Xiami is widespread brand in many countries because its products are really cheap and looks like this trend will continue for the next years. It's very frustrating to see this. Western world should impose standards to prevent it.
Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)
441–450 of 505 posts
Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)
#442Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If we assume that Xiaomi aren't literally trying to spy for a government Is that even allowed by Chinese law?
if you mean this in the sense that "all chinese companies are automatically spy agencies", then no, that's certainly not true. But would they have to comply with a government request - yeah, probably, just like any other company.
That feels like a distinction without a difference. The gov't has access to all the the data of all Chinese companies, and those companies are not required to divulge that to their consumers.
Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)
#443Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Pointing out a difference is not what you assert.
Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)
#444Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m running a Xiaomi air filter. Not connected to wifi. Even without wifi access it is vastly superior to previous choices. At similar pricing to my previous one. I’m quite wary of the whole monitoring scene but my next air filter purchase will be a Xiaomi again. Can’t really speak to their other products but on that front they have made a convert out of me despite my aversion to questionable data practices. Also app…
Why does an air filter need wifi?
I wanted to switch it off automatically at night. Doesn't seem to be necessary though so haven't connected it
Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)
#445Earlier quoted context omitted.
Of course (almost?) no government is a saint. However, China is a totalitarian non-democratic government. I would fear the Chinese government much more than the US or UK governments, for example. But I might be too naive.
> 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?
With totalitarian governments, you never know.
Look what happened to Alexei Navalny.
Look what happened to Sergei and Yulia Skripal in UK?
Again, I am not saying the other governments are saints, but I feel you have much more options in democratic countries.
Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)
#446Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you saying you can actually read the air quality readings of other users? That's... quite an oversight. :-/
The whole of Internet will know when you spoil the air :P
I know that you are joking, but the data from an air quality monitor can reveal a lot of useful things, such as when somebody is at home.
Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)
#447Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's a company. With shareholders. Even if you can trust them now, that's no guarantee for the future. Trusting companies is just silly.
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…
When we buy genuine Xiaomi lightbulbs it’s definitely Xiaomi lightbulbs in the package, that’s not the argument.
The question is what happens at the purchase time, and afterwards. To bring back the coke you love, there’s Coca-Cola vending machine that will accept payment from a cell phone, linking with the vending machine through NFC.
What happens to you info when you download the app, what do they do with your purchase history ? Do your data stay in the ‘coke’ silo or move to all the other sister brands and partner marketing firms to infinity and beyond ? Do they scan the other apps on your phone to better profile you ? Do they lobby where you live to get rid of blocking rules when they track you buy less because of them ?
That’s the questions that would come with ‘buying a coke’
Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)
#448Earlier 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?
With totalitarian governments, you never know. Look what happened to Alexei Navalny. Look what happened to Sergei and Yulia Skripal in UK? Again, I am not saying the other governments are saints, but I feel you have much more options in democratic countries.
> Look what happened to Sergei and Yulia Skripal in UK?
The UK is Russia's poison playground so in this instance it would seem that realistically no one is safe, even if you reside in a democratic country. But then again these were people with major clout or enemies of the state.
Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)
#449Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 experien…
> 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 have quite literally also just described the US.
"China and Communism are a threat which we should seek to undermine". It works both ways.
Re: Are Xiaomi browsers spyware? Yes, they are (2020)
#450Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was wondering how long it would take until we got to the argument of "oh no, won't somebody please think of the unfortunate oppressed fascists! it's a good thing that xiaomi has phones and software for them, because their own local european government is against them". The paradox of tolerance and an open society is that if you allow actual fascism to flourish (and Le Pen is absolutely a fascist, in my opinion), yo…
"oh no, won't somebody please think of the unfortunate oppressed fascists!.. Except anyone that you want to oppress will retroactively be labelled "fascist", or "far-right" by whatever loose system serves that purpose. The latest version of "terrorist", "activist" or "heretic". and Le Pen is absolutely a fascist, in my opinion But whose opinion is canon in matters of censorship? Le Pen is also a valid political candi…
> Consider this - If a "fascist" is democratically elected, what wins: anti-fascism (presumably from the perspective of an opposing 3rd party, as Le Pen doesn't describe herself as a fascist); or democracy?
This actually happened in recent history. Just because Hitler (and yes I must unfortunately rely on such a reference, and no, Le Pen is not Hitler, but it provides a good example of far-right vs democracy) was elected doesn't mean the entire world should roll over.