There are fundamental questions which show clear understanding of Android. Worse, the sheep led to slaughter often don't understand the fundamentals.

Hence, it's a good question to ask for those who want to understand it.
Q: *What app functionality requires creating a specific online account?*
NOTE: I say "specific" to distinguish between things like cell carrier
service (which requires an "account" but not an online account);
and generic google accounts (like those used in many FOSS apps),
and mere synchronization tasks (like radio-station favorites).

Example:
a. An example of what definitely needs its own personal account is Email.
b. An example of what does not is installing from the Google Play Store.
c. An example where an account is convenient is calendars & contacts.

To kick things off, I made a quick first-pass list based on my apps:

REQUIRES PERSONAL ACCOUNT:
Email (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AT&T email, ProtonMail, etc.)
Library card access (e.g., Kanopy, OverDrive, Libby, etc.)
Internet Messaging (e.g., WhatsApp, Signal, TextNow, etc.)
VOIP (e.g., Google Voice, TextNow, Skype, Talkatone, etc.)
Social Media (e.g., Twitter, Telegram, Facebook, etc.)
Cloud storage (e.g., DropBox, OneDrive, Google Cloud, etc.)

PERSONAL ACCCOUNT is CONVENIENT (but not required):
All apps which sync data across devices
Calendar sync
Contacts sync
Backup activities
Purchasing online
Activity trackers

To be continued...

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On 2023-11-30 17:54, Wally J wrote:

There are fundamental questions which show clear understanding of Android. Worse, the sheep led to slaughter often don't understand the fundamentals.

Hence, it's a good question to ask for those who want to understand it.
Q: *What app functionality requires creating a specific online account?*
NOTE: I say "specific" to distinguish between things like cell carrier
service (which requires an "account" but not an online account);
and generic google accounts (like those used in many FOSS apps),
and mere synchronization tasks (like radio-station favorites).

Example:
a. An example of what definitely needs its own personal account is Email.
b. An example of what does not is installing from the Google Play Store.

If you want the full feature set, then yes, it is needed.

For example, you can login to google in a computer, go to apps, Play
Store, find an app, and click to install on any of your phones.

c. An example where an account is convenient is calendars & contacts.

Any app that saves settings on the cloud, so that the same settings
apply to all devices. If you want that feature, a login is required.

Some apps may be developed to alternatively use a private server.


--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

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Wally J, 2023-11-30 17:54:

There are fundamental questions which show clear understanding of Android. Worse, the sheep led to slaughter often don't understand the fundamentals.

Hence, it's a good question to ask for those who want to understand it.
Q: *What app functionality requires creating a specific online account?*
NOTE: I say "specific" to distinguish between things like cell carrier
service (which requires an "account" but not an online account);
and generic google accounts (like those used in many FOSS apps),
and mere synchronization tasks (like radio-station favorites).

Example:
a. An example of what definitely needs its own personal account is Email.
b. An example of what does not is installing from the Google Play Store.

Wrong. Google Play Store needs to know for which user account the app
should be installed - because there may be paid licenses connected to
that user account or the user may have subscribed to a beta program to
get beta versions of an app.

c. An example where an account is convenient is calendars & contacts.

Wrong again. Calendars and contacts also belong to a specific account.


--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

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Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote

Wrong. Google Play Store needs to know for which user account the app
should be installed - because there may be paid licenses connected to
that user account or the user may have subscribed to a beta program to
get beta versions of an app.

You bring up a good point that only payware requires the Google Account. Thanks!

It slipped my mind because there's almost nothing in payware that's useful (IMHO), or, if it's useful (like OSMAND+ is or like Simple Mobile Tools Pro tools are), then it's often also available for free (e.g., OSMAnd~).

Thanks for correcting that the people who pay for tools, need to lose their privacy by having a Google Play Account in order to pay for those tools.

I had forgotten that some people pay for tools they can get for free.
Thanks.

c. An example where an account is convenient is calendars & contacts.

Wrong again. Calendars and contacts also belong to a specific account.

It's right - but I do agree many people aren't aware why it is right.
Most people just do what the big marketing organizations want them to do.

So I appreciate that you brought it up.

Suffice to say I have calendars on Android & Windows.
And I have contacts on both.

Yet I have no account.
And they sync fine.

On WI-Fi.
Over my LAN.

(e.g., we have had threads in the past on how to sync Android & Windows contacts/calendars with Thunderbird/Lightning on the Windows platform)
--
Usenet is nothing like working at a high-tech shop in the Silicon Valley.

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"Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote

For example, you can login to google in a computer, go to apps, Play
Store, find an app, and click to install on any of your phones.

Thanks for bringing up that you need an account to have the ability of downloading APKs from the PC onto your cellphone with a Google Account.

However...

I'd call that an "ability" (or maybe a feature) but not a functionality.

The reason is I can do all that too.
Without creating a Google Account.

So the account isn't needed for the functionality of obtaining an APK while
on the PC and then installing that APK onto the phone - or - even obtaining that APK from the phone (web browsers are on phones too) & installing it.

Here's an example of how simple it is to install on a phone from a PC.
<https://i.postimg.cc/wvsbcNBz/scrcpy05.jpg> Drag APK from Windows
All you do is slide the APK file from Windows to Android over Wi-Fi.
And that installs it (although you can do the same thing with adb).

And to get it, all you need is to download it off the Google Play Store repository without needing to create any Google Account on your phone.

So having a Google Account adds a feature that you like, but it's not
necessary to have the functionality of pulling APKs off the Google Play
Store repository and installing them from the PC onto the phone.

Note: As an aside, you can pull F-Droid APKs the way you suggested to use
the Google Play Store repository - but only some of those APKs are the same unique Android package name as those on the Google Play Store repository.

c. An example where an account is convenient is calendars & contacts.

Any app that saves settings on the cloud, so that the same settings
apply to all devices. If you want that feature, a login is required.

Some apps may be developed to alternatively use a private server.

While I agree that _many_ (perhaps even most) app developers would _love_
to have you create an account to store your settings on their servers,
I would argue that there can't be a single app which technically requires
that.

You can sync anything if you have a computer to sync it to, right?
That computer can be your own desktop PC, right?

After having said that, I am aware of ownCloud servers, and caldav and
cardav servers, all of which are free - but most of which are on Linux.

Sadly, the server situation for the Windows PC sucks, IMHO.

If others know of good free cardav, caldav and owncloud servers for the PC,
let me know as I'll test them out for team & write up a tutorial.
--
Each of us on Usenet has a different use model so we learn from each other.

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On 2023-12-05 07:44, Wally J wrote:

"Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote

For example, you can login to google in a computer, go to apps, Play
Store, find an app, and click to install on any of your phones.

Thanks for bringing up that you need an account to have the ability of downloading APKs from the PC onto your cellphone with a Google Account.

However...

I'd call that an "ability" (or maybe a feature) but not a functionality.

The reason is I can do all that too.
Without creating a Google Account.

I doubt it.

I click on the google play page and the app is automatically installed
on any of my phones. No matter where the phone is, LAN or not.

I'm not talking about downloading the APK and installing it "somehow" on
the phone. That's a different feature.

I like this feature, I want it, I demand having it, and it requires a
login. Fine with me. I could do without? yes. I decided not to. Fully
aware, a conscious decision.

...

c. An example where an account is convenient is calendars & contacts.

Any app that saves settings on the cloud, so that the same settings
apply to all devices. If you want that feature, a login is required.

Some apps may be developed to alternatively use a private server.

While I agree that _many_ (perhaps even most) app developers would _love_
to have you create an account to store your settings on their servers,
I would argue that there can't be a single app which technically requires that.

You can sync anything if you have a computer to sync it to, right?
That computer can be your own desktop PC, right?

I would have to put that computer on internet, which I do not want to. I
would have to maintain it, which I do not want to. It is way more
convenient to have an account on the cloud.

I also get features related to appointments with other people that also
have their calendars. Could not work if my calendar is isolated in my
own server.

An enterprise can have instead an enterprise wide calendar in their own
server. Fine, they also have IT people paid to support this. I don't.

...

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

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Wally J, 2023-12-05 07:33:

Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote

Wrong. Google Play Store needs to know for which user account the app
should be installed - because there may be paid licenses connected to
that user account or the user may have subscribed to a beta program to
get beta versions of an app.

You bring up a good point that only payware requires the Google Account. Thanks!

No, Google Play Store requires the account - it will not work without
logging in using a Google account.

It slipped my mind because there's almost nothing in payware that's useful (IMHO), or, if it's useful (like OSMAND+ is or like Simple Mobile Tools Pro tools are), then it's often also available for free (e.g., OSMAnd~).

If you want to have a free alternative to Google Play, you may use F-Droid.


--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

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