Database Info

Blackphone opinions???

I ran into this article today and I wanted to see what the people on XDA think about it. This company is working on a Android phone that it's primary purpose is to protect the users privacy.
Here's the link: http://mobile.theverge.com/2014/1/1...nn-silent-circle-geeksphone-blackphone-launch
Read the article, watch the video and let me know what you think.
Sent from GNote 3 rooted with kingo.

Saw news about this and came here to seek out does any1 have opinions about it.
i wonder, does the safety come from hardware or is it the OS what makes this so safe.. if it is the OS, i hope some1 smart enough makes custom rom for this.

I really don't see how this phone is gonna change anything. Apps and websites have keyloggers, You still need a carrier to get service from and they have control of all your traffic. What about radio frequencies that can be intercepted, IP addresses, GPS chips sending signals to satellites, baseband and firmware are connected thru the cell towers of the carrier. I'm starting to think this phone is a scam.
They said nothing about how they're dealing with all this. They are probably using the whole NSA scandal momentum to fool people into believing they are safe if they buy this phone.
Sent from GNote 3 rooted with kingo.

I saw an article about this venture also. This is a good thing. If he gets press about this phone, maybe other venders will take notice and start building in privacy features as well. :good:

I don't see the need for new hardware here. If they really want to secure something, they could create a mod for Android, that could be installed on a variety of devices for example.
Besides, if they encrypt telephony, messages and stuff, they will need to be decrypted again - but the question is where and how? I bet they won't have any hardware encryption module and even if they do, it will make communication with other phones impossible. Software encryption means other phones will need to install some additional software to communicate with the Blackphone and it might be a bit inconvenient.

orangek3nny said:
I don't see the need for new hardware here. If they really want to secure something, they could create a mod for Android, that could be installed on a variety of devices for example.
Besides, if they encrypt telephony, messages and stuff, they will need to be decrypted again - but the question is where and how? I bet they won't have any hardware encryption module and even if they do, it will make communication with other phones impossible. Software encryption means other phones will need to install some additional software to communicate with the Blackphone and it might be a bit inconvenient.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good point. how a non blackphone device is gonna decipher the encryption? how is it going to get the key? How can a non blackphone device even a establish the same "secure" connection?
Sent from GNote 3 rooted with kingo.

Andronote3 said:
That's a good point. how a non blackphone device is gonna decipher the encryption? how is it going to get the key? How can a non blackphone device even a establish the same "secure" connection?
Sent from GNote 3 rooted with kingo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you are missing the point. As you or I may not NEED this kind of security, I'm sure you can think of someone who does.
Obviously, there would be two levels of privacy/security... Connections between 2 black phones and everything else. So who utilize a black phone? How about corporations and governments? Law offices, professional sports teams, or doctors and hospitals.
Now, even though I do not NEED this, if it was affordable, I would heavily consider it.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

JamieFL said:
I think you are missing the point. As you or I may not NEED this kind of security, I'm sure you can think of someone who does.
Obviously, there would be two levels of privacy/security... Connections between 2 black phones and everything else. So who utilize a black phone? How about corporations and governments? Law offices, professional sports teams, or doctors and hospitals.
Now, even though I do not NEED this, if it was affordable, I would heavily consider it.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand what you are saying and I completely agree with you. It looks like a device that corporations and the government would "benefit" more than regular users. Either way, It won't fix 90% of all the problems people face when it comes to staying safe against privacy/security breaches. I truly believe that they are using the whole NSA scandal momentum to make people believe that they are safe/secured if they buy this phone.
P.S: Nice quotes.

I saw this phone.
It isn't an answer to every privacy issue.
What its an answer to is, not having to agree to an android apps permissions to gain access to the app.
These apps don't make their money off the app sales, they make their money sending information to retailers.
Retailers own the world.
The question I still pose is... What's wrong with retailers knowing where you are?
There's nothing you can do about the government. They won't let us make things that are government proof, nor would they (The retailers ) want to.
But, what's wrong with these apps fine tuning my specific desires to my Location?
You can't stop people from stealing your identity. The hacker/firewall paradox is, for every walk you build, they will build a taller ladder.
The only thing really close to full privacy in data sending is, that light source that sends data. It's a light bulb, and the light has data in it, a sensor receives it. It can be held within the walls of a room. But that only effects a closed circuit type system. If that light source is connected to the Internet, then game over.
Why do you think record companies and movie companies keep their computer systems offline and deal in only physical media? A hacker will get into anything I'd you give him the tools and time.
This phone gives a sense of security that is non existant
You've Just Been Tapatold ♧♢dbombROMv3.4♤♡
My Theme ( Taking Requests )
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658527

SaintCity86 said:
I saw this phone.
It isn't an answer to every privacy issue.
What its an answer to is, not having to agree to an android apps permissions to gain access to the app.
These apps don't make their money off the app sales, they make their money sending information to retailers.
Retailers own the world.
The question I still pose is... What's wrong with retailers knowing where you are?
There's nothing you can do about the government. They won't let us make things that are government proof, nor would they (The retailers ) want to.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658527
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Click to collapse
nailed it

The problem is Android itself. Thanks to Xprivacy, it's a lot easier to control what leaks out of your device. Personally I'd rather see more encryption mechanisms than this. FFOS seems to be on the right path

There Is nothing you can do to stop identity theft.
Nothing.
And there is nothing you can do to do the government from tapping your lines.
You want a safer form of communicating, send Voice recordings over text.
That's an entirety separate warrant, and harder to get. Other than that. It's hopeless
You've Just Been Tapatold ♧♢dbombROMv3.4♤♡
My Theme ( Taking Requests )
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2658527

d1rX said:
FFOS seems to be on the right path
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Click to collapse
I think you mean FOSS[1] = Free and Open Source Software. Anyway, I fully agree, in fact, that is the ONLY way. Closed source encryption programs can't be 100% trusted by definition. There might be security flaws, intentional or not.
Anyway. the NSA has backdoors to every operating system[2], so if you're really a target, they get you. Also, there are more than enough security holes in the layers under the operating system[3].
I think what these phones are supposed to do is bring end-to-end encryption for e.g. industry users so they don't get spied on. The NSA and the US government can get their hands on encryption keys for servers like in Lavabits case[4]. But this is the transport encryption. The data is, if not otherwise secured, available in plain text on the servers of providers. This also means, the officials can decrypt ANY data that comes in, not just the one of actual targets.
Now, end-to-end encryption makes sure even the provider can't see your data in plain text because you encrypt and decrypt it on your device. What Blackphone does is, it uses the apps from Silent Circle, a closed source encryption programm for VoIP and messages. Although the owner of that company is the well trusted cryptographer Phil Zimmerman, one can never be sure.
That's a good point. how a non blackphone device is gonna decipher the encryption? how is it going to get the key? How can a non blackphone device even a establish the same "secure" connection?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can install and use Silent Circle on any(ok, a lot of) phone(s). Just make sure you don't have additional malicious software installed. Any yes, it costs $100/year or so. And you get a subscription for SpiderOak, sort of a Dropbox but they encrypt the data before uploading. Any you get a better overview over what app uses what permissions. A few extra tweaks basically.
Alternative: Android Phone with CyanogenMod/Replica. TextSecure for messages, RedPhone for VoiP and owncloud for files. Way cheaper too, and open source, also made by well respected cryptographers like Moxie Marlinspike[5]
[1] de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free/Libre_Open_Source_Software
[2] zerohedge.com/news/2013-09-08/nsa-has-full-back-door-access-iphone-blackberry-and-android-smartphones-documents-re"]backdoors to every operating system
[3] forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2530044
[4] techdirt.com/articles/20131002/17443624734/lavabit-tried-giving-feds-its-ssl-key-11-pages-4-point-type-feds-complained-that-it-was-illegible.shtml
[5] thoughtcrime.org

if they want to spy on us they can ... that's it...

More info?
Hi all - looking for more info on this phone - just joined XDADev to post this.
Specifically, what brands might this hardware be found under? Know it's a Tinno S8515 but have yet to find out anything about that; seems like Tinno generally makes phones for other companies?
Any help is appreciated!
Best,
-Cx
:cyclops::cyclops::cyclops:

The greatest challenge to securing a phone is not the OS or the apps running on it, it's the baseband. We have known for well over 30+ yeasr how to harden a *nix based system (like AOS), but we haven't even started to question WTF is going on in the closed source 10-100 MB baseband RTOS, which have fulll access to your entire FS and the most important phone operations, like SIM, RF, EMMC etc etc.
Only forcing the corrupt modem OEM's to release the sources of the Baseband firmware could improve the situation. This will never happen, unless there is another baseband Snowden out there somewhere...
We already know that the BP/CP FW is extremely insecure, and relies almost solely on obscurity as their main mechanism of protection. If this was not the case, the iPhone unlock developers would have been fekked long time ago, and the rest of us would sit around with SIM/network locked bricks filling up our bookshelves.
Unfortunately the greatest majority of the millions of XDA members are completely carefree about this issue and are only happy as long as they can "tweak some ROMs". So this will never be the place to find/see any serious baseband reversing, no matter how important it would be from a security standpoint.
So to summarize, your Qualcomm baseband will continue to send your exact GPS coordinates to the network provider at will, without you ever knowing, and without anyone (here) caring. So goes for the FM transmitter that is part of the baseband FW in both Intel and Qualcomm based phones. Do you have control over that? Never.
Only a serious long term spectrum analysis study could reveal whats going on there, where and when you're not (able) to watch.

This phone is the biggest scam lol.

hyshys said:
Saw news about this and came here to seek out does any1 have opinions about it.
i wonder, does the safety come from hardware or is it the OS what makes this so safe.. if it is the OS, i hope some1 smart enough makes custom rom for this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was wondering this too. If it is only the rom (just like the $1300 pwnphone). It should be port-able

iliass01 said:
I was wondering this too. If it is only the rom (just like the $1300 pwnphone). It should be port-able
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Click to collapse
Blackphone. - no hardware security, just software, and most of it is NOT open source. Some here (@SaintCity86 , @repat) has their points, and they are mostly right! If you want some security (and I said some!!!), then get rid of most of your apps (permission check and some common sense), all Google apps (yes, all of them), install a paid (not free) and high quality VPN software, don't use the phone feature (only data sim-prepaid), get an internet phone number (with no personal details), use end to end encrypted apps to make calls and send and receive texts, install Xposed and Xprivacy (or any other variant) and limit even more the apps you have on your phone. Don't use it as your only phone, but as a secure device and share your number and other infos with trusted people! In this case, maybe, you will be able to add some layer of security and actually be able to use it. And most important, don't give your phone in the hands of anyone! It is a bit paranoid, but it's the only way! But, don't be fooled! You can have some security, only if you stay under the radar, and don't gain some attention. If yes, then you have no luck! Personally, I have seen the Blackphone, and tested it for some time, and I am not really convinced it can be trusted.
Good luck!

Andronote3 said:
I really don't see how this phone is gonna change anything. Apps and websites have keyloggers, You still need a carrier to get service from and they have control of all your traffic. What about radio frequencies that can be intercepted, IP addresses, GPS chips sending signals to satellites, baseband and firmware are connected thru the cell towers of the carrier. I'm starting to think this phone is a scam.
They said nothing about how they're dealing with all this. They are probably using the whole NSA scandal momentum to fool people into believing they are safe if they buy this phone.
Sent from GNote 3 rooted with kingo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would just like to correct this common misconception, GPS is one way.
GPS receivers as found in your phones, or navigation systems, receives GPS signals only. Nothing gets sent to satellites in this process, the algorithm is purely one way.

[Q] What If a malicious ROM came here ?

This Question may be belongs to all the ROM's.
Lot of "How to make your own ROM" tutorials available these days.
What if some programmer with great knowledge made a custom ROM which can take personal details of the ROM users ?
I mean If such ROM's are there , how can we find it ?

anybody ?
Please answer my question.

doperthancoke said:
I don't know. But what I already know is, the NSA is already spying on us regardless of what ROM you're using.
Google and Facebook are all suspected of doing the same thing. They are spying on me as I type this.
Also, a lot of popular ROM say they collect usage data for "development purposes"; to "improve the rom" (example: Cyanogenmod). How do you know they're not lying? For all we know, all CM users could've had their data stolen by the Cyanogenmod team themselves. A lot of OEMs ROM (stock ROMs by manufacturer) seem to also say that they collect usage data for development - HTC Sense for instance.
MIUI is another popular custom rom developed by Xiaomi company based in China. Recently, there are scandals about Xiaomi producing smartphones which collect personal details and send them to servers in China. This has been examined by network monitoring apps. They showed that Xiaomi phones constantly send data to Chinese servers. Note that Xiaomi phones run MIUI as stock rom. So the whole spying thing could happen to MIUI roms users as well.
All of the ROMs mentioned above are all really popular: they are being ported compiled and published on xda every single day....
What I'm saying is, we live in an era of technology, in which privacy is on jeopardy. There are already ROMs and Apps capable of collecting your personal data. Whether, they actually do it or not, who am I to say? But in my honest opinion, yes, they may very likely do that. The tragic part is, You and I can't do anything about it. Regular mobile users and consumers don't have power over affairs. It's the politician, the corporate shareholders who hold real power. They collect your personal data sell it for profit.
Sent from my C1605 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can start by installing and configuring Xprivacy, Adaway, Minminguard, Greenify and Debloat the phone etc plus anything else to try and keep the data transfer down to a minimum but it becomes rather tedious and sometimes confusing when **** stops working properly.
I'd love a rom that is stripped to the bare essentials with these apps injected and configured ready to go. is there such a one?

Thank you !!
doperthancoke said:
I don't know. But what I already know is, the NSA is already spying on us regardless of what ROM you're using.
Google and Facebook are all suspected of doing the same thing. They are spying on me as I type this.
Also, a lot of popular ROM say they collect usage data for "development purposes"; to "improve the rom" (example: Cyanogenmod). How do you know they're not lying? For all we know, all CM users could've had their data stolen by the Cyanogenmod team themselves. A lot of OEMs ROM (stock ROMs by manufacturer) seem to also say that they collect usage data for development - HTC Sense for instance.
MIUI is another popular custom rom developed by Xiaomi company based in China. Recently, there are scandals about Xiaomi producing smartphones which collect personal details and send them to servers in China. This has been examined by network monitoring apps. They showed that Xiaomi phones constantly send data to Chinese servers. Note that Xiaomi phones run MIUI as stock rom. So the whole spying thing could happen to MIUI roms users as well.
All of the ROMs mentioned above are all really popular: they are being ported compiled and published on xda every single day....
What I'm saying is, we live in an era of technology, in which privacy is on jeopardy. There are already ROMs and Apps capable of collecting your personal data. Whether, they actually do it or not, who am I to say? But in my honest opinion, yes, they may very likely do that. The tragic part is, You and I can't do anything about it. Regular mobile users and consumers don't have power over affairs. It's the politician, the corporate shareholders who hold real power. They collect your personal data sell it for profit.
Sent from my C1605 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it about Xiaomi.
If I dont hit thanks , I wont be a human, very good explanation bro.

Snapdragon 845

So Qualcomm has released a little more info on the SD845. Of particular interest from this link:
Secure: As security needs evolve, so do the security solutions within our mobile platforms. End-users demand enhanced privacy due to the significant growth of personal data being stored on the device. Similarly, payment companies are looking for more secure authentication mechanisms to increase reliability. The Snapdragon 845 introduces a hardware isolated subsystem called the secure processing unit (SPU), which is designed to add vault-like characteristics to existing layers of Qualcomm Technologies’ mobile security solutions. Doing so makes it possible for improved biometrics security used for authentication, as well as user or application data key management used to encrypt critical information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am making the prediction that unless an OEM allows you to root your device, root stops with the release of the SD845.
Buy a developer friendly phone
-- Brian

runningnak3d said:
So Qualcomm has released a little more info on the SD845. Of particular interest from this link:
I am making the prediction that unless an OEM allows you to root your device, root stops with the release of the SD845.
Buy a developer friendly phone
-- Brian
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, (yes you are correct, but that's not why I'm posting) you need to write for XDA. Everything you post is wayyyyyy more interesting then what XDA currently writes about. Not only that, but I seem to learn something new each time. Mind you, I don't know much, but it's still very interesting to say the least.
Sent from my LG V20 using XDA Labs
Also a side note, people keep blabbering on about security, well....they got what they are asking for. I've never cared much for it since I am nobody important.
The important people like president Trump have strict security measures. That's why people called him a moron for using an S3 while talking to foreign officials.
I only care about Security on my computer.
In my opinion people who leave sensitive information on their mobile phone aren't too smart. Can always lose your device.

runningnak3d said:
So Qualcomm has released a little more info on the SD845. Of particular interest from this link:
I am making the prediction that unless an OEM allows you to root your device, root stops with the release of the SD845.
Buy a developer friendly phone
-- Brian
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WOW.. this is qualcomm attempt at being apple... Lock down users freedom at the core. I can see why they would do that.I work in IT and this was coming soon as they released apple pay and android pay.
It could be they are talking about users identity as in fingerprint and iris scanner. But none the less. I dont care for eye biometrics, fingerprint is cool after a while, i still use mines. But I think we all can say, if ITS NOT UNLOCKED FROM THE MANUFACTURE DONT BUY CARRIER BRAND.. DAMMIT TMOBILE, THATS WHY I STUCK BY YOUR SIDE FOR SO LONG...OH WELL PEOPLE WE CHANGE AND FIND WAYS AROUND THIS..SOMEHOW...
THANKS BRIAN

If I had to guess, they have moved the entire TrustZone onto a dedicated portion of the CPU.
Right now Qualcomm uses a hypervisor, and runs the secure and non-secure using emulation. Not emulation like VirtualBox or Qemu. Only a few things are emulated (memory access being one of them) so that they can allow read access to select portions of secure memory, but write access is possible as well. Right now the only thing that is sitting between me (and whoever else wants one) and the v20 in debug mode, is an msm8996 engineering data-sheet that provides the address. Security through obscurity is not security. If my guess is right, and since the fingerprint data is currently stored on the secure side of the TZ, I think it is. However, at the end of the day it is just a guess....
-- Brian

Government finds spyware and censorship in Xiaomi Phone

Lithuanian government warns about secret censorship features in Xiaomi phones
The Lithuanian Defense Ministry published a security audit on Wednesday for three popular 5G smartphone models manufactured in China, recommending that citizens avoid or stop using at least two of the three devices, citing privacy infringements and secret censorship capabilities.
therecord.media
https://www.nksc.lt/doc/en/analysis/2021-08-23_5G-CN-analysis_env3.pdf
PDF analysis attached.

Yeah I saw that. No big surprise...
You can get a used Note 10+ now for $400-800.
Just ordereded up a new one for $800.
Either way a better deal and it's a flagship phone with great performance... and no CCP junk.

Cleary not for European / Global International users apparently. Answer from Xiaomi :
Following the publication of our article, Xiaomi asserted its right of reply. Here is the manufacturer's full statement: “Xiaomi devices do not censor communications to or from its users. Xiaomi has never restricted or blocked the personal behaviors of users of its smartphones, such as searching, calling, browsing the Internet or using third-party communication software, and never will. We respect and are committed to fully protecting the legal rights of our community. Xiaomi fully complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union ”.
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Click to collapse
And in the pdf it's explain it's only with Mi Browser (no one use this ****)

With phone like Xiaomi (using M11 right now) I actually feel much safer rooting the phone, then use AdAway and AFWall+ plus to block suspicious system activities. This in addition to the usual debloating to get rid of as many Xiaomi related stuff as I can.
After implementation I did a quick check on pihole, no secret packets sent to Xiaomi it seems. Not comprehensive I know, but it gives me peace of mind.
Using the command line "iptables -nvL OUTPUT" I can see AFWall+ blocking all these system related traffic. My phone isn't impacted at all as everything remains operational. For the fun of it I also have this line executed whenever my phone boots:
iptables -I OUTPUT -m owner --gid system -j REJECT
"system" seems to be everything MIUI related. I can see this extra instruction blocking additional traffic, and nothing on my phone stops working with this. So it is there just for extra peace of mind.

seemebreakthis said:
With phone like Xiaomi (using M11 right now) I actually feel much safer rooting the phone, then use AdAway and AFWall+ plus to block suspicious system activities. This in addition to the usual debloating to get rid of as many Xiaomi related stuff as I can.
After implementation I did a quick check on pihole, no secret packets sent to Xiaomi it seems. Not comprehensive I know, but it gives me peace of mind.
Using the command line "iptables -nvL OUTPUT" I can see AFWall+ blocking all these system related traffic. My phone isn't impacted at all as everything remains operational. For the fun of it I also have this line executed whenever my phone boots:
iptables -I OUTPUT -m owner --gid system -j REJECT
"system" seems to be everything MIUI related. I can see this extra instruction blocking additional traffic, and nothing on my phone stops working with this. So it is there just for extra peace of mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One problem being the CCP's insidious goal of burrowing into all civilian devices and platforms.
The possibility of unknown hardware backdoors is real and virtually undetectable.
The CCP serves only it's own goals and interests.
One of their primary goals is to gather as much user data as possible by any means at their disposal. Still feel safe?

blackhawk said:
One problem being the CCP's insidious goal of burrowing into all civilian devices and platforms.
The possibility of unknown hardware backdoors is real and virtually undetectable.
The CCP serves only it's own goals and interests.
One of their primary goals is to gather as much user data as possible by any means at their disposal. Still feel safe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's be realistic. And don't get me wrong. I strongly believe that CCP is as mean as it could be. But then, they have economic interests too. China is a country that significantly leans on export, and they don't want to be hurt more than they are (Huawei, other sanctions - India).
Therefore, I don't believe in hardware backdoors. Xiaomi and others even don't produce hardware themselves. Software is a different ballgame. Only evaluate the risk. Let's say that CCP would force companies to install spy software if it could be effectively covered. And what then? What's the difference? Do you trust non-Chinese phones considering that western Big Tech companies have autonomous power to spy everyone, censor everybody? They do it to the former US president, why you think that they won't do it to you?
And do you know that Apple is planning (maybe it is already implemented) to use AI to spy every iPhone pretending to seek children pornography? What is CCP different and how it can hurt you more than Big Tech which have been a long time unleashed and control your data as Orwell predicted without any restrictions or legal limitations?
The only solution are custom roms from transparent developers. And if it is not possible, totally debloated phone, no matter if it comes from east or west. With that kind of adjustment, I certainly trust any Chinese phone more than totally locked and nontransparent systems like iPhone.

Only relevant for Chinese users.
Also I prefer my data in the hands to people on other side of the world than in the hands of my own government.

As soon as you connect to the internet from any device, they have all your information already, it's just that they will use it for good or bad purposes.
nothing is safe

piskr said:
Let's be realistic. And don't get me wrong. I strongly believe that CCP is as mean as it could be. But then, they have economic interests too. China is a country that significantly leans on export, and they don't want to be hurt more than they are (Huawei, other sanctions - India).
Therefore, I don't believe in hardware backdoors. Xiaomi and others even don't produce hardware themselves. Software is a different ballgame. Only evaluate the risk. Let's say that CCP would force companies to install spy software if it could be effectively covered. And what then? What's the difference? Do you trust non-Chinese phones considering that western Big Tech companies have autonomous power to spy everyone, censor everybody? They do it to the former US president, why you think that they won't do it to you?
And do you know that Apple is planning (maybe it is already implemented) to use AI to spy every iPhone pretending to seek children pornography? What is CCP different and how it can hurt you more than Big Tech which have been a long time unleashed and control your data as Orwell predicted without any restrictions or legal limitations?
The only solution are custom roms from transparent developers. And if it is not possible, totally debloated phone, no matter if it comes from east or west. With that kind of adjustment, I certainly trust any Chinese phone more than totally locked and nontransparent systems like iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The CCP's primary target after its own citizens is the USA. Almost zero risk to a hardware backdoor; they could even blow it off as a vulnerability that was not anticipated or detected. A backdoor can lie dormant forever or be activated as needed.
The CCP is like that psycho b*tch gf that talks with demons.
You can't take a ride without getting stabbed
Apple just sucks. Aiding the enemy. They backed away from the user monitoring that their CCP masters taught them, for now.
Apple can't be trusted at all.
If if you're simple enough to buy an Apple...
you deserve what you get; a plain Jane you can't trust

blackhawk said:
Still feel safe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
Because your profound statements didn't undo any safety measures I did to my phone, nor did they refute the validations of my tests that in fact showed the safety measures barred attempts to connect to Xiaomi servers.
They talk about this "MiAdBlacklistConfig" file that gets updated everyday and used by Mi Browser and other Xiaomi apps to check / censor "sensitive communications". It is there in my phone (funny content), but no update since the day I initially setup the phone. Also I erased Mi Browser. Even the core Xiaomi System Components is barred from reaching out to the internet etc etc etc.

seemebreakthis said:
Yes.
Because your profound statements didn't undo any safety measures I did to my phone, nor did they refute the validations of my tests that in fact showed the safety measures barred attempts to connect to Xiaomi servers.
They talk about this "MiAdBlacklistConfig" file that gets updated everyday and used by Mi Browser and other Xiaomi apps to check / censor "sensitive communications". It is there in my phone (funny content), but no update since the day I initially setup the phone. Also I erased Mi Browser. Even the core Xiaomi System Components is barred from reaching out to the internet etc etc etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If they did it right you'll never even know it happened... hardware embedded back doors aren't easily detectable when dormant.

Chinese phones and spyware - is rooting / custom firmware & ROM the answer?

So I'm looking to buy a new phone and it seems that about 70% of the market share in the best buys is comprised of Chinese owned manufacturers.
There have been numerous reports of such manufacturers collecting user-identifable data and phoning home with it. I know that western owned phone companies collect data but believe that the rules /laws, ehtics and security are better followed in the west. I'm not trying to get into a debate of east vs west btw this is just my opinion. Yes I know that almost all phones are manufactured in China but I'm more concerned about who is influencing the companies themselves if they are Chinese.
So given that I value my privacy and want to keep personal data out of the hands of bad actors I'm left with a choice of buying a western owned phone which are generally much lower spec for a price point or perhaps buying Chinese and rooting.
My question is whether this is a practical answer given the need to use a phone as a secure device e.g. 2FA and internet banking apps etc and a daily driver? Also my experience tells me that when one takes a custom ROM they take on responsibility for applying patches and updates which is something of an administration burden I probably don't have the time /inclination for.
For the record I've flashed and used custom roms on about 3-4 devices in the past so have some first hand experiance but wondered if things have changed for the better or worse?

They could have embedded hidden backdoors in the hardware or worse.

Well, things are still the same, if not even worse. Beside security patches, Google has been cracking down on rooted users, so in the near future some features and some apps might stop working. Unfortunately users with just an unlocked bootloader might be caught in the crossfire. As for privacy, try Xiaomi. Sure, there have been rumors of Spyware on Xiaomi devices. Well, back in January some cybersecurity firm from Germany test that theory. Proved it was false.
Germany: No evidence of spying from Xiaomi phones
One point for Xiaomi
www.gadgetmatch.com
Thus Xiaomi might be one of the good ones. At least in terms of being spied by them. Sure, third party apps also spy on you, but for that you have adb.

Fytdyh said:
Well, things are still the same, if not even worse. Beside security patches, Google has been cracking down on rooted users, so in the near future some features and some apps might stop working. Unfortunately users with just an unlocked bootloader might be caught in the crossfire. As for privacy, try Xiaomi. Sure, there have been rumors of Spyware on Xiaomi devices. Well, back in January some cybersecurity firm from Germany test that theory. Proved it was false.
Germany: No evidence of spying from Xiaomi phones
One point for Xiaomi
www.gadgetmatch.com
Thus Xiaomi might be one of the good ones. At least in terms of being spied by them. Sure, third party apps also spy on you, but for that you have adb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's bad to hear that Google are trying to put the squeeze on and a deterrent to investing time and energy installing Roms that may only get worse with time in terms of G Apps and services.
Hmmm that article refers to an absence of censorship rather than not spying.
Here's an example of the story which I've seen repeated elsewhere on Xiaomi spying:
Exclusive: Warning Over Chinese Mobile Giant Xiaomi Recording Millions Of People’s ‘Private’ Web And Phone Use
Xiaomi is collecting users’ browser habits and phone usage, raising red flags for privacy researchers.
www.forbes.com

steveyc2 said:
That's bad to hear that Google are trying to put the squeeze on and a deterrent to investing time and energy installing Roms that may only get worse with time in terms of G Apps and services.
Hmmm that article refers to an absence of censorship rather than not spying.
Here's an example of the story which I've seen repeated elsewhere on Xiaomi spying:
Exclusive: Warning Over Chinese Mobile Giant Xiaomi Recording Millions Of People’s ‘Private’ Web And Phone Use
Xiaomi is collecting users’ browser habits and phone usage, raising red flags for privacy researchers.
www.forbes.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about that.
At this point, I doubt there isn't a smartphone maker that does not track its users. From chinese makers to American makers, everyone tracks their users. Their data sells the best. At this rate, if you want to totally protect your privacy, don't buy a phone. Anything and everything can be tracked. Dumb phones and smartphones. So picking a smartphone isn't going to keep your privacy secure. You might have a say in how many people do you want to track you, based on phone's price.

steveyc2 said:
So I'm looking to buy a new phone and it seems that about 70% of the market share in the best buys is comprised of Chinese owned manufacturers.
There have been numerous reports of such manufacturers collecting user-identifable data and phoning home with it. I know that western owned phone companies collect data but believe that the rules /laws, ehtics and security are better followed in the west. I'm not trying to get into a debate of east vs west btw this is just my opinion. Yes I know that almost all phones are manufactured in China but I'm more concerned about who is influencing the companies themselves if they are Chinese.
So given that I value my privacy and want to keep personal data out of the hands of bad actors I'm left with a choice of buying a western owned phone which are generally much lower spec for a price point or perhaps buying Chinese and rooting.
My question is whether this is a practical answer given the need to use a phone as a secure device e.g. 2FA and internet banking apps etc and a reliable daily driver? Also my experience tells me that when one takes a custom ROM they take on responsibility for applying patches and updates which is something of an administration burden I probably don't have the time /inclination for.
For the record I've flashed and used custom roms on about 3-4 devices in the past so have some first hand experiance but wondered if things have changed for the better or worse?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be on the safe side, you can install an alternative ROM, such as LineageOS, instead of the preinstalled OS: requires phone's bootloader is unlockable.

Be aware that no cell phone provides you with true anonymity.

xXx yYy said:
To be on the safe side, you can install an alternative ROM, such as LineageOS, instead of the preinstalled OS: requires phone's bootloader is unlockable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes i know i can do that- and the firmware too- my question was about the practicality of living with such a phone once done
xXx yYy said:
Be aware that no cell phone provides you with true anonymity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, aware of that, just trying to minimise exposure while still having a usable phone
blackhawk said:
They could have embedded hidden backdoors in the hardware or worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
worrying but if one wipes the firmware and ROM then that would mitigate any hardware backdoor risks I would have thought?

Has anyone actually tested a custom rom on a chinese phone that was known to send data back to chinese servers?
For example:
test with stock rom: wireshark shows phone sending information to chinese IP
test with custom rom: wireshark shows no packets sent to chinese IPs.

sso003 said:
Has anyone actually tested a custom rom on a chinese phone that was known to send data back to chinese servers?
For example:
test with stock rom: wireshark shows phone sending information to chinese IP
test with custom rom: wireshark shows no packets sent to chinese IPs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some infos could go to an American proxy server then to Chinese. In order to be sure no one gets you data, learn to code and make your own rom and your own apps. Open source apps are an option if you know to check the source yourself.