81–90 of 261 posts
I have iPhone but don’t use any of those shitapps.
What people expect from “free” apps, I don’t know. Maybe they think it’s supposed to be some sort of government-coordinated social benefit arrangement. The moment those apps can’t collect and sell data, they’ll go away, become crappier or start charging.
Why does it seem like browser extensions are ignored in all of these discussions? For example, right now the Honey Chrome extension has permission to "Read and change all your data on the websites you visit". They could be doing anything with that, I'm just crossing my fingers that they find me good deals and don't abuse my data. Chrome actually acknowledges this: "Warning: Google Chrome cannot prevent extensions fro…
That’s not an issue in iOS/Safari because extensions can’t do that kind of thing. I’ve seen other people complain about this for chrome. I saw people justifying it by saying that that permission is necessary if you want to interact with the page directly (hide/show content, etc.). Doesn’t mean the extensions are to be using it, but it may be necessary. Much like GPS data for a weather app.
I asked a network info app developer why it's not possible to at least track and control network connections on iOS, like Little Snitch does (or did) for MacOS. "iOS doesn't support that". Well, duh? I don't even know what to think. Knowing where the iOS device connects to will be a huge help "cracking down" on BS apps! And then I read in the comments that it might be virtually impossible for Apple to detect maliciou…
Sue Apple, because they own the "curated" distribution channel and they have too much money.
Why would you blame Apple instead of the people behind the offfending application?
How do researchers find this information? Presumably the apps are using encrypted network connections to submit your location data to surveillance backends. Is guardianapp reversing each application using jail broken devices? Using an iOS emulator to inspect the running app?
Lots of ways 1. You can inspect HTTPS traffic by installing a trusted MITM cert on your device - no jailbreaking necessary. 2. You can inspect the libraries provided by the owners of tracking endpoints to see what they collect and transfer. 3. Decompiling app bundles is usually pretty effective, and you can download them straight from iTunes.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>There are so many good apps on the store made by good developers. It’s amazing how much better your experience is if you just avoid free apps when possible. Yes. It cannot be emphasized enough. Go pay for apps that are good.
FDroid on Android has tons of FOSS apps that are quite good. Its a false dichotomy.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would you blame Apple instead of the people behind the offfending application?
Apple could implement iOS-wide measures to prevent unnecessary network connections or data streams from sensors. They failed to do that. "Offending applications" exploit that incompetence Apple displays in the recent years.
How?
If an app is useful and not costing you any money, you have to assume it sharing private information with a third party. There is no business plan or strategy where giving something away keeps you business.
I asked a network info app developer why it's not possible to at least track and control network connections on iOS, like Little Snitch does (or did) for MacOS. "iOS doesn't support that". Well, duh? I don't even know what to think. Knowing where the iOS device connects to will be a huge help "cracking down" on BS apps! And then I read in the comments that it might be virtually impossible for Apple to detect maliciou…
It's easy to figure out what an iOS device is connecting to: use a network extension that inspects network traffic. And given that Apple has none of the restrictions they impose on third party developers, they can essentially do what Little Snitch does on macOS.