini Apps Activity (history) and vice versa. The forced 3 day activity storage doesn't enable the apps themselves.
Even the author of the article pointed out that it can be turned off
Ars cites Tuta's article selectively to make it sound like disabling gemini is either ineffective or complicated. Tuta itself is a privacy focused gmail alternative with vested interest to muddy the waters but their article is still somewhat better written than Ars'
Edit: Title when this comment was written for posterity:
there is a remote controlled ai agent on every google device that can not be turned off
- Yeah, I like Ars, but this article is fearmongering trash. It's actually a positive move for privacy. "Gemini Apps Activity" is a setting that allows Google to store your Gemini interactions for analytics, human review, etc..., generally a privacy nightmare. However, with it off, Gemini can't even do basic stuff like setting a reminder. It's just a nonsense-spewing LLM with no assistant functionality. This update allows you to turn it off while still being able to do useful assistant stuff.
  Google could have worded things better, but this is a move in the right direction.
Wrong. There is no AI agent on my Pixel 8 Pro running GrapheneOS.
- Graphene FTW
- I was quite happy still running my Samsung S22, then all this shit started to get rammed in (plus Samsung keyboard was constantly pasting my clipboard even though I wasn't using it).
  Anyway, I bought a Pixel 9 explicitly for GrapheneOS - the installation was so incredibly easy I was really surprised.
How can we spy on you if you turn it off.
You can turn it off by disabling or uninstalling the app. Not trying to defend google here, but for clarity "whether your Gemini Apps Activity is on or off" refers to the app not following standard android procedure for killing background processes from how i understand it. So you actually have to fully disable it in the system settings, not just swipe it away.
- What app? I don't have any Gemini app on my phone and I still have that malware popping up everywhere
  
  Have you checked in your system apps for Gemini or Bard? I have it disabled but the apk is still on my device under the "bard" name.
I just want to be able to talk to my phone to set reminders and alarms. I used to be able to do this with the assistant. Now it's this invasive AI thing, and I do not have a replacement. :-(
- You should be able to go back to the old assistant: It should be in your Google app settings under Gemini settings > 'assistants from google’ and toggle back to the old assistant.
  For how long this will remain doable I don't know.
Just goes to show how EULAs are nonensical legalese and as such unenforceable in and by any (sane) court.
They must have had an AI write that.
I have all of these settings off, but it's still summarizing my emails and offering to add it to my calendar because there are no conflicting events.
Can I use an ai to mask my activity?
So, what this seems to be saying, and what is reflected in the settings screens I can access on devices I have at hand, is that Gemini will still have (limited) functionality hooking jnto certain apps even if you've disabled "Gemini App history".
The app is being pushed through normal updates via Google Play (by your carrier or Google itself). In some cases the app can be uninstalled by the end user through the normal UI, and in other cases it installs as a system app and requires adb to be used to disable and/or uninstall it.
EDIT: FALSE, GOOGLE HAS NOT PUSHED THE APP OUT YET, JUST A SETTINGS PAGE
As always, the most secure way to use android is through a custom locked down ROM like Graphene OS.
Is the Pixel 3 old enough that I'm out of range of this bullshit?
Feed The Google AI. Starve the old beast, feed the new. Mbas raise gremlins.

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