I need to install an App into my mobile phone but Google Play now wants
my credit card number before it will let me download anything - they say
they will not take anything from the card but I would prefer they did
not have my credit card number.

Is there any way around this?

On 02/03/2024 09:40, JMB99 wrote:
> I need to install an App into my mobile phone but Google Play now wants
> my credit card number before it will let me download anything - they say
> they will not take anything from the card but I would prefer they did
> not have my credit card number.
>
> Is there any way around this?

Is the same app available on F-Droid or a similar reliable app source?
Is it that the app you want is not free and you have not set up a
payment method with the Play Store?

--

Jeff

JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> wrote:
> I need to install an App into my mobile phone but Google Play now wants
> my credit card number before it will let me download anything - they say
> they will not take anything from the card but I would prefer they did
> not have my credit card number.
>
> Is there any way around this?

Not sure about Play, although one workaround for Apple when you want paid
apps is to use gift cards rather than adding a credit card.

Another option is to install:
https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore

as an alternative frontend to the Play Store. You can use it to install
apps using either your Google account or one of their pool accounts, so you
don't need any Google account set up on your phone.

Theo

JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> writes:

> I need to install an App into my mobile phone but Google Play now
> wants my credit card number before it will let me download anything -
> they say they will not take anything from the card but I would prefer
> they did not have my credit card number.
>
> Is there any way around this?

I just installed Viber (and then removed it again) without being
prompted for any card. On occasions I see a card prompt but there is
always a way to skip it on the screen.

Am 02/03/2024 um 09:40 schrieb JMB99:
> I need to install an App into my mobile phone but Google Play now wants
> my credit card number before it will let me download anything - they say
> they will not take anything from the card but I would prefer they did
> not have my credit card number.
>
> Is there any way around this?
>
>
>

Get rid of Google Play and install Aurora Store.

--
Ottavio Caruso

Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> writes:

> JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> writes:
>
>> I need to install an App into my mobile phone but Google Play now
>> wants my credit card number before it will let me download anything -
>> they say they will not take anything from the card but I would prefer
>> they did not have my credit card number.
>>
>> Is there any way around this?
>
> I just installed Viber (and then removed it again) without being
> prompted for any card. On occasions I see a card prompt but there is
> always a way to skip it on the screen.

Oops, I tell a lie, I have Paypal on there as a payment method. I forgot
that I did that.

On 02/03/2024 14:11, Ottavio Caruso wrote:
> Am 02/03/2024 um 09:40 schrieb JMB99:
>> I need to install an App into my mobile phone but Google Play now
>> wants my credit card number before it will let me download anything -
>> they say they will not take anything from the card but I would prefer
>> they did not have my credit card number.
>>
>> Is there any way around this?
>>
>>
>>
>
> Get rid of Google Play and install Aurora Store.
>

Get rid of Google Play ?

by uninstalling it ?

On 02/03/2024 09:40, JMB99 wrote:
> I need to install an App into my mobile phone but Google Play now wants
> my credit card number before it will let me download anything - they say
> they will not take anything from the card but I would prefer they did
> not have my credit card number.
>
What's the age rating of the app?

On 02/03/2024 23:31, David Woolley wrote:
> On 02/03/2024 09:40, JMB99 wrote:
> > I need to install an App into my mobile phone but Google Play now wants
> > my credit card number before it will let me download anything - they say
> > they will not take anything from the card but I would prefer they did
> > not have my credit card number.
> >
> What's the age rating of the app?
>

I have two google play accounts, on Spanish, one UK and it wanted a
Spanish card adding to the Spanish account. It appears from a quick
google that it wants a card for address verification...

Dave

Am 02/03/2024 um 17:00 schrieb Abandoned Trolley:
> On 02/03/2024 14:11, Ottavio Caruso wrote:
>> Am 02/03/2024 um 09:40 schrieb JMB99:
>>> I need to install an App into my mobile phone but Google Play now
>>> wants my credit card number before it will let me download anything -
>>> they say they will not take anything from the card but I would prefer
>>> they did not have my credit card number.
>>>
>>> Is there any way around this?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Get rid of Google Play and install Aurora Store.
>>
>
> Get rid of Google Play ?
>
> by uninstalling it ?

You can't uninstall it, but you can deactivate it.

First thing I do when I get an Android device is to de-Google it.

--
Ottavio Caruso

On 04/03/2024 10:44, Ottavio Caruso wrote:

> First thing I do when I get an Android device is to de-Google it.

You mean install something like Lineage OS? That will no doubt help, but
it's still a development from Android. Who knows what Google buried deep
in those millions of lines of code?

Probably only PureOS on something like the Librem 5 can guarantee
freedom from Google, but it's not exactly user-friendly!

--

Jeff

Am 06/03/2024 um 09:12 schrieb Jeff Layman:
> On 04/03/2024 10:44, Ottavio Caruso wrote:
>
>> First thing I do when I get an Android device is to de-Google it.
>
> You mean install something like Lineage OS?

That would be ideal, but not always feasible. My phone cannot be
boot-un-locked.

But I have disabled all the Google applications (the only one that
cannot be disabled is Google Play services). Then install Aurora Store
from F-Droid.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/

When you need to install an app from Google Store, go to the Google
Store on the web browser (not the app), then click on "Open in other
application" and select Aurora Store.

You could search directly on the Aurora app, but 9 out of 10 it will
tell you that you are rate limited. Don't login with your Google
account, select "Anonymous".

--
Ottavio Caruso

On 06/03/2024 09:45, Ottavio Caruso wrote:
> Am 06/03/2024 um 09:12 schrieb Jeff Layman:
>> On 04/03/2024 10:44, Ottavio Caruso wrote:
>>
>>> First thing I do when I get an Android device is to de-Google it.
>>
>> You mean install something like Lineage OS?
>
> That would be ideal, but not always feasible. My phone cannot be
> boot-un-locked.
>
> But I have disabled all the Google applications (the only one that
> cannot be disabled is Google Play services). Then install Aurora Store
> from F-Droid.
>
> https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/
>
> When you need to install an app from Google Store, go to the Google
> Store on the web browser (not the app), then click on "Open in other
> application" and select Aurora Store.
>
> You could search directly on the Aurora app, but 9 out of 10 it will
> tell you that you are rate limited. Don't login with your Google
> account, select "Anonymous".

That's fair enough, but although those Play Store apps can be suspect in
what they do in mining data, to my mind the biggest problem is the
system apps. They are provided by Google, and can often not be
uninstalled easily. It's usually necessary to use adb, and you've got to
be careful to do it one app at a time as some are essential. Note also
that F-Droid says this about Aurora Store "By default, the app list and
system details are sent to Google Play Store servers, which is likely
enough data to fingerprint your device".

Google also keep changing the system apps; think you've got your
location turned off? Well, a while back they introduced something new
called fused.location. It was all for our benefit, of course, and
combined several services into one. And, no doubt, you could be located
again, as chances were you didn't know about that service and had left
it working.

--

Jeff

On Wed, 6 Mar 2024 20:31:27 +0000, Jeff Layman wrote:

>> When you need to install an app from Google Store, go to the Google
>> Store on the web browser (not the app), then click on "Open in other
>> application" and select Aurora Store.
>>
>> You could search directly on the Aurora app, but 9 out of 10 it will
>> tell you that you are rate limited. Don't login with your Google
>> account, select "Anonymous".
>
> That's fair enough, but although those Play Store apps can be suspect in
> what they do in mining data, to my mind the biggest problem is the
> system apps. They are provided by Google, and can often not be
> uninstalled easily.

Rule number one for Android is do not set up the phone with a Google
Account in the first place - and that alone protects a lot of privacy.

Rule number two for Android if you don't have a Google Account set up on
the phone is to install the Aurora Store (which isn't a store - it's just a
client that replaces the Google Play Store client that everyone else uses).
<https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore/-/releases>
<https://aurorastore.org/> & <https://auroraoss.com/>
<https://f-droid.org/packages/com.aurora.store/>
Note that F-Droid lags a bit and GitLab is always the latest version.

Even without logging into the Google Play Store app, you still get all the
update checks (if you want them) and the daily scanning for malware (plus
an instant scan of malware during the installation process of any app, no
matter where you got that app from, even if it's from HackersRUs.com).

But you can safely disable the Google Play store because the Aurora Store
already checks for updates and automatically updates apps if you want.

In addition, you'll want the best search engine on the planet, which is
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=scadica.aq

If you can find something you need to do that you do with a Google Account
on the phone that you want to do without the Google Account on the phone,
just ask me as I've done it for my non-rooted Android phones since day 1.

On Wed, 6 Mar 2024 09:12:37 +0000, Jeff Layman wrote:

>> First thing I do when I get an Android device is to de-Google it.
>
> You mean install something like Lineage OS? That will no doubt help, but
> it's still a development from Android. Who knows what Google buried deep
> in those millions of lines of code?
>
> Probably only PureOS on something like the Librem 5 can guarantee
> freedom from Google, but it's not exactly user-friendly!

Everyone is wrong when they say you can't uninstall an app on Android.
There isn't a single app you can't uninstall. Without being rooted.
Not one. Not system apps. Not Google apps. Not carrier apps. None.

People don't know this because most people don't know how Android works.
Android has a user partition. And a system partition. They're different.

For the user partition, you do not need to be root to uninstall anything.
First you have to find the unique package name.
list all packages on the device
C:\> adb shell pm list packages
list third-party packages
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -f -3
list only the disabled packages
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -d
list only the system packages
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -s
list only uninstalled packages
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -u
Then if you want, you can force-stop the package.
C:\> adb shell am force-stop com.google.android.gms
If desired, you can then disable the package
C:\> adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.package.name (disables package)
If you make a boo boo, you can always re-enable the package
C:\> adb shell pm enable --user 0 com.package.name
You can choose to wipe out both package data & cache
C:\> adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.package.name
Or, if you want to wipe out the package but keep the cache
C:\> adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.package.name
If you make a boo boo, you can always re-install the package
C:\> adb shell cmd package install-existing com.package.name
Examples:
C:\> adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.youtube
C:\> adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.chrome
C:\> adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.gm
C:\> adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.apps.maps
List remaining installed Google apps
C:\> adb shell pm list packages | findstr com.google.android
Note: The -k option uninstalls the app while retaining the data/cache.

Android is unlike any other operating system in that the original
installer is ALWAYS saved in the system partition (which is why
you can easily re-install an app that you uninstalled for the user).

Android calls that original installer APK "base.apk" for every app.
So that's why there are zillions of APK extractors which rename it.
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=apk%20extractor&c=apps

But you can use adb to perform the same task, albeit with effort.
First you find the path on Android to any package you're interested in.
C:\> adb shell pm path com.keuwl.wifi
package:/data/app/~~17JnPS2TxnX4dB1JH1wezQ==/com.keuwl.wifi-zhco0PcHZ1Z0cImyNCvrMQ==/base.apk

Then you can pull that original installer from Android onto Windows.
C:\> adb pull /data/app/(see scrambled eggs above)/base.apk
C:\> rename base.apk com.keuwl.wifi.apk

Using this method you can archive every original installer on your
Android phone onto the same directory you store Windows archives.

On 02/03/2024 23:31, David Woolley wrote:
> On 02/03/2024 09:40, JMB99 wrote:
> > I need to install an App into my mobile phone but Google Play now wants
> > my credit card number before it will let me download anything - they say
> > they will not take anything from the card but I would prefer they did
> > not have my credit card number.
> >
> What's the age rating of the app?

It is a security feature connected to 2FA on a website giving me access
to their servers.

On 07/03/2024 08:30, Sten deJoode wrote:
> On Wed, 6 Mar 2024 09:12:37 +0000, Jeff Layman wrote:
>
>>> First thing I do when I get an Android device is to de-Google it.
>>
>> You mean install something like Lineage OS? That will no doubt help, but
>> it's still a development from Android. Who knows what Google buried deep
>> in those millions of lines of code?
>>
>> Probably only PureOS on something like the Librem 5 can guarantee
>> freedom from Google, but it's not exactly user-friendly!
>
> Everyone is wrong when they say you can't uninstall an app on Android.
> There isn't a single app you can't uninstall. Without being rooted.
> Not one. Not system apps. Not Google apps. Not carrier apps. None.
>
> People don't know this because most people don't know how Android works.
> Android has a user partition. And a system partition. They're different.
>
> For the user partition, you do not need to be root to uninstall anything.
> First you have to find the unique package name.
> list all packages on the device
> C:\> adb shell pm list packages
> list third-party packages
> C:\> adb shell pm list packages -f -3
> list only the disabled packages
> C:\> adb shell pm list packages -d
> list only the system packages
> C:\> adb shell pm list packages -s
> list only uninstalled packages
> C:\> adb shell pm list packages -u
> Then if you want, you can force-stop the package.
> C:\> adb shell am force-stop com.google.android.gms
> If desired, you can then disable the package
> C:\> adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.package.name (disables package)
> If you make a boo boo, you can always re-enable the package
> C:\> adb shell pm enable --user 0 com.package.name
> You can choose to wipe out both package data & cache
> C:\> adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.package.name
> Or, if you want to wipe out the package but keep the cache
> C:\> adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.package.name
> If you make a boo boo, you can always re-install the package
> C:\> adb shell cmd package install-existing com.package.name
> Examples:
> C:\> adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.youtube
> C:\> adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.chrome
> C:\> adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.gm
> C:\> adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.apps.maps
> List remaining installed Google apps
> C:\> adb shell pm list packages | findstr com.google.android
> Note: The -k option uninstalls the app while retaining the data/cache.
>
> Android is unlike any other operating system in that the original
> installer is ALWAYS saved in the system partition (which is why
> you can easily re-install an app that you uninstalled for the user).
>
> Android calls that original installer APK "base.apk" for every app.
> So that's why there are zillions of APK extractors which rename it.
> https://play.google.com/store/search?q=apk%20extractor&c=apps
>
> But you can use adb to perform the same task, albeit with effort.
> First you find the path on Android to any package you're interested in.
> C:\> adb shell pm path com.keuwl.wifi
> package:/data/app/~~17JnPS2TxnX4dB1JH1wezQ==/com.keuwl.wifi-zhco0PcHZ1Z0cImyNCvrMQ==/base.apk
>
> Then you can pull that original installer from Android onto Windows.
> C:\> adb pull /data/app/(see scrambled eggs above)/base.apk
> C:\> rename base.apk com.keuwl.wifi.apk
>
> Using this method you can archive every original installer on your
> Android phone onto the same directory you store Windows archives.

Useful info filed for future reference.

The only other person I've seen go into that detail using adb to
uninstall android system apps is Arlen (aka Wally J). ;-)

--

Jeff

Jeff Layman wrote:

[...]
>
> Useful info filed for future reference.

+1
I've uninstalled Youtube system app from my P30 Pro using platform tools adb
and replaced it with ad-free Newpipe.

> The only other person I've seen go into that detail using adb to
> uninstall android system apps is Arlen (aka Wally J). ;-)

Heh.

On Fri, 8 Mar 2024 12:17:06 -0000, William Stickers wrote:

> I've uninstalled Youtube system app from my P30 Pro using platform tools adb
> and replaced it with ad-free Newpipe.

Smart man. NewPipe is world's better than YouTube, and, get this, no ads!
With NewPipe, as with Aurora, you share an anonymous Google login.

First thing I'd do is install a FOSS replacement for each Google app.
YouTube => NewPipe (much better YouTube client in almost every way)
<https://newpipe.net/>

Chrome => Ungoogled Chromium (same as Chrome but older & without Google)
<https://github.com/ungoogled-software/ungoogled-chromium-android>
Bromite => Ads ad blocking & privacy enhancements to Chromium
<https://www.bromite.org/>

GMail => FairEmail (privacy & doesn't create an account on the phone).
<https://email.faircode.eu/>

Most people don't understand how Android works so they don't realize that
simply logging into GMail or Google Voice or Maps instantly creates a
Google Account on the phone, which is the one thing you want to avoid.

Unfortunately, OSMANd~ freeware isn't as good at address lookup as Google
Maps (but you get around that with a desktop web shortcut to
maps.google.com's address-lookup which nets you gps coordinates to pop into
OSMAnd~ freeware. <https://github.com/osmandapp/OsmAnd>

For traffic, there are far better solutions than Google Maps because many
government sites incorporate traffic & expected construction & road
closures into them, so many that it's region specific so I can't list them
all here, but you get an up to date traffic with the web desktop web
shortcut.

What you don't get though is re-routing based on the traffic.
That you have to do the old fashioned way.

So for that one reason, you may wish to keep Google Maps on the phone.

On Sat, 2 Mar 2024 09:58:17 +0000, Jeff Layman wrote:

> Is the same app available on F-Droid or a similar reliable app source?
> Is it that the app you want is not free and you have not set up a
> payment method with the Play Store?

The OP should be fine if he has an older version of the app lying around.
And he should because Android always saves the original installer APK.

Better yet, if the OP had planned ahead by setting a switch, he would have
saved *every* version of every app he ever installed, including updates.

Once the OP finds his original installer for the payware, then he can
UPDATE the payware app using Aurora instead of the Google Play Store.
<https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore/-/releases>

Aurora can update payware apps off Google Play Store but it can't buy them.

Be advised that you can get Aurora in four locations but Gitlab is always
going to be the most up to date (by a few days) from the other locations.
<https://aurorastore.org/> & <https://auroraoss.com/>
<https://f-droid.org/packages/com.aurora.store/>