Xiaomi Recording ‘Private’ Web and Phone Use • Hacker News Board

Re: Xiaomi Recording ‘Private’ Web and Phone Use

#11

Post by gruez » Thu, Apr 30, 2020, 9:44 PM UTC

throwaway9587 wrote: post #7

Before you go shaming those bad, bad Chinese companies, imagine my surprise when I restored my Apple iPhone from iCloud only to find my (always set to private!) Safari back there with every tab I ever opened.

It's entirely possible to implement that behavior in a privacy preserving way. Just encrypt "sensitive" data with a key that's stored on the secure element. That way if you restore to the same device, you get everything back. Sadly, I don't feel like wiping my phone to test this out, so whether Apple actually does that is an open question at this point.

Re: Xiaomi Recording ‘Private’ Web and Phone Use

#12

Post by ptx » Thu, Apr 30, 2020, 9:45 PM UTC

How does Windows 10 compare? It also tracks and reports which websites you visit, but maybe it doesn't in private browsing mode?

Edit: People asking for sources, go to Settings -> Diagnostics & Feedback. See the part where it says "Send ... info about websites you browse"? You might also be interested in the setting below it; when you enable it "Microsoft will collect samples of the content you type"[1].

[1] https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4468236/

Re: Xiaomi Recording ‘Private’ Web and Phone Use

#13

Post by gruez » Thu, Apr 30, 2020, 9:47 PM UTC

bottled_poe wrote: post #8

This is surprising? I thought this was a feature.

>I thought this was a feature.

???

In what way does this benefit the user?

Re: Xiaomi Recording ‘Private’ Web and Phone Use

#14

Post by coolspot » Thu, Apr 30, 2020, 9:47 PM UTC

throwaway9587 wrote: post #7

Before you go shaming those bad, bad Chinese companies, imagine my surprise when I restored my Apple iPhone from iCloud only to find my (always set to private!) Safari back there with every tab I ever opened.

Your backup is encrypted https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202303

Re: Xiaomi Recording ‘Private’ Web and Phone Use

#15

Post by eanzenberg » Thu, Apr 30, 2020, 9:49 PM UTC

gruez wrote: post #13

bottled_poe wrote: post #8

This is surprising? I thought this was a feature.

>I thought this was a feature. ??? In what way does this benefit the user?

Give my data to the glorious red state, for the greater good of the people!

Re: Xiaomi Recording ‘Private’ Web and Phone Use

#16

Post by thoraway1010 » Thu, Apr 30, 2020, 9:50 PM UTC

I know apple keeps on getting headlines for breaking privacy (and also making phones that supposedly get thrown away because they don't have right to repair)

My own sense is android phones are MUCH less private and secure AND have much shorter useful lives.

Re: Xiaomi Recording ‘Private’ Web and Phone Use

#17

Post by ChuckNorris89 » Thu, Apr 30, 2020, 9:51 PM UTC

ptx wrote: post #12

How does Windows 10 compare? It also tracks and reports which websites you visit, but maybe it doesn't in private browsing mode? Edit: People asking for sources, go to Settings -> Diagnostics & Feedback. See the part where it says "Send ... info about websites you browse"? You might also be interested in the setting below it; when you enable it "Microsoft will collect samples of the content you type"[1]. [1] https://…

Source?

Re: Xiaomi Recording ‘Private’ Web and Phone Use

#18

Post by mbdesign » Thu, Apr 30, 2020, 9:51 PM UTC

On a Xiaomi device myself. Recently I've setup Nextdns.io to resolve all the DNS requests through it. Very frequent callbacks to Xiaomi servers for tracking. Blocked a bunch of them now, but it's half a solution.

Re: Xiaomi Recording ‘Private’ Web and Phone Use

#19

Post by drevil-v2 » Thu, Apr 30, 2020, 9:52 PM UTC

ptx wrote: post #12

How does Windows 10 compare? It also tracks and reports which websites you visit, but maybe it doesn't in private browsing mode? Edit: People asking for sources, go to Settings -> Diagnostics & Feedback. See the part where it says "Send ... info about websites you browse"? You might also be interested in the setting below it; when you enable it "Microsoft will collect samples of the content you type"[1]. [1] https://…

Citation needed. The device telemetry does not include browsing history.

Re: Xiaomi Recording ‘Private’ Web and Phone Use

#20

Post by xiii1408 » Thu, Apr 30, 2020, 9:53 PM UTC

mbdesign wrote: post #18

On a Xiaomi device myself. Recently I've setup Nextdns.io to resolve all the DNS requests through it. Very frequent callbacks to Xiaomi servers for tracking. Blocked a bunch of them now, but it's half a solution.

Other than the tracking, would you recommend it? Is LineageOS available? I've been curious about trying a Chinese phone for a while, but would only do it if Lineage is available, since I'm annoyed by anything more busy than stock Android.