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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

#291

Post by optymizer »

dstaley wrote: post #141

I think it's far more interesting to think about what went wrong so that the MassNotify app actually displays as installed on these devices. All of the Android COVID exposure apps for US states are simply the Google Play Services COVID Exposure Notifications code with an icon, splash screen, and possibly some text. The idea is that you enable the setting by installing the app, but in this case it seems that rolling o…

This is not true. An app _was_ actually installed on my device. The device isn't rooted, but I have Developer Options enabled and I can see that the folder /data/data/gov.ma.covid19.exposurenotifications.v3 exists.

Logcat also shows that this isn't a Google Play misconfiguration where it would show details about an application as if it were installed. Executable code was installed and run on my phone.

    06-19 10:55:21.977  1192  1609 I ActivityManager: Start proc 10474:gov.ma.covid19.exposurenotifications.v3/u0a418 for service {gov.ma.covid19.exposurenotifications.v3/androidx.work.impl.background.systemjob.SystemJobService}

    06-19 10:55:22.032 10474 10474 D LoadedApk: LoadedApk::makeApplication() appContext=android.app.ContextImpl@bfaf057 appContext.mOpPackageName=gov.ma.covid19.exposurenotifications.v3 appContext.mBasePackageName=gov.ma.covid19.exposurenotifications.v3 appContext.mPackageInfo=android.app.LoadedApk@1f755d6

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#292

Post by landemva »

NoImmatureAdHom wrote: post #246

Fellow humans, there are alternatives! Your neck need not be under FAANG's boot! You don't even need to give up any functionality: CalyxOS: https://calyxos.org/ Privacy-respecting Android distribution that replaces Google spyware with MicroG, so you can have your cake and eat it too. Most everything will work as you're used to, but it does still talk to Google to make that happen. GrapheneOS: https://grapheneos.org/…

This is a good start for taking back my privacy. Have been considering purchase of Librem phone.

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#293

Post by cblconfederate »

beprogrammed wrote: post #239
cblconfederate wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

all diskettes used to have read-only locks

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#294

Post by notacoward »

dragonwriter wrote: post #158
sohei wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A corollary of your question. If Google can lawfully install arbitrary apps on ordinary users' phones, can it also run arbitrary code on the personal devices of government officials investigating it for price fixing in the ad market?

> If Google can lawfully install arbitrary apps on ordinary users' phones Of the partners in this, I think that the source of authority waa almost certainly the other one. It’s not Google, but the State of Massachusetts, whose authority is likely involved.

That also means it's going to be hard to sue over this, because the courts where you might do so are part of the same Commonwealth that authorized the action. Even if you could get a case on the docket, they'd just say the magic words "sovereign immunity" and it would disappear.

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#296

Post by mackal »

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…

This speculation is 100% wrong. I checked for this app after seeing this and had it listed under updates available (it was installed already)

So I decided to check if I was in fact opted in and I was not opted in. Everything was off and this app was still installed without my consent. I do have automatic UPDATES turned on, but that shouldn't tell Google to just push whatever they want to me. You should probably edit your post saying your speculation is wrong.

I don't know what kind of proof you want, but I 100% never opted in.

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#297

Post by Barrin92 »

thu2111 wrote: post #278
Barrin92 wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"if the Mass Gov truly wants to minimize harm this is the opposite of what needs to be done." where is the actual evidence for this? Both Taiwan and South Korea deployed massive, digital tracking efforts to respond to covid often at the cell-provider/ infrastructure level so the entire population was covered whether they wanted to or not. Nothing about this was despotic or paranoid, it was simply the correct, swift,…

You are merely arguing that it was worth it because you agree with the goal, not that it wasn't despotic or paranoid.

it was neither desponic nor paranoid. Paranoia is an irrational or delusional bout of fear. Thinking the cleaning crew in front of your house is secret agents trying to kidnap you is paranoia, taking measures against a pandemic is not, because the pandemic is real and deadly. In the same vein, despotism is the tyrannical and arbitrary exercise of power, not merely the exercise of power towards legitimate ends.

In fact if anyone is paranoid then it is the public every time the issue of governance and technology converge, because in particular in the US there exists a phobia both to technology as well as government.

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#298

Post by remuskaos »

kalleboo wrote: post #169
remuskaos wrote: post #76

I wonder if this is the same functionality some carriers use to install their management app on your phone. For example, I've recently bought a second hand Samsung tablet. I've reset it to factory settings and put in a Vodafone SIM. The next time I looked though the installed apps I saw some Vodafone Services app that I didn't install. It couldn't be removed either. So clearly, either Google with play services or the…

> The next time I looked though the installed apps I saw some Vodafone Services app that I didn't install. It couldn't be removed either Are you sure that's an actual Android App and not just the SIM Application Toolkit[0]? On iOS these show up under the Carrier menu in Settings but on Android it shows them as if they were an app, even though it's something running on your SIM card (they are backwards compatible and…

That's a very good point! I removed the SIM and the app was gone again. So I guess you're right, it may be installed on the SIM and not actually the device.

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#299

Post by MiddleEndian »

meibo wrote: post #170
MiddleEndian wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It honestly baffles me that there are Android enthusiasts. My phone runs Android but it's not a good operating system.

Don't buy a shitty phone and expect to get a good experience. Avoiding big brands like Samsung usually helps.

I like my phone, the Palm Phone, overall. Definitely the least annoying phone I've ever had, even less bothersome than my Windows Phones or flip phones of the past. I just find Android to have somewhat of a user-hostile design.

Re: Massachusetts health notifications app installed without users’ knowledge

#300

Post by MiddleEndian »

NeoVeles wrote: post #162
MiddleEndian wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It honestly baffles me that there are Android enthusiasts. My phone runs Android but it's not a good operating system.

I think it baffles me that there is enthusiasts that will defend either side as an absolute. I mean I get it, people tend to fall into tribal thinking. But sometime you have to take a step back and remember that these are just gadgets. Personally, I run Android. It is an OS. It is ok. Not great not bad. I don't really care what other people run, I just hope it doesn't treat them to poorly.

I certainly don't defend iOS and am unlikely to ever buy an iPhone. Overall I like my phone better than my previous phones, but Android is certainly designed so that manufacturers and providers can irritate their users on a whim leaving them with little recourse.
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