Support Android devices without Google Play Services

[monospacedmagic]

When you try to open the Revolt Android app on an Android device that doesn't have Google Play Services installed, the app will simply display a prompt telling you to install them and close itself. However, there is a certain percentage of AOSP-based operating systems that does not include Google Play Services, such as GrapheneOS. Since Revolt is promising a departure from Big Tech such as Discord, I feel negatively surprised by this way of forcing users to run proprietary Google software in order to use your app. If you use Google Play Services primarily as a way to serve push notifications, there are at least two alternative ways to go about it: Supporting UnifiedPush (ideal), or simply polling for new notifications (consumes battery and increases bandwidth usage as well as load for the backend). Would it be possible to add support for either of these options?

[monospacedmagic]

Additionally, if you want to become even more independent from Google, you could distribute the Android app on Accrescent, IzzyOnDroid and/or F-Droid, or even your own F-Droid repository again.

[IAmTomahawkx]

Implementing other push notification providers is not currently in our plans. GPS are not required to use the app, you just won't get push notifications without them.

[monospacedmagic]

Yes, Google Play Services are required to use the official Android app, as I've outlined in my original comment. When trying to use the app on an Android device that doesn't have them installed, after a few seconds a prompt will show up (see attached image), and the app will close once the prompt is closed. Therefore, the app cannot be used at all without Google Play Services.

[monospacedmagic]

What further confuses me is that I just learned that the fact the Revolt Android app refuses to run without Google Play Services is a well-known fact. So, I'm really not sure why you'd incorrectly state otherwise, and why you'd be so quick to close this thread. It unfortunately makes it hard to have any kind of trust in this project. If privacy-conscious people are not a concern or priority of the Revolt team, I'd rather you just say that instead. And I don't mean that with any kind of entitlement, but with concern regarding the project's communication and whether it actually is an alternative to Discord worth trusting. Whether or not a social platform is trustworthy is a question that's fresh on people's minds with the recent developments over at Discord (and of course Twitter as well).

So, if it's alright, I would love some clarity on where you stand on the issue of privacy concerns so that users like me can make an informed decision on whether Revolt is for us. Thank you for your time!

[DeclanChidlow]

Heyo,

I'm not full bottle on Android development or Google Play policies, but this Google Play requirement certainly isn't something we want. My understanding is that Google is implementing it on the app and that it isn't something Revolt side.

We're looking into alternative distribution methods.

For now you can build the app from source (the DRM isn't present there). It isn't ideal, but it is an option for now. You can also check out third-party clients until something is sorted out.