51–60 of 64 posts
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It definitely can and should be a factor when choosing what hardware to set your relatives up with in the first place, though.
It's much too late for that in both my case and the same case for probably tens of thousands of others.
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lukec11, I would enjoy chatting with you about methods and findings. Send a note? https://www.benedelman.org/mail/
ADB can show you what package install'd a package. I've been running a setup but I gernally buy a bunch of the same phone, but after they get wifi they install masive amounts of junk.
> AppLovin’s X’s are unusually tiny, so mis-taps are especially likely
This is why I use Intent Intercept - https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.k3b.android.intentinterce...
It tells me exactly what's about to happen from my tap(accidental or intentional), and gives me the option to undo my tap.
Every privacy/security conscious Android user should have Intent Intercept installed on their devices already.
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lukec11, I would enjoy chatting with you about methods and findings. Send a note? https://www.benedelman.org/mail/
ADB can show you what package install'd a package. I've been running a setup but I gernally buy a bunch of the same phone, but after they get wifi they install masive amounts of junk.
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You neglected to mention Google's Android. It's business model that maximizes for reach over everything else is the root cause.
The two options are reach over all else, or control of its customers and overcharging them at every turn over all else. One is not obviously better than the other, though I'll grant that Apple has managed to get their users to a place where being subjected to them has become a point of pride, which is impressive.
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The two options are reach over all else, or control of its customers and overcharging them at every turn over all else. One is not obviously better than the other, though I'll grant that Apple has managed to get their users to a place where being subjected to them has become a point of pride, which is impressive.
If we look iphone versus the direct google phones, both are quite expensive and at this point google's about $800/TB for storage upgrades is actually worse than apple's price.
How does the platform even allow a single tap on an ad to install an app? Edit: Discussed somewhat here https://www.benedelman.org/applovin-permissions/ . Seems like it's abetted by garbage from the carrier. Something for iOS to look forward to?
Ben Edelman here, author of the page you linked above and the full article at https://www.benedelman.org/applovin-nonconsensual-installs/ (linked from top of this page). Happy to answer any questions.
Having all of the sections of the article on the same page would have helped surface and resolve a lot of these potential editorial issues.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-15/applovin-...
> ad tap (just clicking an ad, potentially a misclick aiming for a tiny X button, with no Install button even visible on screen) > AppLovin’s X’s are unusually tiny, so mis-taps are especially likely This is why I use Intent Intercept - https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.k3b.android.intentinterce... It tells me exactly what's about to happen from my tap(accidental or intentional), and gives me the option to undo my t…
Installing random tools to hopefully get more security, though is risky also. Hopefully that tool doesn’t get compromised as it is privy to all intent activity.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It definitely can and should be a factor when choosing what hardware to set your relatives up with in the first place, though.
It's much too late for that in both my case and the same case for probably tens of thousands of others.
I’ve never understood why people use android, which was built by the largest advertising company in the world. A company with a history of violating privacy, scanning personal data for advertisement purposes. Also, what amazes me, is that many technical, well-informed people continue to use standard android os, knowing full well that they’re giving up major privacy protections and using a much less secure platform than alternatives like iOS. I’m sure there’s good reasons for it that people have and can rationalize.
The main rationalization that I have seen from technical people is that they just hate Apple. They’ll never use Apple, even if they have to give up significant privacy. Other people like the fact they can customize the device (which I like as well), but unfortunately, makes it easier for bad actors to customize your phone in ways you don’t want.