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Commodore's Next Hardware Release Is Dumb, And Proud Of It
(www.timeextension.com)
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this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2026
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Privacy first? So what is WhatsApp doing on there?
I get why, that is for a lot of people the ONLY way they use a phone instead of calling, but this definitely not privacy first or social media free then.
I mean, it's not like it comes preloaded or anything. It's Linux, you can choose install (or not install) whatever you want.
Edit: Good Lord, it actually does come preloaded. Unreal.
yes, well except that is what they are trying to patent (as far as I can tell) using key based tools to not allow certain apps and DNS filtering as well. If its based on linux, thats one thing, but doesnt stop them from locking things down.
Sure, but the point is, it doesn't come with WhatsApp on it.
According to their ad, it does.
No, it's showcasing the ability to install Android apps.
They have it in the screen shot. And my point stands: they said they would stop apps that were social or anti-privacy (by refusing to load them or dns blocking) and WhatsApp is both of these things.
Actually I checked their site and you're 100% right -- WhatsApp does come preinstalled: https://commodore.net/callback/
I agree, that's unbelievably stupid.
At least Facebook will subsidize a large portion of the price, right?
> $500
Well then.
Supposedly you can't install some things. Hopefully this is an optional parental control feature, and not baked in to every phone. They would be losing a lot of potential nostalgia sales if they only chase after the "forced distraction free" market. Some people can control their usage without needing the device to do it for them. 🤷
Interesting. Hopefully it's easy enough to replace the OS.
Wait, where? Is that in te video i didnt watch? Preloaded whatsapp spyware is a dealbreaker if it cant be removed easily and immediately.
On their site, in the FAQ: https://commodore.net/callback/
I'd take some sandbox mechanism for those predatory apps, as it's a pain living without them (I do, but school, colleges etc don't).
One has nothing to do with the other. A properly configured Android is not going to leak any information to its apps. The problem comes with the customized Android a phone maker uses, where they do everything to gather data (or let others gather data if they pay for it).
So while the app itself is anything but privacy friendly, the phone is. So is GrapheneOS with WhatsApp.
WhatsApp has access to your plain text before it encrypts it. One has to trust WhatsApp with that. That’s the problem. Meta is untrustworthy.
I did not try to imply that WhatsApp is secure or trustworthy. They will, of course, use as much data as they can. But that’s something out of control of the mobile phone. And if they wouldn’t pre-install WhatsApp, users will download it ASAP.