Smartphone Apps Build Secret Networks To Spy On Every Detail Of Your Life

04-05-2017, 02:35 AM

Quote:THE apps on your phone are secretly working together to spy on your life in minute detail, researchers have warned.

Experts from Virginia Tech University analysed more than 100,000 pieces of Android software and found “thousands of pairs of apps” which talk to each other to share private information.

Of the apps we studied, we found thousands of pairs of apps that could potentially leak sensitive phone or personal information and allow unauthorised apps to gain access to privileged data.

They found that the biggest security risks were “apps that pertained to personalisation of ringtones, widgets, and emojis”.

more at: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/3241990/th...hers-warn/

i always suspected that the android broadcast system is used for nefarious stuff.

here is how broadcasts work: https://developer.android.com/guide/comp...casts.html

**JayRodney** · 04-05-2017, 07:13 AM

Oh, so that's why my egg timer app needs to see my email, photos, and contacts....

I use f-droid repository their catalogue of FOSS is all I need.
As soon as the warranty is over I root it.

**Strigoi** · 04-05-2017, 11:42 AM

This comes as no big surprise to me, there is no longer any digital privacy of any kind.

04-05-2017, 03:03 PM

(04-05-2017, 07:13 AM)JayRodney Wrote: Oh, so that's why my egg timer app needs to see my email, photos, and contacts....
I use f-droid repository their catalogue of FOSS is all I need.
As soon as the warranty is over I root it.

well... open source doesn't necessarily mean that someone checked the source code... and without any knowledge of how apps or the android api for java work you won't see anything suspicious anyway.
and who the fuck is going to check 2.3k apps?

open source doesn't mean good.
remember heartbleed?