Play Store blocks AuroraStore, hurting GrapheneOS users

GrapheneOS actually recommends against using Aurora and instead just using the Play Store, so this shouldn't really hurt users.

For extra privacy, you can sign into the Play Store with a Google Account that isn't tied to anything else.

I use Aurora on GOS. I get that they say sandboxed Play is more secure than Aurora, but I prefer it for its lack of toxicity and absence of shitty dark patterns.

I think the increased popularity of GOS is going to draw in more users like me who picked it for reasons adjacent to Graphene's original purpose, and I hope it's not too annoying for their community.

I feel the title editorializes a bit too much. The thread only confirms the bug, not a specific cause yet. As sibling comments indicate, the effect on GrapheneOS users is undetermined.

I've been stuck with unupdated apps because Aurora hasn't been working for me for a while. A few of them have been nagging me to update. I have everything Google disabled or removed, and no I won't reenable any of it. Also I use anon strictly on Aurora, and no I won't login with my Google account; haven't logged in on a phone for over 8 years now and I have no intention of breaking the streak.

I maintain my grandmothers phone, which comes down mostly to just updating WhatsApp once in a while. Obviously she doesn't have a google account, so I've installed her AuroraStore.

It's a shame that there is no official way to install apps on android without a google accout[1], since it's a basic functionality, just like calls or a web browser.

[1] For obvious reasons I don't want her to download apks from the internet.

AuroraStore is/was really nice for running purchased games on Android-based game consoles (Retroid Pocket, Ayn Odin, etc.) because a lot of games seem to be incorrectly marked as incompatible with those devices.

Play Store won't let me install them, but AuroraStore will, and most of the time they work fine after that.

For example, I have Balatro running on my Ayn Thor this way.

Using lineageos on an old samsung without any google services, I guess this would impact many "degoogled" users as well

For me anonymous use of Aurora never really worked, and with a google account it still works.

Yep broken on my /e/OS device too.

Annoying but this kinda thing happens every 6 months or so. Sometimes Google starts throttling, other times doing some API checks. Every time the Aurora guys figure out a way around it. They're our heroes <3

Even this particular error ("Server busy, try again later"). I've been seeing over the past weeks but then a few days later it worked again. I'm not too worried. It also happens or me right now indeed.

Installing apps from Aurora Store still does seem to work, although only occasionally. It is more likely that Google is deploying a new API schema on its Play API endpoint that the app doesn't know how to parse correctly yet.

Looks like I might start using Aptoide again. I was using it back when I was running de-Googled LineageOS. What's the consensus on it vs. Play Store or F-droid?

https://en.aptoide.com/

So an app that uses an unofficial API broke when that API changed?

Not news nor "blocking".

Title is: Aurora Store returns a “&$Server busy, please try again later.” error

Update: As of this evening, not an issue for Calyx.

Okay, it was a bit of clickbait. Didn't expect it to be picked up like this.

Mistake from me: apparently GrapheneOS does not recommend Aurora Store (citation needed). Kind of weird though; it means Google still knows a lot about you, which doesn't seem very privacy conscience.

Google blocking Aurora Store was a conclusion made in the bug thread. It was not my conclusion.

And for the nit pickers: Sailfish OS is not Android, but its emulation layer _is_. :shrug: Even though Sailfish is nice, without its Android layer it is practically unusable.

Funny thing: the 'busy server' problem existed for almost a week. I could download 1 app per day max on my Jolla C2. But just now, now that this thread makes top of Hackernews, everything started working just fine!

Didn't Epic get some kind of magic injunction saying that Google had to allow open access to the entire Play Store catalogue or something?

This happened to me but then got fixed the day later

Looks like the same thing is true for Calyx.

Web Native then. App Stores are lame anyway.

Try and find a category for "open source" apps on any app store.

> Aurora uses burner account for anonymous login. looks like their account pool is flagged

This seems like it was destined to get banned somehow... and I don't think it means that the store itself is blocked, just the pool of accounts they (ab)use.

From bad to worse.

Sadly I'm gonna have to migrate again to an ios device...

Remember when people kept justifying Android over Windows Phone/Maemo/WebOS/BlackBerry/FirefoxOS on the grounds that it was free and open source software, infinitely customizable, and that Google was a good-faith partner who wanted openness in the mobile market?

Good times, good times.

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Google becomes more and more evil by the second now.

Android distributions that recommend AuroraStore (such as Graphene OS and Sailfish OS) are now mostly blocked by Google Play Store.