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Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

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Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#231

Post by ollien »

shados wrote: post #197
TomOwens wrote: post #140

Most of the comments on that app as well as here are probably wrong. I'd suspect that everyone who had the app "installed without their permission" opted into the Android COVID-19 Exposure Notification program. This was deployed by Google as part of an update to Google Play Services. When you go to your phone's settings with this update, there's an option to enable COVID-19 Exposure Notifications. When you turn it on…

I don't know what kind of proof you want, but I just looked at my phone settings after reading your comment. The exposure notification option is there and it's off. The region selection is grayed out because of it. Yet I got the app (uninstalled it after I saw this on hacker news). I did get a notification when it got installed but I thought it was just a push similar to amber alerts. I didn't realize it installed so…

Ditto. 10 minutes before I saw this post I declined the opt-in notification for exposure notifications, yet I still had the app.

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#232

Post by Jailbird »

smeej wrote: post #208
simpss wrote: post #37

I think the real question is what mechanism allows them to push a random app to some phones? google play services is actively listening for remote installation requests? that's essentially a remote-code-execution backdoor to all android phones?

Related question I'm not wrapping my head around: How does the thing know you're a Massachusetts resident? People who have the contact tracing setting disabled are reporting they still got the app, so the obvious answer seems not to apply. Is it just getting installed on any device that enters MA? New England states are pretty small, and there's a lot of crossover, especially with states like Maine and New Hampshire,…

Not a resident. I just found it installed due to HN. I am in MA at this time.... and have no idea when it was installed. (Of course I uninstalled it immediately)

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#233

Post by digitalsin »

ehsankia wrote: post #106
midrus wrote: post #82

Google is fucking evil nowadays. The "Don't be evil" days are far gone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_be_evil

Calling installing a contact tracing app (which really is just a small wrapper over the existing Exposure Notification API) as "fucking evil" seems like bit over the top...

Can you point me to the github repo so I can review the wrapper code? 'cuz I trust the government since they are so sane these days.

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#234

Post by tunap »

marvindanig wrote: post #222
serial_dev wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see anything bad with people not trusting their local government... Exhibit A

Well, given that a significant percentage of citizenry is anti-vaxxer-level-stupid, there isn't much improvement over people trusting their local Government either…

Considering in a not too distant yesterday(pre-Covid) the "anti-vaxxers" were all liberal/granola types and now they are magically all conservative/racist types, perhaps you may want to re-assess your 2-dimensional view of the real world. I believe a cogent example was on the front-page of HN just a day or two ago, but IANYG.

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#235

Post by dozog »

I'm an MA resident and feel a bit deceived that I agreed to the exposure notification feature last night. It was late when I received the push notification, and I agreed to enable the feature not fully realizing a new app would install (which was me not thinking clearly, but I was literally lying in bed trying to sleep).

Now I don't know how to uninstall the app... I can disable exposure notifications, but it appears to be a built-in app I can only see in settings, not on the home screen. Am I missing something? The language is confusing too: "Your iPhone is not collecting or sharing exposure notification data with anyone." It is not collecting data with anyone? Or it's not collecting data at all? Either way you parse that sentence makes no sense to me. This app is also not listed under the Location Services app list, which seems strange... How else would this app work other than by tracking your location?

Anybody know how to uninstall this easily?

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#236

Post by tunap »

dvfjsdhgfv wrote: post #198
arpstick wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MA resident as well, what worries me more is that someone thought that this method of installation was a good idea and even more worrying is that they were also able to execute on it. It feels rather shady and nefarious the lack of public announcement on it. Shenanigans like this how you get the populace to trust the local government less, which is the last thing this country needs.

It's actually great it's happened. It showed everybody that the government can install whatever they want on your phone without your consent and knowledge. In this case they decided to leave you the option to uninstall but in the future they might not and spy on you at will. Another reminder you are not the owner of your device.

-In this case they decided to leave you the option to uninstall but in the future they might not and spy on you at will.

Then they'll be just like Google, Fecebook, Amazon, etc, etc.

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#237

Post by riekus »

ehsankia wrote: post #106
midrus wrote: post #82

Google is fucking evil nowadays. The "Don't be evil" days are far gone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_be_evil

Calling installing a contact tracing app (which really is just a small wrapper over the existing Exposure Notification API) as "fucking evil" seems like bit over the top...

I disagree, you paid money for you device, you own it. Whatever they want pushed should come with a notification.

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#239

Post by beprogrammed »

cblconfederate wrote: post #114
viktorcode wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are explicitly allowing to install updates in phone's settings. It is made painfully clear. The question here is about what mechanism Google used to install an app, can it be disabled, and what other kind of apps Google is capable of installing silently on the devices?

The mechanism is google's so that point is moot. There should be a physical switch for updates just like some cameras have physical covers

This is just software updating software, so a switch would just be a token gesture, unless it wasn't, in which case you need to have the software be loaded from some ROM and the ROM only writable when the switch was activated, in which case that would be a fantastic device.

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#240

Post by josefx »

kuschku wrote: post #42
josefx wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the German government isn't happy with just fucking everything up locally and is now spreading globally? Did they run out of toxic masks to buy, fake tests to pay for and success statistics to falsify (by removing the leading 20 countries)? There are currently investigations against several members of the government over quite visible corruption while paying themselves with money meant to fight corona and more tha…

Luckily neither Scheuer nor Spahn were involved with the CWA. Check the source code, it’s actually really neat. Doesn’t help with the rest of the fuckups, obviously. Significantly worse is that now everyone has started switching to the luca app, which actually is a dystopian nightmare as it stores everything on its servers, forever, and sells everything to ad partners.

A quick check reveals a few things to me: a) the only thing the CWA seems to do to "protect" privacy is to send fake queries from time to time, which doesn't remove the real ones b) its 16 years and up without parental consent which implies that it does not meet the privacy requirements for children and c) it involves Google, which is one dystopian tech company too much for my comfort.
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