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Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)

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Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)

#421

Post by nicbou »

matkoniecz wrote: post #380
nicbou wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have massive respect for OSM maintainers. People don't appreciate how much work goes into the map data. Anyway, you're right. In practice, protecting your privacy is a massive hassle. I just do it step by step, knowing that even half-assing it is better than nothing.

I really hope that privacy situation will start getting better - or at least not getting worse. For email I basically gave up (for now) as it will likely leak on other side anyway. But I aggressively avoid cloud sync, and my files on cloud are either public or locally encrypted before uploading. Well, at least it protects against non-targeted attacks. > I have massive respect for OSM maintainers. People don't appreci…

I do contribute through OsmAnd. I mapped a few gas stations in more desolate areas. However this is a much more exciting way to contribute. Thanks for sharing!

Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)

#422

Post by onethought »

dodobirdlord wrote: post #369
Daho0n wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So does the US. The only real difference between countries is not if it is different but how each has implemented it in law. The result is the same.

Google publishes a transparency report with aggregate information on government requests for user data, and regularly challenges requests to reduce their scope. To pretend that this is the same as China is a joke. https://support.google.com/transparencyreport/answer/9713961

Yet google didn’t know their data was being hijacked and harvested by nsa and co... so hop down off that high horse of US exceptionalism.

Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)

#423

Post by swiley »

grishka wrote: post #116
walrus01 wrote: post #7

I truly don't understand, from a security and privacy perspective, why would anyone outside of China would voluntarily choose to run closed-source software from a company that's subject to domestic laws and regulations in China. The MSS is no joke. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=china+mss... This is the same reason that Zoom is banned at my workplace and many other partner companies. You've actual…

Xiaomi phones are frighteningly popular here in Russia because they're very cheap. Like, a-phone-could-not-cost-this-little cheap. A 7000₽ (around $100) phone? Why not, seems legit! And not many people really understand what Xiaomi is actually doing to offset that cost. Heck, when you open the built-in calculator app in MIUI, it has a freakin privacy policy and refuses to operate if you don't accept that. Same for th…

The pinephone isn't much more expensive then that and doesn't have these problems.

Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)

#425

Post by conjectures »

einpoklum wrote: post #416
conjectures wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realise this is an opinion du jour around here now, but it's a pretty paranoid take on the market economy. I trust that if I buy a can of coke, it will contain coke because coke want to keep selling me coke. They don't need to be good people, they just have to care about making money in the future. The fact that I think they care about that is why I can trust that the can of coke in fact contains coke with high pro…

> I trust that if I buy a can of coke, it will contain coke because coke want to keep selling me coke You don't even know what coke is, since that formula is kept secret (well, Coca Cola's at least). Also, in some countries, you'll get high-fructose corn syrup instead of cane sugar, which is believed to increase the risk of fatty liver disease, obesity etc. (caveat: Some believe the evidence is not conclusive enough…

The point is that if I want a can of sugar water (or aspartame) I can reliably find one. I'm unlikely to pop the tab and find kombucha or sand.

'Companies are out to make money' is not the debate trump card you seem to think it is. In fact the same view is embedded in my previous comment. The question is, given it's true what's the range of phenomena that result, what works well, what badly etc?

Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)

#426

Post by alex3305 »

swiley wrote: post #423
grishka wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Xiaomi phones are frighteningly popular here in Russia because they're very cheap. Like, a-phone-could-not-cost-this-little cheap. A 7000₽ (around $100) phone? Why not, seems legit! And not many people really understand what Xiaomi is actually doing to offset that cost. Heck, when you open the built-in calculator app in MIUI, it has a freakin privacy policy and refuses to operate if you don't accept that. Same for th…

The pinephone isn't much more expensive then that and doesn't have these problems.

You can't be serious about this right? Except from being a black rectangle, the ~$100-ish Xiaomi device isn't comparable to a PinePhone.

The Xiaomi phone is better and more attractive in any other way, except privacy.

Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)

#427

Post by onepointsixC »

esperent wrote: post #277
walrus01 wrote: post #7

I truly don't understand, from a security and privacy perspective, why would anyone outside of China would voluntarily choose to run closed-source software from a company that's subject to domestic laws and regulations in China. The MSS is no joke. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=china+mss... This is the same reason that Zoom is banned at my workplace and many other partner companies. You've actual…

Well, to play devils advocate, as a random Irish guy it seems like my choice is between Chinese companies spying on me or US companies spying on me. I don't see that huge a difference - although I do acknowledge there's a difference in freedom of speech and culture in the US, that applies to US citizens and when it comes to spying on people outside the US the difference is much smaller.

Consider Document Number 9[1], and the fact that the CCP considers your existing Irish political system and liberal ideology as a threat and one which it is actively working to undermine. You already know what it's like living in a world which the US is a dominate super power, that's what the West has experience in the past 70 years and it had created some of the greatest prosperity both the US and West have experienced in their existence.

A dominant China is interested in promoting their own values of Xi thought. And they're working very hard to promulgate it. Their coercive ability is remarkable in how it's already transformed Hollywood. Their ability to do so will only increase.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Document_Number_Nine

Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)

#428

Post by alex3305 »

grishka wrote: post #139
walrus01 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In large software companies that have whole GUI/human interface design departments, they do lots of R&D and testing of interfaces. Traditional things like putting people with new software interfaces in rooms with video cameras and one-way mirrors of staff watching. It would be very interesting to see a random sampling of 20 'non technical' users presented with such a phone, and given instructions simply "here is your…

Now, I'm not a UX specialist, I'm merely a developer and these are just my own observations, but... Generally, if you interrupt the user's flow of thought (if that's a thing) with something unrelated, they'll do the easiest thing possible to rid themselves of that annoyance, like a modal alert you threw at them, to get back on track doing whatever they intended to do. That's what all those consent popups are about. A…

> Generally, if you interrupt the user's flow of thought (if that's a thing) with something unrelated, they'll do the easiest thing possible to rid themselves of that annoyance, like a modal alert you threw at them, to get back on track doing whatever they intended to do. That's what all those consent popups are about.

I think most users even accept this as general setup things. When I, as a developer, want my device set up as quickly as possible, I mostly just proceed with everything.

Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)

#429

Post by alex3305 »

grishka wrote: post #401
bildung wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is that different from stock Android, besides this being per app and having to give blanket permission for all things Google right at installation of stock Android?

For one, Google Play services come with a disable button. So, apparently, yes, you can de-googlify your phone without flashing anything.

Sure, but you will still have a sort of chain of trust with Google that that disable button will actually do anything. Except bothering you in the future with a new, fancy enable button to make certain apps work.

Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)

#430

Post by melomal »

AniseAbyss wrote: post #417
melomal wrote: post #407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would fear the Chinese government If you are outside of China then surely there is nothing to really be scared of? What could the Chinese government do with your data that could cause harm? I get it's the principle but ultimately we are all scared of sharing our data with China and I am not sure why?

I don't get it either. Whenever someone uses the words "the West" I cringe because because every goddamn privacy invasion has come from our friendly American overlords. Who I might ad are not just like us.

> I cringe because because every goddamn privacy invasion has come from our friendly American overlords

Exactly! It seems that the propaganda machine is still rolling heavy.

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