There is an app for creating data-poisoning contacts: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/me.billdietrich.fake_contact...
Source code: https://github.com/BillDietrich/fake_contacts
When an app asks for permissions, it should have a “feed fake data” option
11–20 of 413 posts
Re: When an app asks for permissions, it should have a “feed fake data” option
#12> When an app asks for permissions, the OS should not only let you answer yes or no. Every category should have a "yes, but feed the app fake data" option. A significant amount of people don’t even know how to forward an email. Imagine the havoc that would ensue when people try to use Google Maps for navigation, and they choose to feed it fake data because they don’t understand what it means. Google Maps: “Turn right…
>Google Maps: “Turn right”
>Guy driving alongside the ocean: “ok”
>Car: *splash*
This seems like a learning opportunity. Or a Darwinian opportunity. Either way, self-solving.
Re: When an app asks for permissions, it should have a “feed fake data” option
#13XPrivacy for rooted android could do this 7+ years ago and there are other modern alternatives (but I haven't rooted my phone for a long time so I can't vouch for them): https://github.com/M66B/XPrivacy Obviously that is not mainstream, I agree it should come built in. But then both Android and iOS allow bullshit like region-locked apps or preventing screenshots from DRM content, so good luck with that.
XPrivacy was incredibly cool. But on modern phones rooting and installing Xposed has either gotten massively more complicated or disabled ougright. GrapheneOS wasn't working with banking apps, Google broke rooting via Magisk multiple times on the Android Beta and at some point and i stopped bothering.
Maybe GrapheneOS or similar Projects could do this
Re: When an app asks for permissions, it should have a “feed fake data” option
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is an entirely UX problem then. You could bury the data faking deep in the settings, clearly explain what it does in plain language before enabling it as well as plainly telling the user onscreen that the application is being fed information for privacy reasons that they themselves enabled (and can easily disable). There is always someone who will end up enabling this erroneously, but it would provide a lot of v…
The people who are savvy enough to jump through those hoops are savvy enough to rock a phone that is modded to feed fake data already.
There's truth to that, but jailbreaks to install those on most smartphones depend on exploits for those systems to install your own software. It would be nice if some of this stuff came stock.
Re: When an app asks for permissions, it should have a “feed fake data” option
#15> When an app asks for permissions, the OS should not only let you answer yes or no. Every category should have a "yes, but feed the app fake data" option. A significant amount of people don’t even know how to forward an email. Imagine the havoc that would ensue when people try to use Google Maps for navigation, and they choose to feed it fake data because they don’t understand what it means. Google Maps: “Turn right…
Do a lot of people use Google Maps on iOS? I ask because the “feed fake data” option is something I could imagine Apple doing but never in a million years would I believe Google would do it. Apple Maps wouldn’t have this issue. It’s capable of running offline (without a data connection) because it can download maps to the device.
So is Google Maps (on Android at least, or at least it was 10 years ago when I last did that).
Re: When an app asks for permissions, it should have a “feed fake data” option
#16I really wish browsers would take this approach with notifications. If a website asks if I have notifications enabled, tell them yes, and send them all into the oblivion. Edit: to clarify, I already disable all notifications in Firefox. I was referring to websites that check via JavaScript whether you have notifications turned on and trigger a pop up to ask you to enable them.
How's that different from just having it globally disabled? I've never had a site refuse to work at all because I haven't allowed it to send desktop notifications, does that happen?
Re: When an app asks for permissions, it should have a “feed fake data” option
#17Unfortunately this approach makes you quite unique for fingerprinting
Re: When an app asks for permissions, it should have a “feed fake data” option
#18> When an app asks for permissions, the OS should not only let you answer yes or no. Every category should have a "yes, but feed the app fake data" option. A significant amount of people don’t even know how to forward an email. Imagine the havoc that would ensue when people try to use Google Maps for navigation, and they choose to feed it fake data because they don’t understand what it means. Google Maps: “Turn right…
>Google Maps: “Turn right” >Guy driving alongside the ocean: “ok” >Car: *splash* This seems like a learning opportunity. Or a Darwinian opportunity. Either way, self-solving.
That feeling when hacker news user endorses eugenics as long as its just stupid people.
Re: When an app asks for permissions, it should have a “feed fake data” option
#19This will just make app developers angry at your platform. If this is just some hack users are doing apps will increasingly use attestation to make sure you are not feeding them fake data.
Apps want to be able to give users a good user experience and if they are given fake data users will get angry that the developer's app is broken and leave 1 star reviews. Denying permissions and letting apps know something is denied is much better because they can adapt their app's experience to work around it.
Re: When an app asks for permissions, it should have a “feed fake data” option
#20Unfortunately this approach makes you quite unique for fingerprinting
Or can. Numerous anti-Fingerprinting systems have been discovered to make you more fingerprintable.