Bromite: Google Play Services authorization prompt in v74

[dadosch]

Bromite version

Version: 74.0.3729.80
Arch: arm64
Android version: 7.1.2

Is the bug reproducible with latest version?
Already using latest version available from F-Droid Repo.

Can the bug be reproduced with corresponding Chromium version?
Not tested, but Chromium doesn't claim to be privacy-enhanced.

Is the bug a crash?
no

Describe the bug
A notification appears after the latest update saying that Bromite needs Google Play Services. (see screenshot)

Expected behavior
Bromite should not depend on Google Play Services

Screenshots

[csagan5]

This is likely due to new code in v74 using Play integrations; unfortunately the patches that I am using to evict this functionality are orphaned, so I would have now to do some work to find out why it's happening.

[ouzowtf]

I haven't seen this notification yet. When does it show up?

[csagan5]

This could be a regression (reference: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=76242418&postcount=652)

@ouzowtf you need to terminate the app or reboot to see it.

[csagan5]

Fixed in 74.0.3729.86.

@dadosch please report back if it is not fixed.

[dadosch]

I can confirm that it isn't fixed in 74.0.3729.86.

[csagan5]

Ok, thanks for reporting; something must have changed in the code or in the manifest that makes this prompt happen again. No idea about what though.

[hadig]

You can disable this notification in bromite's notification settings

[csagan5]

Is this problem still present with 74.0.3729.122?

[AlternativeZero]

@csagan5 I still seem to have login issues on 74.0.3729.122, I brought it up in the microg issues cause I thought it was an issue on their end but read on xda it's an issue with v74.

I have a logcat there if it's any use.

[ghost]

Is this problem still present with 74.0.3729.122?

Yes.

@csagan5

[AlternativeZero]

Just tested 74.0.3729.141 and login still isn't working.

[csagan5]

@AlternativeZero that should be discussed in a separate issue. This issue here is "Google Play Services authorization prompt in v74"

[csagan5]

I cannot reproduce this issue; can somebody please verify with 74.0.3729.162?

[ghost]

I cannot reproduce this issue; can somebody please verify with 74.0.3729.162?

The issue still exists in the latest version, 74.0.3729.162.

[csagan5]

@BugReporter2 you are experiencing this issue with the Bromite browser, not the SystemWebView, correct?

What are the steps to trigger it?

[ghost]

@BugReporter2 you are experiencing this issue with the Bromite browser, not the SystemWebView, correct?

Yes, with the Bromite browser.

What are the steps to trigger it?

Just normal browsing. There is no special step to trigger it. Start browsing websites, so that prompt will come in a certain amount of time. Sometimes the prompt comes almost immediately when you open Bromite and start browsing and sometimes it can take several minutes.

[whour]

75.0.3770.50 still have problems.
Just browse m.youtube.com, click a video,you will see the problem.

[allenluce]

This is likely due to new code in v74 using Play integrations; unfortunately the patches that I am using to evict this functionality are orphaned, so I would have now to do some work to find out why it's happening.

Hi @csagan5, can you supply a reference to those patches?

[csagan5]

@allenluce the patches have been included for about a year now, they come from this abandoned project: https://gitlab.com/thermatk/Unobtainium

You can find them under https://github.com/bromite/bromite/tree/master/build/patches as kill-Auth.patch and kill-GCM.patch; the Chromium build from Arch Linux has similar patches.

This new authorization request is due to some new code from upstream and it's not easy to find out where it is; I also cannot reproduce it.

[thestinger]

Try visiting https://www.tomshardware.com/.

[csagan5]

@thestinger I am still unable to reproduce this with real devices. Can this be reproduced with the Android Virtual Device or it is related to running a specific ROM?

[thestinger]

It occurs for me on AOSP on any of the officially supported devices. I think there's a good chance you could reproduce it in the emulator.

[thestinger]

Also, worth noting that this does also occur in Brave too: brave/browser-android-tabs#1639, so the idea of getting a fix from there isn't viable.

[expobar]

Another page which quickly triggers this issue is https://1.1.1.1/help

[csagan5]

@thestinger I think it does not appear on my physical devices because it might have been granted in the past already.

Thanks for the explanation and reference, it makes sense. So it's an upstream bug and there appears to be little incentive from upstream to fix it in a timely manner.

[csagan5]

Has anybody found/created the upstream issue in Chromium issue tracker? I suggest addressing it upstream, they might find more easily where this comes from.

This would be addressed radically if no play services were used in Bromite, but it's not currently being worked on.

Closing it as the fix will come from upstream (if ever).

[thestinger]

I don't think there's an issue open yet. I wanted to identify the reason for the issue before filing it. They're likely to fix it very quickly if they're pointed towards the right place, but otherwise I expect they will treat it as a very low priority unless they can quickly identify the problem. Since https://1.1.1.1/help can trigger it without needing much code, someone should work on narrowing down the specific issue and then it should be fairly easy to find the right place to fix this.

[thestinger]

I resolved this with https://github.com/GrapheneOS/Vanadium/blob/9bb898ebcee8102fd60da961ee17c458eaf3ec7f/0021-disable-media-router-by-default.patch, but I also added https://github.com/GrapheneOS/Vanadium/blob/9bb898ebcee8102fd60da961ee17c458eaf3ec7f/0020-disable-media-router-media-remoting-by-default.patch for good measure.

[csagan5]

Will be fixed in next release 75.0.3770.139 thanks to @thestinger's patches.

[csagan5]

Can someone please test whether this problem is resolved with latest version 75.0.3770.139 or not?

[expobar]

Fixed on my side. I can't seem to trigger it on sites that usually triggers this. Thanks guys.