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Volkswagen started blocking GrapheneOS users

discuss.grapheneos.org

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Re: Volkswagen started blocking GrapheneOS users

#41

Post by bossyTeacher »

warkdarrior wrote: post #2

Answer from VW: > Please note that the use of the Volkswagen app is only supported on iOS devices and Android devices with supported operating system versions. Is it time to mandate app developers support all operating systems for a device?

The issue here is the Google-only remote attestation nonsense. It seems pointless to me. A device passing Google's attestation check tells you nothing. The device could well have malware on it and you won't know it. Integrity is a misnomer. The integrity scope is tiny.

Re: Volkswagen started blocking GrapheneOS users

#42

Post by ryandrake »

ranger_danger wrote: post #3
warkdarrior wrote: post #2

Answer from VW: > Please note that the use of the Volkswagen app is only supported on iOS devices and Android devices with supported operating system versions. Is it time to mandate app developers support all operating systems for a device?

[flagged]

> expensive to support

"Support" is such an overloaded and vague word in the software industry. What does it mean for a company to "support" an app/os configuration?

1. They deliberately target that app/os configuration, QA tests it, and answer customer support requests about it.

2. They target the configuration, QA tests it, but it's offered without customer support.

3. They target the configuration, but only release an untested build, use at your own risk.

4. They don't target the configuration at all, but the builds they do release happen to work on the configuration, totally unacknowledged by the company.

5. They don't target the configuration, and deliberately sabotage their application such that un-targeted configurations are actively blocked. Only adversarial users who hack the software are able to use it.

Too many companies say: "We can't do 1 because we don't 'support' it, therefore we must do 5!"

Re: Volkswagen started blocking GrapheneOS users

#43

Post by arbol »

LightBug1 wrote: post #40
AJRF wrote: post #23

I don't know how large a group who will do this is - but if the UK bans VPNs I can see Graphene having a very large target on its back. - Buy Pixel, Get Graphene - Use FDroid, don't sign up for Google Play, download Tor browser - Censorship resistant access to the internet without handing over your ID. Pixel being a fairly popular phone in the UK is the interesting bit - if you had to buy some niche device I couldn't…

Who said the UK is going to ban VPN? Genuine question. That's news to me and I'm here.

When they realise their social media ban for children doesn't work

Re: Volkswagen started blocking GrapheneOS users

#44

Post by wongarsu »

doublerabbit wrote: post #24
9cb14c1ec0 wrote: post #6

Google Play has been a huge drag on innovation and security in the mobile ecosystem. I'm actually looking forward to the time when AI kills the mobile app ecosystem so that every phone manufacturer can bundle their own "vibe-code-your-own-app" system with their devices, and the Google Play monopoly is broken.

Let's rewind 15 years ago when everyone was jumping and praising mobile Eco-systems. Did no one ever see this happening or were most too gullible with Facebook hugs and pokes

My recollection of HN 15 years ago includes a lot of annoyance with apps that could have been a website and how these walled gardens harm our freedom

Re: Volkswagen started blocking GrapheneOS users

#45

Post by stymaar »

I hate that cars are every day more and more crammed with software, when car manufacturers can't seem to be able to make half-working code in the first place (looking at you Nissan, who just can't even put the correct timestamp on your GPS data points…)

Re: Volkswagen started blocking GrapheneOS users

#46

Post by iAMkenough »

LightBug1 wrote: post #40
AJRF wrote: post #23

I don't know how large a group who will do this is - but if the UK bans VPNs I can see Graphene having a very large target on its back. - Buy Pixel, Get Graphene - Use FDroid, don't sign up for Google Play, download Tor browser - Censorship resistant access to the internet without handing over your ID. Pixel being a fairly popular phone in the UK is the interesting bit - if you had to buy some niche device I couldn't…

Who said the UK is going to ban VPN? Genuine question. That's news to me and I'm here.

Think of the children that will bypass all of the "protections" recently adopted by the UK.

Re: Volkswagen started blocking GrapheneOS users

#47

Post by _factor »

DANmode wrote: post #20
midasz wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here it is, the true hacker mentality.

Understanding how those around you operate makes you no less of a hacker. It can even make you a great/better one…

They don’t just understand, they basically promote it.

Re: Volkswagen started blocking GrapheneOS users

#49

Post by techdmn »

stymaar wrote: post #45

I hate that cars are every day more and more crammed with software, when car manufacturers can't seem to be able to make half-working code in the first place (looking at you Nissan, who just can't even put the correct timestamp on your GPS data points…)

My car won't let me flick the windshield wipers while the car is parked. I don't know why, maybe they think I'm throwing rain onto... already wet pedestrians? Similar problem with auto-folding mirrors. My mirror was frozen shut one day, and I didn't notice until I'd been driving for a few blocks (which is on me). Figured I'd just cycle the fold-unfold a few times to pop it free, but the button is disabled when the car is in motion.

Increasingly my vision of retirement is a life of luxury surrounded by hardware from before the internet era, things that do what I tell them, rather than telling me what I am and am not allowed to do.

Re: Volkswagen started blocking GrapheneOS users

#50

Post by subscribed »

aka13_404 wrote: post #31

This is sadly not even the full extent of it. What they did is, they locked their api entirely for anything that is not play protect certified. That means, all the cool stuff that was doable via community-driven projects is now dead in the water. The "app" they provide is 60% advertisement, 30% features, and I unironically preferred using a Home Assistant connection instead of of it for everything. Even for automatio…

I feel you. From my side I try to complain / rate / review every time, even if it's a low effort action, to cost them time and in the case of the regulated companies, to slightly worsen their complaint stats.

There's enough of users to start making a difference. Really, even a low effort action raising valid concerns (security theater, a lie, google's monopolistic position, anti-competitive, etc), keywords that will make their response more careful and potential complaint to the regulator more impactful.

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