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Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

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Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#31

Post by wrs »

ErikAugust wrote: post #8
wrs wrote: post #7

Why is this bad? Don’t most error reporting libraries send this sort of metadata with exception stacktraces? I would think this falls under the usual “improving the quality of the app” language in nearly everybody’s EULA.

It doesn't just send a list of libraries, it actually uploads the libraries [1]. You seriously think that's a good use of bandwidth? [1] https://twitter.com/wongmjane/status/1167463077748436993?s=2...

Given the Wild West nature of Android, there may be no other possible way to get that version of that system library to debug something.

Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#32

Post by ErikAugust »

wrs wrote: post #31
ErikAugust wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't just send a list of libraries, it actually uploads the libraries [1]. You seriously think that's a good use of bandwidth? [1] https://twitter.com/wongmjane/status/1167463077748436993?s=2...

Given the Wild West nature of Android, there may be no other possible way to get that version of that system library to debug something.

I would have to hope that uploads are only triggered if the hash in the metadata wasn't found in their massive store of libraries.

Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#33

Post by swalsh »

saagarjha wrote: post #5

I'd expect that they're doing this because they'd like to diagnose crashes or bugs on systems that they don't have the hardware for. It's still somewhat creepy and possibly a fingerprinting mechanism.

Would it be less creepy if facebook had a list of libraries they use, and uploaded a list of missing libraries instead of the total collection?

Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#34

Post by vvanders »

austinheap wrote: post #22
prongletown wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not making a moral judgement (FB is a big yikes), just technical. They'd have to: - build lists of every phone, including carrier variant and internal revisions (pretty common!), to make sure they could be sure they had a complete library - rely on the manufacturer to publicly post the ROM (cheaper mfg wont do this) (or somehow retrieve the URL from the update mechanism, said URL not easily accessible from usersp…

But...what about my pitchfork? The knee-jerk reaction to every Facebook blog spam entirely diminishes the harm they've done to nations around the world.

Yeah sorry, they could send ro.build.fingerprint instead if they really wanted to know what version of builds and devices out there are causing issues.

I can see this as an opt-in but not as a silent, default behavior.

Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#35

Post by ASalazarMX »

swalsh wrote: post #33
saagarjha wrote: post #5

I'd expect that they're doing this because they'd like to diagnose crashes or bugs on systems that they don't have the hardware for. It's still somewhat creepy and possibly a fingerprinting mechanism.

Would it be less creepy if facebook had a list of libraries they use, and uploaded a list of missing libraries instead of the total collection?

It would be less creepy if they actually asked the user if they want to upload those system files before uploading them.

Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#36

Post by [deleted] »

mirimir wrote: post #10

How the bloody hell is it permitted for apps to be uploading system files? This wouldn't be possible in Linux, right? Basically, this is malware. Edit: Thanks, all. So OK, I get that it's possible, because apps have read and execute permissions for all libraries that they use. But it's not common for apps to upload system files, right?

[deleted]

Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#37

Post by m0zg »

sharpneli wrote: post #2

Isn’t this potentially a copyright violation? Especially on Qualcomm devices (such as the Jolla phone) Qualcomm explicitly forbids you from distributing their OpenGL drivers. So if facebook copies libGLESv2.so off from the device they are potentially performing straight piracy at that point. If I recall the damages demanded by RIAA it was several hundred k per infringement.

Even if it is, Qualcomm won't do anything about it. It's in their interest that FB app works well on Snapdragon.

Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#38

Post by coding123 »

CaptainZapp wrote: post #15
saagarjha wrote: post #5

I'd expect that they're doing this because they'd like to diagnose crashes or bugs on systems that they don't have the hardware for. It's still somewhat creepy and possibly a fingerprinting mechanism.

Your assessment would be reasonable whth just about any company. But Facebook? Not so much.

Agreed. This is about how the phone number thing went "for security". I think a lot of people believed FB was using it just for security but in reality they were trying to find more connections, possible friends, tie you to an identity. A real citizen of a country - which is one of their products. I would suspect this is like browser fingerprinting.
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