[agile-gift0262]

That is also ths reason why I migrated my parents from Motorola to Pixel. Well… that and the amount of bloatware and ad notifications a new Motorola I bought had. I returned it inmediatelly, and it's then when I went for Pixels.

[xmx98]

These phones change your lock screen into their „content” screen after updates, so you need to periodically go to settings to undo it. Phone owners shouldn’t have to root to permanently get rid of this stuff and other „suggestions”.

[pentae]

Still a bold move considering the increased malware on android devices vs ios. My parents would have their banking information stolen within 6 months

[dmos62]

70% of the world runs on Android. Do you think they get their banking information stolen every 6 months?

[pentae]

A quick search resulted in this: "Android malware saw a 67% increase in 2025, with over 40 million downloads of malicious apps targeting banking and stealing data, frequently hiding in "Tools" and utility apps on the Google Play Store."

So no, I don't think that's a small amount of risk, even if there's billions of Android users in the wild.

Especially considering how much money can be stolen from peoples bank accounts

[malfist]

A 67% increase of a 0.001% chance is just 0.00167%.

67% of android users in 2025 did not get their banking credentials stolen.

[pentae]

I think you need to check your math there. 40 million devices in 2 billion is 2%. Not 0.001%

[tomrod]

Is the count 40 million devices or 40 million downloads? One imagines a world where malware downloads other malware.

[malfist]

Do people only ever download exactly one malware app?

[monooso]

A source for your claim would be helpful. Here's an alternative take, with source:

> In Q2 2025, the number of attacks involving malware, adware, and unwanted software decreased compared to Q1.

https://securelist.com/malware-report-q2-2025-mobile-statist...

[AlienRobot]

Much of this could be solved if the base system simply came with basic utilities.

Windows XP had an audio recording app and most people didn't even have microphones. Now we have smartphones that don't have a way to record audio as a file or even write text notes built into the system, forcing you to use third-party tools that can be maliscious.

[Hikikomori]

Comes with keep notes and the recorder app?

[mrguyorama]

Default installed apps are often carrier dependent.

It is true that at certain points I have bought brand new Android phones that did not come with such basic utilities, including utilities that bargain priced feature phones were expected to have, like a sound recorder.

IIRC, the Droid Turbo 2 I got in 2016ish came with Android 2 and did not come with a sound recording app stock. It also did not have a file browser stock. This was a Flagship product. The flashlight was not included for long enough for the top ten app, a flashlight app, to be on a significant quantity of android phones and end up being a data harvesting operation.

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2013/12/...

[agile-gift0262]

Luckily, they never install anything, and they send me a screenshot whenever they get a notification, email or SMS they didn't expect.

Honestly, I do regret not having given them iPhones when they still had the cognitive ability to learn new user interfaces. iOS UI, on its most basic, default form, has remained stable except for cosmetic changes and the move away from the home button. Also UI is generally quite consistent between apps. Android on the other hand, keeps changing and varies wildly depending on the manufacturer and generation.

Now it's too late for them to learn new UI paradigms, so I'm stuck with near-vanilla Android flavours.