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by artisinal9 hours ago |
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upvoteby birdsongs8 hours ago|
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But I can't use my Norwegian BankID unless I have an apple store or play store account. This is required for every aspect of society. Heathcare, banking, taxes, driving, using my debit card online.

They removed SMS 2FA options recently, the only non-tech monopoly method is a 2fa codebrick that's getting harder and harder to acquire (there are new ridiculous facial ID and passport scanning requirements, run by a private corporation, in order to get one).

It's garbage and getting worse. And it seems no one cares our entire lives exist at the whim of two US tech monoliths.

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upvoteby anonzzzies7 hours ago|
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We need all countries and the EU govs to mandate companies to provide the same vital access via a Web page that works on the 4 major browsers (not an issue anymore) as via the app. All my banks have it; I need an otp device but thats fine; it works well. I wish EU would mandate that plus an EU made hardware device on which all seeds can be stored and otps generated. That can be the size of an USB stick you can put on your keyring. Add NFC/qr so you don't have to type the otp and there we go.
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upvoteby graemep7 hours ago|
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Most places are going the other way. The UK uses ID verification for company directors that gave me an alternative between driving half an hour each way (plus parking and queueing) or using a mobile app. There is a web version but apparently they do not have the data to let me use it. The EU is pushing an age verification app that will only work on Apple or Google phones.

There is a huge push towards cashless payments that has the same effect, especially as people increasingly use mobile payments.

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upvoteby anonzzzies6 hours ago|
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Yep, it's pretty bad.
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upvoteby BetterThanSober7 hours ago|
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That's on your bank and not necessarily because of Apple/Google duopoly. I think it is crazy to put the whole banking system on foreign, private company though
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upvoteby Telaneo5 hours ago|
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It's not on their bank so much as the entire banking system in Norway and the rest of society tagging along for the ride.

BankID is used for login with every single Norwegian bank and government institution. There are alternatives, but they're invonvenient and sometimes bespoke per service.

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upvoteby elondaits7 hours ago|
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The App Store account doesn’t need to be the same as the Apple iCloud account. You can create an account without a credit card associated to it.
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upvoteby duskdozer7 hours ago|
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That's much worse than I expected. Is it a hard play store requirement or can you install the apk? Are there really no other workarounds?
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upvoteby birdsongs5 hours ago|
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It truly is. We are a completely digital society and everything is authenticated with BankID. The name is a misnomer, it's not just banking but every single government service (including healthcare).

I might be wrong but as far as I'm aware there's no legitimate APK downloads. And even if you get a hold of it, they use google services to attest the phone is secure, so there's no running it on a google-less OS.

The workaround used to be SMS codes, scratch off cards, and a physical 2FA codebrick. They cancelled SMS and the card, and currently you can't acquire a codebrick until they figure out some new bullshit about ID verification. Even the app is warning us it will quit functioning if we don't submit a passport and biometric face scan to some private company: https://bankid.no/en/help/confirm-identity

It's fucking dire.

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upvoteby artisinal7 hours ago|
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What Norway has sounds pretty crazy to me. If I am reading this correctly, Trump can disable the entire Norwegian healthcare system by calling Apple and Google and having them block BankID.
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upvoteby birdsongs5 hours ago|
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Yes, he can. Along with taxes, car registrations, banking, money transfers, rent payments, etc.

I really hope we figure something out.

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upvoteby ninalanyon4 hours ago|
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I wish he would. Then the authorities would have to fix the problem.
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upvoteby graemep5 hours ago|
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Trump can close down a lot of the British NHS by telling AWS to stop supplying it. Everyone apart from a few countries (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, etc.) is dependent on the US.
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upvoteby spacebanana74 hours ago|
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Yes but that’s a blunt instrument, which would risk reaction. However putting an individual on a sanctions list is routine and easy.

And a president could always just call up the CEOs and ask for their least favourite Norwegian to be cancelled without any paperwork.

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upvoteby graemep4 hours ago|
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As happened to ICC judges and prosecutors.
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upvoteby tempodox8 hours ago|
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> The EU has the alternative App Store option that doesn’t require an Apple account.

I cannot install any iOS software without being logged into my Apple account, not even an alternative app store.

It would be perfect on my older iDevices, but they don't let me log in anymore “because the OS is too old”. And guess what: I cannot update the OS without being logged in. I never logged out of those iDevices, Apple did that from their end.

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upvoteby artisinal7 hours ago|
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I tried to install onside.io through Safari and it doesn’t seem to use my Apple credentials.

Have you tried updating your older iOS devices through a Mac?

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upvoteby givinguflac8 hours ago|
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You can update the OS using a Mac or PC.
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upvoteby qilo6 hours ago|
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You can't install anything without an Apple account. Just tried installing altstore.io to repeat my previous unsuccessful attempt.

Only users based in Brazil, Japan, or the European Union are able to install apps through alternative app distribution. The country or region of your *Apple Account* must be set to one of those countries or regions, and you must physically be located there. [0]

UPDATE: Also tried to install onside.io. No luck. The same popup:

Cannot Install App: You are not eligible to install apps from "onside.io".

[0] https://support.apple.com/en-us/117767 https://support.apple.com/en-us/118110

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upvoteby pfortuny9 hours ago|
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Wow, I did not know this and -despite its drawbacks, like not being able to install apps from the Apple App store- this seems like a great way to have a powerful dumb-phone.
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upvoteby malfist7 hours ago|
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Why do you need a powerful dumb phone?
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upvoteby broken-kebab7 hours ago|
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One can read it aloud in sarcastic tone, and it will become clear then.
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