Idk man, PRC isn’t exactly FOSS friendly. I mean they are pushing their corporate platform called “WeChat” which requires a smartphone. Many of mainland China’s services require a phone number verification, and phone service require Identification. They’ve started developing things like “HarmonyOS” and started going Closed Source and blocking .apk installs (allegedly, I can’t confirm). Bootloader unlocking has become a pain in devices like Xiaomi. Etc…
I’m more wiling to bet on the Europeans to develop FOSS stuff.
Wechat and Alipay are really convenient though. I could see them enshittifying in the future, but right now they’re great.
Many of mainland China’s services require a phone number verification, and phone service require Identification
Some work with foreign numbers. Some require a passport photo.
Meituan works if you verify a foreign number the first time you scan a bike. Which is a problem if you don’t want to catch roaming charges. I had to drag a bike into wifi range so I could get the SMS verification via wifi the first time.
Idk man, PRC isn’t exactly FOSS friendly. I mean they are pushing their corporate platform called “WeChat” which requires a smartphone. Many of mainland China’s services require a phone number verification, and phone service require Identification. They’ve started developing things like “HarmonyOS” and started going Closed Source and blocking .apk installs (allegedly, I can’t confirm). Bootloader unlocking has become a pain in devices like Xiaomi. Etc…
I’m more wiling to bet on the Europeans to develop FOSS stuff.
Wechat and Alipay are really convenient though. I could see them enshittifying in the future, but right now they’re great.
Some work with foreign numbers. Some require a passport photo.
Meituan works if you verify a foreign number the first time you scan a bike. Which is a problem if you don’t want to catch roaming charges. I had to drag a bike into wifi range so I could get the SMS verification via wifi the first time.