Verizon announces plans to install a download-tracking app on its Android phones
111–118 of 118 posts
Re: Verizon announces plans to install a download-tracking app on its Android phones
#112Between the Google play store, Android's general insecurity, and now cell carriers actively pushing spyware, what alternatives exist? And please don't say iOS. It's closed source, which means we really don't know what's going on under the hood. We may trust it today, but one secret court order + an overnight update is all we need to lose everything with iOS. Apple execs may not even be made aware of such an update if…
>"and now cell carriers actively pushing spyware,"
Have there been other carriers pushing such spyware out to Android phones in in addition to Verizon?
Re: Verizon announces plans to install a download-tracking app on its Android phones
#113Googlers of hacker news: stop allowing this.
Android is (sortof) open source and anybody can install an app. What could Google do to stop this?
Re: Verizon announces plans to install a download-tracking app on its Android phones
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Between the Google play store, Android's general insecurity, and now cell carriers actively pushing spyware, what alternatives exist?" There are no alternatives until we have an open baseband. Every objection you state in your comment about android (and iOS) is dwarfed by the objections you would have if you truly understood the two other general purpose computers inside your phone that you have no control over - na…
I just use my cell phone as a phone... just a phone (it's not a smartphone); the rest I do on a device that isn't networked. The convenience of a smartphone comes with far too many hooks in my opinion.
The tower pings are for many users just as damaging as all the paranoid fantasies people protect themselves from.
Like how many people with legitimate concerns about baseband tampering can safely carry a dumb phone?
Re: Verizon announces plans to install a download-tracking app on its Android phones
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
"And please don't say iOS. It's closed source, which means we really don't know what's going on under the hood. We may trust it today, but one secret court order + an overnight update is all we need to lose everything with iOS. Apple execs may not even be made aware of such an update if the order was delivered to the engineers directly." So Android is "open source" even though most of what makes Android Android to mo…
> But iOS is closed source even though parts of it are also open source? Android will run ( and performs all the expected smartphone functions ) using only open-source. iOS won't boot using only open-source. I'm not a fan of Android in general but reluctantly continue using it with that distinction as consolation.
Can you use an App Store? Are the baseband drivers open source, the graphic drivers? Are any of the drivers open source?
Re: Verizon announces plans to install a download-tracking app on its Android phones
#116Between the Google play store, Android's general insecurity, and now cell carriers actively pushing spyware, what alternatives exist? And please don't say iOS. It's closed source, which means we really don't know what's going on under the hood. We may trust it today, but one secret court order + an overnight update is all we need to lose everything with iOS. Apple execs may not even be made aware of such an update if…
"And please don't say iOS. It's closed source, which means we really don't know what's going on under the hood. We may trust it today, but one secret court order + an overnight update is all we need to lose everything with iOS. Apple execs may not even be made aware of such an update if the order was delivered to the engineers directly." So Android is "open source" even though most of what makes Android Android to mo…
I asked people not to suggest iOS because I thought it likely that they would. I did not think it likely that people would suggest Android is acceptably secure, and indeed they did not.
iOS has the high ground between the two, but neither are anywhere close to acceptable.
Re: Verizon announces plans to install a download-tracking app on its Android phones
#117Re: Verizon announces plans to install a download-tracking app on its Android phones
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
surprise surprise. apple also is an advertising company. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205223
Apple has an advertising service, yes. But Apple's revenue primarily comes from hardware. Apple is ergo, a "hardware company" that has additional services. Whereas over 90% of Google's revenue comes from ads, Google is an "advertising company" that also sometimes makes software. (Microsoft, by this definition, is a "software company".) This is key because companies are going to make decisions based on what keeps them…
the executive driving ad revenue has the same problems and opportunities as the people driving ad revenue at Google or Facebook.
convince yourself all you want of your fantasy, in the end each business unit has their own rules. and jobs is not the anymore.