Data lock-in: Difference between revisions

No major mobile web browser lets the user export their session (list of opened tabs) and browsing history and bookmarks to a local file. Exporting all tabs may be desirable to start with a fresh session without losing the existing session, and exporting the history makes it easier to search for pages a long time after visiting, beyond what the browser retains.<ref>[https://beepb00p.xyz/sad-infra.html The sad state of personal data and infrastructure] - Karl Icoss</ref>

Some web browsers have a "Sync" feature that allows synchronizing tabs and bookmarks across devices, but it is cloud-based, meaning it depends on an online service that can cease to operate at any time.<ref>[https://karl-voit.at/cloud/ You Can't Control Your Data in the Cloud] - Karl Voit</ref><ref>[https://workona.com/pages/how-to-export-chrome-bookmarks/ How to Export Chrome Bookmarks for the Last Time] - Workona</ref>

Since Android 11, apps can no longer browse the <code>Android/data</code> folder in the shared user storage (not to be confused with <code>/data</code>, which was locked in since the beginning).<ref>[https://developer.android.com/about/versions/11/privacy/storage Storage updates in Android 11  &#x7C;  Android Developers]: If your app targets Android 11, it cannot access the files in any other app's data directory, even if the other app targets Android 8.1 (API level 27) or lower and has made the files in its data directory world-readable.</ref>

YouTube provides no official way for people to create permanent local copies of videos. This includes Creative Commons media.<ref>[https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/L1S0SiBuJN8 Google is Locking Down Android - Mental Outlaw], 07:20</ref> The only exception is YouTube Studio allowing channel owners to download their own videos in up to 720p.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6UHS1-vDMM Changes to Unlisted Videos Uploaded Before 2017], 4:30</ref>

While the YouTube app lets paying YouTube Premium subscribers download videos for offline viewing, the videos are only accessible through the YouTube app, encoded in a proprietary format, and forcibly deleted after 29 days.<ref>[https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/L1S0SiBuJN8 Google is Locking Down Android - Mental Outlaw], 06:41</ref><ref>[https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7381437 YouTube videos offline FAQs - YouTube Help]</ref><ref>[https://www.virtualcuriosities.com/articles/3383/warning-youtube-premium-downloads-arent-mp4-files Warning: Youtube Premium "Downloads" aren't MP4 Files - Virtual Curiosities]</ref><ref>[https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/whats-wrong-with-youtube.html What's Wrong with YouTube - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation]</ref>

<ref>[https://karl-voit.at/cloud-dependencies/ My Dependencies on the Cloud] - Karl Voit</ref>

The German Telekom, an Internet and Internet Television provider, sells landline Internet television receivers and recorders. A former product line were the "Entertain" Media Receiver 300, 301, 303, and 500. (The 100 and 102 were secondary devices with no internal hard drives. The others had hard drives between 160 and 500 GB.<ref>[https://archive.today/2026.01.27-101349/https://www.telekom-profis.de/vermitteln/news/media-receiver-mr-102-wieder-erhaeltlich-60.html Media Receiver MR 102 wieder erhältlich! - Telekom Profis] (June 2011)</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6725650  Media Receiver 100] (user manual)</ref><ref>[https://www.woogmedia.de:443/downloads/BDA_MR300.pdf Media Receiver 300 Bedienungsanleitung] (user manual)</ref><ref name=MR300>[https://www.hifitest.de/test/stereoanlage-und-komplettanlage/deutsche-telekom-t-home-media-receiver-300-380 Deutsche Telekom T-Home Media Receiver 300] - hifitest.de (June 2009)</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/2026.01.27-101343/https://www.golem.de/1101/80856.html Media Receiver 303: Neuer Festplattenrekorder für Telekom Entertain - Golem.de] (January 2011)</ref><ref name=MR500 />)

Their operating systems were designed in a way that they would not boot without connecting to Telekom servers, and the devices stored the television recordings on their internal hard drive in a proprietary format, and provided the user with no means of copying or moving recordings to external media such as an external flash drive or hard drive, meaning users were forced to delete recordings when running out of disk space. While the devices featured up to two USB ports, some even an eSATA port, they had no use other than supplying electrical power.<ref name=MR500>[https://www.hifitest.de/test/sat-receiver-mit-festplatte/deutsche-telekom-media-receiver-500-sat-6114 Deutsche Telekom Media Receiver 500 Sat] - hifitest.de (June 2012)</ref><ref name=MR300 /><ref>[https://telekom.tarife-angebote.de/magenta-zuhause/entertain/media-receiver-empfaenger/mr303-iptv-festplattenrekorder Telekom Media-Receiver 303 (MR303 Festplattenrekorder)] - telekom.tarife-angebote.de</ref>