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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)

#471

Post by utbabya »

Quick scrolling through the comments, I wonder how many people actually RTFA?

Looking at the list of things they collect, how could it possibly be legitimate, or compared to what "western" or any other companies are doing?

  - Full URL history
  - Full search history: engine and terms etc
  - Full download history
  - Full youtube activities: search, which video, for how long
This is full blown home phoning trojan horse.

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

#472

Post by ericd »

AniseAbyss wrote: post #413
mcv wrote: post #403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only company I would trust with home automation at this point is IKEA. They're the only ones doing this who are actually in the business of making their customers' homes nice, rather than collecting and monetizing their customers' data. (And now I'm half expecting someone to respond that IKEA also collects our data. I don't know if they do, and I'd expect them not to, but I'd really like to know if they do.)

IKEA is a European company. Can't trust America- its bought and payed for by corporations- and the Chinese are enigmatic- who knows what they want?

Is this satire?

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

#473

Post by ericd »

goodells wrote: post #294

Related to Xiaomi, the company is also doing some sketchy things in the smart home space under their brand "Aqara". I use HomeKit in my apartment and opted for Aqara branded wireless buttons and temp/humidity sensors because of the attractive hardware and good reviews. The devices require a wi-fi connected hub, not too strange for things that use Zigbee, so I gave that a go. Well, on cursory examination, the Aqara/Xi…

Does anyone know of any good resources on how to kit out a home with sensors that speak strictly locally/have no cloud connectivity?

Is the answer just to find zigbee-only gear?

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

#474

Post by osmarks »

mmmmmk wrote: post #464
melomal wrote: post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

There is a big difference. An open, democratic government can be peacefully corrected. A closed, totalitarian government cannot be. If the chinese and russian governments were open, then we could worry less about them.

Western governments operate mass surveillance programs seemingly without any public open oversight or democratic input.

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

#475

Post by onethought »

michaelcampbell wrote: post #443
onethought wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> To pretend that this is the same as China is a joke.

... it is the same as China. Or is that the joke?

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

#476

Post by blaser-waffle »

mywittyname wrote: post #465
amelius wrote: post #408

Earlier 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.

Shareholders care about public perception. Selling user data isn't that profitable. It makes sense that a company would weigh in the potential cost to the brand when determining whether to sell user data. I could see IKEA using their "good behavior" as a marketing expenditure or selling point. Much like Apple does. This would align well with their general brand perception vis-a-vis sustainability and whatnot.

The only people that care about this sort of thing here, on hacker news. Or similar tech forums.

My mom isn't going to care, she's going to get something because she thinks it looks cool and the brand is eco-friendly or some shit.

There is a demand for bulletproof cars and blackout curtains, but judging by what I see in my neighborhood, I wouldn't invest heavily in a company that makes those things. But the latest fashions, made sustainably, in POC & women owned business, OMG SO AWESOMEMMEMEME

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

#477

Post by usr1106 »

kartoshechka wrote: post #404
usr1106 wrote: post #341

I know close to nothing about Android development in general and absolute nothing about Xiaomi in particular. When looking at the code snippets in the article I wonder about the variable names. This doesn't look like decompiled code. And I don't think their whole browser is open source. What am I missing here?

To make discoveries like that harder and protect software from commercial standpoint, its code obfuscated before shipping. Something similar modern JS frameworks do to make code smaller and ship it through network faster

Sure, that's what one would expect. But the code snippets in the article where surprisingly readable. That's what I didn't understand.

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

#479

Post by amelius »

skeeter2020 wrote: post #433
amelius wrote: post #408

Earlier 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 guess this is technical true, but then you're a person and some people do terrible things, therefore you must be terrible? I think what the GP is stating is that Ikea's model is based on selling home goods, so the incentives align to sell you home goods not collect data for the Dutch government. Apple could steal all your most private data as well, but their business is luxury electronics so it's not in their best…

> I guess this is technical true, but then you're a person and some people do terrible things, therefore you must be terrible?

People are on average far more predictable than companies. A company is like a person with a very unstable personality. And the predictable component of a company's behavior is usually selfish and evil, whereas the predictable component of a person's behavior is usually good.

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

#480

Post by matkoniecz »

nicbou wrote: post #421
matkoniecz wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

Thank you for mapping! Especially in remote areas.

I am glad that you like SC :)

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