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Google’s ‘Secret’ Update Scans All Your Photos
(www.forbes.com)
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this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2025
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Seems to be innocuous, but there's no harm in removing it. Next update, it'll be returned, so the better solution long-term will be (if you're rooted) is to use an application to freeze it, which effectively disables it and it should survive and update. If you delete the app, a new update will put it back.
Who would have thought the best security practice would turn out to be having devices too old to be updated with spyware? No jokes
You can freeze using ADB/Shizuku as well. No root needed.
If you freeze via non-room methods, updating the apk will re-enable it. So it's the same situation as just removing the apk--it'll basically re-enable itself.
I've never had an app frozen through ADB get auto-updated by the Play Store or Google Services and get re-enabled because of it. An app with an update available will even disappear from the Update list if disabled, and in order to update it you have to enable it first.
Freezing an app in an non-root fashion doesn't do anything special. It's moved to a different location and is effectively "removed" from a runnable state. The OS shows it as disabled/removed, but the files are still there. Newer versions of android (14+) will recognize applications it thinks are necessary (like this one, from Google) are moved/disabled and will pull a new apk during the upgrade process. It effectively re-installs the app.
By upgrade, do you mean OS upgrade?
how to freeze it on the app?
Using ADB:
If you have Shizuku and aShell/ShizuShell installed, then just run this command in aShell:
Alternatively, for a GUI method, setup Shizuku and then use an app like Hail or Ice Box
or just disable play store and use an alternative store like aurora.
Then it'll never get installed in the first place.
This is incorrect. It's installed silently via a background OTA. It's never installed purposefully through the google play store.
It's not installed with OTA, but through Play Services. I use microG and never will have any issue with apps auto-installing.