cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/25156749
More Google Spyware to Enjoy!
I woke up this morning to find a new little friend on my phone! Android Safety Core.
So what is this great new application that was non-consentually installed on my device with no indicator that it ever was except an alert from Tracker Control.
There isn’t a of information on it, but essentially its an app that “protects” you from obscene images on your phone.
“One of the new features the company announced is called Sensitive Content Warnings. This is designed to give you more control over seeing and sending nude images. When enabled, it blurs images that might contain nudity before you view them and then prompts you with what Google calls a “speed bump” containing “help-finding resources and options, including to view the content.” The feature also kicks in and shows a so-called “speed bump” when you try to send or forward an image that might contain nudity.” - Android Authority
As for the Google play description, it’s very detailed about what your new friend entails.
Very descriptive.
So essentially it blurs any images of nudity that is sent to you or that is seen.
Obviously the app has to see all the images that are sent to you in order to do this. I’m sure this won’t be abused!
The Google reviews on this one sure aren’t happy.
You may want to remove this. It can be uninstalled. However to find it on the store you need to look up the link in your browser. I also provided it here.
Dont we all love google and what it does behind our backs for us?
TL;DR
Google recently non-consentually installed a new “safety” feature on our devices that blur any nude images that are sent to you or seen on your phone. They didn’t include any sort of update alert or anything and simply slipped it onto devices quietly. Here’s a link to the app where you can uninstall if you wish. Of course in order for an app to do this, it needs to see every photo that is ever sent to you. A clear privacy invasion if I say so myself.
Why YSK: Google is known to do things like this. Plus in this case, they did it silently. You may want to remove it.
Welp, I was just thinking about Graphene OS… maybe this is the final push…
Edit: But pixels have no SD card slot… Noooo 😭
(I love my A-Series Samsung Phome’s SD card slot. RIP 1TB Expandable storage. 😓)
Edit 2: I just checked, I don’t see it yet…, but its still concerning nonetheless
Not having removable storage stinks, but Graphine has overall been good, not perfect, but better than google spyware.
If you do make the switch (or not) I highly recommend setting a up a backup for your contacts, photos and whatever else is important.
I started backing up apps “export settings” files too. Makes switching phones so much easier.
(I use syncthing to pick the folders I want)
I think you are underestimating just how much that sucks.
I can’t even have a full offline wikipedia on my phone and whip it out to “school” someone when on a subway in a tunnel. Like imagine not winning an argument because you can’t access the internet. I want my wikipedia always ready to back me up in an argument. (Its not a “real source” but the other person wouldn’t have the internet too, so I’d win the argument.
Also I can record like an entire terabyte of potential police brutality incidents, so the SD card slot is one of my favorite things about the smartphone. Its like an entire desktop in your pocket. Its fucking awesome.
Like, a $400 Samsung A series can have a 1TB sd card for like $130-ish more. How much does a 1TB phone cost? Like maybe a thousand USD or more. Fuck that. I can get another 1TB SD card for another $130 and swap when needed to access different content (of course those content is also copied into real hard drives, in case of SD card failure). And, although I have not tried this yet, I think a 1.5TB or a future release of 2TB microsd card would also work, phone manufacturers don’t advertise it because they probably didn’t bother to test bigger SD card sizes.
There no fucking way I’m gonna get a $1000+ smarphone that could get stolen on public transit, or just dropped. Not spending that much just for 1TB storage. So if I were to go Graphene OS, I’m probably gonna end up with 128 GB base model, and that’s fucking infuriating. Like I’m probably not gonna have a 1TB storage medium everywhere I go.
Yup, just got it on my P8 and uninstalled. I think this is the cliff for me.