Google Allows Creditors to Brick Your Phone

In 2020 Google claimed it was supposed to be limited to a single region in partnership with a single carrier. And was never meant to be put up on Play Store.

A spokesperson from Google reached out to clarify some details about the Device Lock Controller app. To start with, Google says they launched this app in collaboration with a Kenyan carrier called Safaricom.

Google has confirmed that the Device Lock Controller app should not be listed on the Google Play Store for users in the U.S., and they will work to take down the listing.

Source: https://www.xda-developers.com/google-device-lock-controller-banks-payments/

Of course, it was a lie since it's still on Play Store an of today and in use.

This type of tech is already being put into vehicles as well. I used to get laughed at 20 years ago when I predicted this. Nobody is laughing anymore. If anything, they just accept it.

Requests the app made today.

This is my phone I own outright, by the way. I don't have any creditors.

Update for those curious:

At least it's open-source: https://android.googlesource.com/platform/packages/modules/DeviceLock/+/refs/heads/main/DeviceLockController/

And that'd be why custom roms have it. It's part of the base Android system.

I'm using a fresh install of GrapheneOS, and this is installed too. Not sure what that suggests, except that it's possibly some core system level app.

Remember when Google said don't be evil. Ha

Version 14 is installed on my Pixel 7 in the USA. I bought this phone outright, no credit, directly from the Google store.

I know this is a privacy community, but I'm not sure I'm onboard with the outrage on this particular one. If you rent/lease or go on a payment plan for the device you're using, then it isn't yours, it belongs to the entity you borrowed it from.

If I don't make car payments, the bank can repossess my ride. If I dont pay my mortgage or rent, I can be evicted by my landlord or bank.

If I don't make my phone payment, the company should have recourse to prevent me from using their device.

This could open up the ability for bad actors to disable my device, and I agree that's a horrible prospect. But the idea of a legitimate creditor using this feature to reclaim their property is not something I find shocking.

That entire idea is terrifying.

anyone remember the time when google removed(!) their internal "don't be evil" rule? guess this is part of the outcome of that "be evil" that came along with removal of the opposite. Abuse of this mechanism is IMHO veery predictable ;-)

There are plenty of google-free cellphones, one could easily stick to better products of better companies. help yourself, google's not gonna do that for you within the next 5billion* years as they IMHO already stated they "want" to be evil now, always remember that ;-)

*) thats round about when our sun expands too much for earth, so i currently dislike doing any predictions beyond that point ;-) i do not predict google would last that long, only that they'll keep beeing evil until their end.

you will own nothing and be happy

Yeah it's because they ship the same OS image for everyone, be it US on a carrier plan or otherwise. Google services has complete control over your device (more than just locking it down), and that's what you should be upset about. For you that app is just harmless bloat, what's actually spooky is google play services as a system app. Do yourself a favor and install grapheneOS.

The fun aspect to this is that some banks have forced customers to use an Android for all their banking ops. So:

① You’re late paying a bill
② Creditor locks your phone
③ You cannot access your bank to make the payment because your phone is locked

Brilliant.

That's just disgusting, but still so normal in the market religion. Google act as judge and executioner above all local laws. Never ever buy a phone that can't be rooted and reconfigured. ..oh, and never again deal with anything Google.. ..oh, or any other big US tech for that matter. ..fuckit, never deal with ANY Capitalist cheater/scumbag unless you have to.

Have you tried Universal Android Debloat to disable it?

https://github.com/0x192/universal-android-debloater

Stuff like this is why I root or just flash my phones.

Apparently this is the app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.devicelock

Root the phone and remove insane garbage like that. Rip and tear until it is done.

Is 3+ the age restriction?

I checked to see if this was on my pixel 6 pro. It wasn't but I found this.

Not something I installed and not something I would allow.

The uninstall did not appear to work UNTIL I disabled the app and cleared the data.

still allows access to settings

Oh thank goodness

Weird, I have project fi and don't have this app. It could be contractually required by your service provider that the app be installed on all the phones that they sell. That's a thing that they do.

Who is the carrier?

damn and no one at google saw this as dystopian?

Here's an article that explains more about what this is: https://www.androidauthority.com/device-lock-controller-1175637/

Were the courts not enough control for creditors? Since when are they allowed to lock you out of your purchased property without a court order?

I don't think courts are typically involved for civil repossession.

But it sounds like this is used when the device isn't your purchased property, but leased on contract.

I guess it makes sense for them to do this if people started leases, paid the first month to get the phone in their hand, then walked away with the nice new phone they paid like $35 for, to sell or just use off-network.

What's stopping someone from enabling debug mode, downloading adb tools and running pm uninstall --user0 then the package name? Surely with the app removed, the app can't brick your phone. Or running a custom rom like lineage or graphine os?

Fuck the entirety of this noise.

I'm in the US and it's not on my phone and even though it's listed in the Play Store it says it's not available in my region

Get Shizuka, get it running by following a guide somewhere, install canta, remove it... Bang bang.

Pixel 7 Pro reporting in. There is no DeviceLockController on my phone. Just installed the latest monthly updates a couple of days ago.

Apple does it to, but I've only ever seen it happen when you buy your phone on a payment plan as part of your service agreement through your service provider. Kind of like if you lease a car and stop making payments they can lock the engine from turning over.

Where did you buy your phone? What kind of phone is it?

i think they're just using the device administrator feature of android right? i know outlook does this if i connect to my work email

Thanks for sharing this OP. I turned on the notifications for my browser, and when I went on FB (thru firefox, not app) one of the connection notifications was to a website I went on once a few weeks or even a month ago. I knew it was creepy but damn.

I do have ublock origin but obviously that's not enough. I wish i could get rid of FB but there's 2 things i haven't been able to replicate elsewhere.

I'm just flabbergasted but wanted to say thanks.

You can check it’s installed (stock android) Settings > Apps > All Apps > three dot menu, Show system > search “DeviceLockController”.

Is that just a “feature” of recent AOS versions? AOS 5’s triple dot menu has nothing like “show system”.

Not on my Galaxy S23+ from Google Fi

It pings out to google constantly regardless of where you are. You should be able remove it with adb, or use an app like NetGuard to block it from acessing the internet.

the phone world is fucked. Use a landline phone :)

Since when are they allowed to lock you out of your purchased property without a court order?

That's an oxymoron. Creditors have the ability to lock you out of a device you haven't paid for yet. Standard terms and conditions in B2C and B2B; you don't own it until you've paid for it in full.

Also locking you out of a device you don't own yet is cheaper than taking you to court.

Interesting. It's not available in the US.

I checked and this is not present on my device. It is an unlocked Google Pixel 6a purchased via contract with the mobile provider. That said, I factory reset the device when I got it, so it may have been removed at that time.

Are we certain it does what we think it does? Could it be something to do with the ability to lock your phone remotely if stolen, or just something to do with Lock Screen functionality?

This is pre-installed on my 6a, also purchased outright, unlocked, directly from Google in the US.

Asus Zenfone 8 purchased outright in Australia. App does not exist on my phone.

My Pixel5a from google store has it, but my other phone where I installed Murena e/OS (which is based on LineageOS) does not have it.

There oughta be a law

Mate we live in a 5 eyes country so whatever shit you see in the USl by default you'll see it here. Its sad but that's how it is and regular 9-5s can't do much about it

Doesn't this go against their own terms of service?

I love how no governments completely shut down Google for violating constitutional rights or citizens

That "rated 3 and up" is killing me.

Finally a solution for those jobless deadbeat infants.

don't even live in the US, so what the actual fuck?

I live in the US and the Google play store says this app isn't available in my region.

It’s ok. You can just make some calls and settle your arrears.

I live in Indonesia, and I have the application installed, but I don't have a banking application, only e-money applications such as DANA, OVO, GOPAY, that's all.

Love the Chinese phones. None of this crap US stuff is enabled. It's baked into the system ROM so it is there. But on mine it has never transfered any data, not even ever been active. It's just dead code taking up a few megabytes.