Mojeek and /e/OS, Full Stack Mobile Independence

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Style Pass

2023-03-24 11:00:17

The latest release of /e/OS adds Mojeek as a search option, giving you an even more accessible and comprehensive way to get away from Big Tech.

Google and Apple together have a commanding duopoly when it comes to mobile operating systems, with Android accounting for 70% of mobile devices and iOS appearing on 28%. This means that 98% of all smartphone user activity is constrained by the design decisions of these two big companies; whether you choose red or blue, you are subject to their decisions and policies. It’s a pathway designed to steer you away from using alternatives outside of the operating system itself.

On Android? Your phone likely comes with a home screen Google Search bar, pushing you from the first time you unlock the phone towards their results pages.

You are also closely tied into what they choose to do in the future. If an app is removed from the Play Store, (or App Store) such as in the case of Element messenger back in January of 2021, that is a decision which could affect your ability to bring more of your friends into your preferred communications ecosystem. It’s hard enough to convince people to change tools as it is, but getting them to sideload an app in order to get around a Big Tech block would pose another, bigger, issue.