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Show HN: Discreet dead man's switch for victims of domestic abuse

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Re: Show HN: Discreet dead man's switch for victims of domestic abuse

#11

Post by cassiet »

mnw21cam wrote: post #2

"We're sorry but dead man tracker doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Please enable it to continue." Yeah fine, but perhaps some explanation of what I would be seeing if I did that would be appreciated. If you want me to enable Javascript, you should at least tell me what you're going to do with that. If you make a web site with functionality that requires Javascript, and there's no other way, that's fi…

This isn’t mine, but the number of my users with js turned off isn’t worth the effort. You guys make a lot of noise, but not a lot of traffic.

Re: Show HN: Discreet dead man's switch for victims of domestic abuse

#12

Post by Ajedi32 »

deif wrote: post #6
woliveirajr wrote: post #3

Seems a nice option but as it happens with any other security-through-obscurity it made me wonder if the abuser reaction wouldn't be a bit harsh if it is discovered. Wouldn't it be better if the functionality is not just hidden but also includes plausible deniability? Like creating one hidden screen that is accessed when you try to guess the word using just one specific setupable word, and showing another fake / usel…

For sure, but any app store listing would give that away so that kind of obscurity only gets you so far. Apple are extremely restrictive on how you present your apps, so it will always be obvious what the app is from the listing (which is why I specifically had to use hang man, as the name of the app has to match the general functionality). I couldn't even release a separate app with the same functionality but comple…

Perhaps a PWA or a side-loadable app on Android would avoid the need for an app store listing.

Re: Show HN: Discreet dead man's switch for victims of domestic abuse

#13

Post by deif »

jenkstom wrote: post #10

As someone who was in an abusive relationship for decades, and my girlfriend is getting out of an even more abusive relationship, there really should be more resources for this. Or maybe there are and there just needs to be a better way to communicate with the people who need this sort of thing.

Yep, it wasn't until I was contacted by an owner of a charity that handled cases of domestic abuse that I even knew it was even needed. Initially this was a hobby project I did in my spare time for when I went travelling and it's grown from there.

More visibility is definitely key, and charities are already stretched so it's not like they have the resources to get this kind of thing done for them. I've been reaching out to various charities to open a channel of communication to let them know that this is available for them.

Re: Show HN: Discreet dead man's switch for victims of domestic abuse

#14

Post by cdelsolar »

mnw21cam wrote: post #2

"We're sorry but dead man tracker doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Please enable it to continue." Yeah fine, but perhaps some explanation of what I would be seeing if I did that would be appreciated. If you want me to enable Javascript, you should at least tell me what you're going to do with that. If you make a web site with functionality that requires Javascript, and there's no other way, that's fi…

No, you luddite, no one uses the internet anymore without Javascript.

Re: Show HN: Discreet dead man's switch for victims of domestic abuse

#15

Post by deif »

Ajedi32 wrote: post #12
deif wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For sure, but any app store listing would give that away so that kind of obscurity only gets you so far. Apple are extremely restrictive on how you present your apps, so it will always be obvious what the app is from the listing (which is why I specifically had to use hang man, as the name of the app has to match the general functionality). I couldn't even release a separate app with the same functionality but comple…

Perhaps a PWA or a side-loadable app on Android would avoid the need for an app store listing.

Yep, definitely a possibility for higher risk users in the future. The current listed app should cover off a large portion of use cases and making it simple to access is my highest priority. Side loading a more secure app for those few cases that absolutely need total peace of mind and security can round off the offering.

Re: Show HN: Discreet dead man's switch for victims of domestic abuse

#17

Post by deif »

lvs wrote: post #16

Does this require a remote service to function, or is it stand-alone? If the former, what happens if that remote service goes down?

Yep, it runs on AWS servers due to the fact that the user's device might be destroyed and it has file hosting, automated calls and all that jazz happening which would not be possible if it was stand-alone.

In terms of redundancy and failover, barring a total region blackout on the AWS end, the remote service will continue to function forever due to the way I've set up the infrastructure. If I die then the service will simply be handed over to someone else.

Re: Show HN: Discreet dead man's switch for victims of domestic abuse

#18

Post by toss1 »

cdelsolar wrote: post #14
mnw21cam wrote: post #2

"We're sorry but dead man tracker doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Please enable it to continue." Yeah fine, but perhaps some explanation of what I would be seeing if I did that would be appreciated. If you want me to enable Javascript, you should at least tell me what you're going to do with that. If you make a web site with functionality that requires Javascript, and there's no other way, that's fi…

No, you luddite, no one uses the internet anymore without Javascript.

But plenty of people use NoScript[1,2] and similar configurable blockers

When you open a new website, only the previously whitelisted JS sources are enabled, and you can individually check out the initially disabled sites to see if you want to trust it to run on your machine.

So, yes, having some default information about the code required to view the basic site would definitely be helpful, and help build trust.

[1] https://github.com/hackademix/noscript [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NoScript#ClearClick_(anti-clic...

Re: Show HN: Discreet dead man's switch for victims of domestic abuse

#19

Post by sho »

At the risk of sounding insensitive - I don't understand what this is. I know what a dead man's switch is, of course - maybe an app that emails your next in kin your email password or cryptocurrency private key if you haven't checked in for a few months. But what would this do? SMS the hospital/police if it's been 24 hours since you played hangman? What is an actual example of intended use?

I know it's probably not this simple, but it seems to me that if you're at the point where you're installing apps to take action in the case you're incapacitated by abuse, you should probably skip the app part and just take that action immediately...

Re: Show HN: Discreet dead man's switch for victims of domestic abuse

#20

Post by alkonaut »

cassiet wrote: post #11
mnw21cam wrote: post #2

"We're sorry but dead man tracker doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Please enable it to continue." Yeah fine, but perhaps some explanation of what I would be seeing if I did that would be appreciated. If you want me to enable Javascript, you should at least tell me what you're going to do with that. If you make a web site with functionality that requires Javascript, and there's no other way, that's fi…

This isn’t mine, but the number of my users with js turned off isn’t worth the effort. You guys make a lot of noise, but not a lot of traffic.

This. Without JS the base expectation should be a blank page. Not even an error message.
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