• Reygle@lemmy.worldEnglish
    784·
    14 hours ago

    Was curious so Iooked up the app’s site.

    Apparently the devs claim they can’t release it on Android because “There’s no way to be anonymous on the play store”, but it’s even more impossible to be anonymous on the platform they’ve released. That’s how you know the developer is incredibly stupid and/or shady as hell- because they’ve never even heard of Fdroid?

    Makes me think the app is a troll/trojan horse (not as in infection, trojan horse as in it has alterior motives)

    The Drumpf crew “losing it” over the app just makes it more questionable. They love to create a firestorm so people talk about the thing “they definitely don’t want you to use!!” to get people to do things…

      • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
        291·
        12 hours ago

        I’m not sure if this guy is just dumb or it’s a honeypot.

        1. As mentioned elsewhere, they don’t use device ID

        2. Android is the only platform that supports alternative push methods

        3. Apple knows everyone who downloads this app, which is subject to subpoena

        4. The gov has been collecting push notification data from both Apple and Google for a long time. It would be as simple as knowing when notifications went out and then comparing timestamps to figure out who is using the app.

        5. The app is closed-source

        It would take significantly more mental energy on the part of the user but it would be far safer (which is extremely important in this specific case, as the dev agrees) to distribute through F-Droid and then use some other UnifiedPush implementation, as many Android apps already do. Anyone using this app is painting a huge target on their backs for the current authoritarian state.

      • Reygle@lemmy.worldEnglish
        15·
        13 hours ago

        Interesting, especially with GrapheneOS people shooting it down immediately to call them out on their baloney.

      • poopkins@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        12 hours ago

        Push notifications though GMS don’t use the device ID; they use a generated GCM registration ID that occasionally rotates. Who knows what Google uses internally to associate GCM reg IDs to users, but to overly state that it uses device IDs is simply not correct.

        I’m not suggesting push notifications are inherently secure because it’s impossible to make that determination from the outside. But their assessment is incorrect and the same privacy concerns apply to Apple.

      • Reygle@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        13 hours ago

        Thanks. Remember to always question everything. Especially when that -something- sounds like BS.

  • rekabis@lemmy.caEnglish
    451·
    22 hours ago

    I love how the Streisand Effect works. They just made this app the hottest thing out there.

    • douglasg14b@lemmy.worldEnglish
      831·
      20 hours ago

      It’s closed source, and the build and publishing pipeline isn’t transparent.

      For me that makes this no different than a potential ICE honey pot

      • Bloomcole@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        14 hours ago

        Haven’t followed it much (EU), can you elaborate who did what and what can be done potentially?

        • Spice Hoarder@lemmy.zipEnglish
          2·
          7 hours ago

          Haven’t followed it much

          Oh lord, where do I even start? It’s an entire shit show. And not the usual political shit show. A really scary one that’s truly heartbreaking. I don’t even really feel safe talking about it

      • catty@lemmy.worldEnglish
        12·
        18 hours ago

        which is exactly what this whole ‘meltdown’ frame for the pr hints at. republicans know how to use publicity stunts to get what they want.

        • polyploy@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          151·
          14 hours ago

          Secret police would probably have an interest in lists of people downloading an app tracking their movements no? Particularly if it was downloaded to a mobile tracking device they carry with themselves at most times.

            • CascadianGiraffe@lemmy.worldEnglish
              1·
              2 hours ago

              Using the app becomes obstruction or terrorism. People who do that will also get sent to camps.

              It seems far fetched but it’s really not. After all, nobody would step to stop either of those things from happening.

        • Rekorse@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          91·
          14 hours ago

          They could argue that attempting to track ICE is illegal, and all those using the app are to be arrested and tried for their crimes.

  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.worldEnglish
    731·
    1 day ago

    Shouldn’t be an app. It should be a site accessible using vpn and private browsing with an appropriate browser. Nobody should have to worry about the Stasi finding the app on their phone regardless of the situation.

    • TFO Winder@lemmy.mlEnglish
      221·
      1 day ago

      While this is true, most people are not so tech savvy, maybe giving an option to mask app Icon to user choice can help it hide better.

      • Potatar@lemmy.worldEnglish
        10·
        18 hours ago

        going to a website (not tech savvy enough for this) vs going to the settings on an app and select a new icon (yay anyone can do it)

    • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
      11·
      11 hours ago

      Websites don’t support push notifications in a way that normies understand. They’re also generally unreliable. And these are time-sensitive matters.

    • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      763·
      21 hours ago

      No, and even worse, its only for apple devices lmao. These kids are so unserious in their activism it would be funny if it werent so sad. If shit hits the fan, this stuff will go down instantly and im sure it has no backup plan for a Tor based or p2p service. Activists in the US should start using Briar. This situation is exactly what it was made for and people have to get their tech game up fast or they will be done for. Get a shitty 80$ android phone if you only have an iphone. Install a panic trigger app that will wipe the phone if you are in trouble.

      On ICEBlocks website it says:

      Modeled after Waze but for ICE sightings, the app ensures user privacy by storing no personal data, making it impossible to trace reports back to individual users.

      Which worries me, because if its closed source then thats a worthless promise and actually makes the app a perfect candidate for a honeypot or backdoor.

      • catty@lemmy.worldEnglish
        525·
        18 hours ago

        apple is the majority of the market, no? so if e.g. a company wanted to get a product out for a client asap, apple would be the market to aim for.

        • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
          255·
          18 hours ago

          Turn of your capitalism brain ffs. This is not the place for companies and markets. If there is a financial interest then the app is worthless by design. iOS is not a trustable platform for anything security related so obviously you shouldnt use it for anything that concerns your physical safety. Dont forget, apple will always bend the knee to governments in the end.

          • catty@lemmy.worldEnglish
            13·
            14 hours ago

            You see “market” and think capitalism. By market, I meant, market-share. More users of apple products than android. So if a developer wanted greater reach…

            • BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              13 hours ago

              Android has the greatest mobile OS market share by a massive margin.

              But Apple users are far more likely to spend money on apps, making Apple the most lucrative target for mobile developers to target first.

              • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
                3·
                11 hours ago

                Not in the US, which is really the only place this app is applicable at the moment.

              • ethicallysliced@lemmy.zipEnglish
                2·
                11 hours ago

                Android has the greatest mobile OS market share by a massive margin.

                It’s my understanding this is true globally, but not for the US, where Apple has ~60% share.

                (This app should absolutely be cross-platform though)

          • Jaberw0cky@lemmy.worldEnglish
            33·
            18 hours ago

            I don’t know, don’t Apple have a reasonable track record of pushing back against governments? I personally have even less faith in the security of android based devices or Android phone manufacturers.

            • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
              16·
              17 hours ago

              Apple have a reasonable track record of pushing back against governments

              Only when it comes to individual consumer cases like terrorists or other crimes. When it comes to large scale political movements then they are very quick to lend authoritarian governments a hand, see for example their cooperation with the CCP to suppress the Hong Kong protests. But they have also always cooperated with police to some degree and this has only gotten worse.

              Forbes for the lack of a better source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/10/09/apple-sells-privacy-to-consumers-but-its-quietly-helping-police-use-iphones-for-surveillance/

              There’s a widespread perception that Apple has a combative relationship with law enforcement after the company refused to help the FBI hack into the iPhone of the shooter in the 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attacks. But since then, it has ramped up collaboration with police through the conference and other meetings with agencies at both Cupertino HQ and its Elk Grove campus, as well as a variety of previously unreported projects helping cops use iPhones, Macs, Apple Vision Pro and CarPlay, the emails show. Most of these projects have not been announced publicly.

              Apple declined to comment.

              People just love believing in Apple for some weird reasons.

              • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
                1·
                11 hours ago

                I am the biggest Apple hater and they are absolutely not immune from criticism, but they are generally a more private company. The CCP has their hands deep in every corporation on the planet so none of them are immune from that influence. Apple pushed back when the government demanded they dismantle encryption (Google doesn’t even offer this) for CSAM. They were also the first to disclose the government push notification collection information.

        • nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          2·
          14 hours ago

          im not a developer or a genius but I’m pretty sure you can write an app once using a framework like react native or whatever and then compile it for both android and ios and optionally release them along with the source code used to compile them

  • xenomor@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2671·
    1 day ago

    Sweet. I appreciate that their reaction has Streisand-effected this app into my awareness.

  • nthavoc@lemmy.todayEnglish
    39·
    1 day ago

    I would imagine this is very similar to marking a cop on Waze and completely legal which is why they are throwing a hissy fit.

    • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
      1·
      11 hours ago

      He who saves his Country does not violate any Law

      • Donald Trump
        • Napoleon
  • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    137·
    1 day ago

    “[the app] basically paints a target on federal law enforcement officers’ backs”

    When it comes to painting targets on backs, better them then innocent civilians.

    • stoly@lemmy.worldEnglish
      93·
      1 day ago

      I love the quote about how it is putting federal agents in danger…and I sort of think that they are doing that themselves.

      • Mamdani_Da_Savior@lemmy.worldEnglish
        36·
        1 day ago

        Good, those agents are playing a dangerous game and you should know if you play with fire your going get burned. Its a matter of time before they try to kidnap the wrong person, and that person decides its better to die in America then it is to go to a camp then deported.

      • catty@lemmy.worldEnglish
        6·
        1 day ago

        which is great for necessitating the need to give absolute militant power to police forces. It’s like… the PR of him having a ‘meltdown’ is for a reason or something.

          • stoly@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            10 hours ago

            You’ve made a potential error in underestimating just how horrible some peoples’ lives are and how filled with hatred they are over that fact. This is really what drives so much of politics in the world–disgruntled people with no future who choose to hate others who have nothing to do with it.

            • Proud Cascadian@lemmy.worldEnglish
              1·
              3 hours ago

              You’ve made a potential error in underestimating just how horrible some peoples’ lives are and how filled with hatred they are over that fact.

              What fact? People’s lives are horrible BECAUSE of ICE. They’re so horrible that I considered that nobody would be “on the fence” because either you drank the Fear-Of-Crime Kool-Aid or you are horrified at what ICE agents are doing to children and poor people. The entire reason there are people who don’t think ICE needs to be abolished right now is because Fox News and other right-wing grifters have pumped out propaganda making it look like there is a “crime wave” like it’s the Reagan Era, and people living in the Suburbs not knowing what the outside world is like. Not only do they choose to portray a crime wave, they have to do it, because otherwise people would see their president as the power-hungry maniac he is rather than a savior of order. No riot is actually making people miserable, only the police-reported, sensationalist coverage of protests.

              This is really what drives so much of politics in the world–disgruntled people with no future who choose to hate others who have nothing to do with it.

              That’s just the American Suburbs. I hope American states can secede to change this. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, there is a high-speed rail being built. This is not driven by disgruntled people, people with no future, or people who choose not to hate others who have nothing to do with it. Neither is Iran defending itself from an imperialist regime, nor Australia having their left-wing Labour party completely outdo the right-wing Liberal party. America is the villain here.

          • Cocodapuf@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            18 hours ago

            Probably lots of people in red states. Farmers for instance, people who generally buy the Republican bullshit, but may personally rely heavily on immigrant workers. ICE puts them in a really tough position.

            • stoly@lemmy.worldEnglish
              1·
              10 hours ago

              I have experienced some recent schadenfreude with farmers who no longer have workers to harvest because ICE scared them away.

  • anomnom@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    891·
    1 day ago

    Anyone have a link to the app/website? I’d like to follow some among honing my horn and warning folks.

    • JimVanDeventer@lemmy.worldEnglish
      111·
      1 day ago

      It sounds like a honeypot to me. But I would be happy to be proven wrong.

      Edit: and it’s gone?

      • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
        3·
        11 hours ago

        It’s not gone, it’s just currently not available in your country or region.

    • limer@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      131·
      1 day ago

      Looking at the reviews, ignoring the mega hats, it seems part of the app does not work from time to time