TL;DR: Would it be feasible to create an app sandboxing solution for /e/OS so apps can receive all the Google services they need to function? Or at the very least, detect when an app is trying to use specific Google services, and warn the user that it won’t work without them?
I recently installed /e/OS on a brand-new Nothing CMF Phone 1, and I’m loving it. This is my first time using /e/OS on my daily driver. The biggest pain point I’ve run into is app compatibility with Google services and apps. Many apps sadly just do not function, such as apps that require Google Health. I haven’t been able to get RCS working on Google Messages, which I’m only using because third party RCS support isn’t possible right now and I want the conveniences. The issue that drove me to write this post is that I cannot log into the Dasher app on /e/OS, which I was using to work for DoorDash on my previous phone (iPhone). Specifically, when I enter my verification code that gets texted to me, it just kicks me back to the startup screen.
I contacted support, and the agent was very patient and helpful. He guided me through troubleshooting, uninstalling/reinstalling, left a note for the DD app team about potentially supporting /e/OS (I asked if he could, and he did, which was nice), etc. etc… Unfortunately, it’s just /e/OS doing something we all love about it - blocking Google. I asked the agent if the Dasher app relies on any specific Google Services, and he said yes, multiple, including GPS services for in-app navigation. So, I’m guessing the Dasher app detects that it can’t access the services it requires immediately, and boots the user out. Strange that it doesn’t show any kind of error, though. The agent and I also confirmed that I could still log in on my old iPhone, so it’s definitely /e/OS.
I’m wondering if there’s something that could be done to essentially trick apps in this kind of situation, similar to the microG spoofing. I thought of two ideas for how this could be done:
1.) Similar to how dependencies for flatpak applications are handled on Linux, if we could detect that an app requires specific Google services to operate, perhaps the user could be asked if they’re okay with downloading sandboxed Google services for only that application. I’m not an expert on this, but I imagine this would probably require the user to “set up” their phone with a Google account for each app sandboxed with this method.
2.) Hijack calls for Google services and point applications to Murena services instead, if such a thing is possible. I thought of this because the DoorDash support agent mentioned Google’s navigation service being required for the app to function - perhaps the Dasher app could be pointed to Murena’s Magic Earth fork (the Maps app), and use that for navigation instead.
It’s not the end of the world if I can’t DoorDash as a side gig, but I will miss that extra income. Hopefully DoorDash updates their app to support /e/OS. If not, hopefully Murena and the community can come up with a fix. Thanks for reading, I’d love to hear what y’all think. Would this kind of app support be a welcome addition to /e/OS?
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