Official site: https://www.iceblock.app/

The CNN article talks a bit more about privacy issues. This bit caught my eye:

It’s only available on iOS because Aaron says the app would have to collect information that could ultimately put users at risk to provide the same experience on Android.

I would like to see some details about this. Perhaps there’s a way to work around that problem, even if it meant publishing on F-Droid instead of Google Play.

    • SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      28 days ago

      Breath - rhymes with ‘death’, and is what comes out of your mouth

      Breathe - the action of breathing

      Try to remember it this way: when you add the ‘e’ on the end, you’re really breeeething.

    • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de
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      28 days ago

      While i agree with the point you are making, its just quite the obvious difference. Medical masks have much much denser material so they dont let water droplets through. These masks are usually just some clothing fabric that is full of big openings and really easy to breathe through.

      • AlexanderTheGreat@piefed.social
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        28 days ago

        I have tumor riddled lungs and chest muscles that don’t quite do their job any more and I was able to breath just fine with a N95 on for hours at a time. These gigantic turd burglers must be more out of shape than my dead gran if not being able to breathe was their excuse.

      • Grass@sh.itjust.works
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        28 days ago

        I can’t speak for the states but here people I absolutely know wore balaclavas and neck masks before covid also started complaining about those just the same because the medical authorities were saying it was better than nothing.

      • Chainweasel@lemmy.world
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        28 days ago

        These idiots didn’t wear medical masks during, I live in conservative hell and they all wore neck gaiters and kept them under their noses and still bitched that they couldn’t breathe.

      • Capricorn_Geriatric@lemmy.world
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        28 days ago

        Oh yes, specially designed masks for MEDICAL purposes, designed to be usable for childreb abd the elderly are harder to breathe through for tough macho guys like this than some bullshit they bought at a gunstore.

        Clearly they only care about protecting themselves and can’t be bothered to protect others.

        • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de
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          28 days ago

          You people are so weird. At no point did i say that medical masks are hard to breathe through. I only said that whatever they are wearing will be easier to breathe through. Obviously the standard masks are also pretty easy to breathe through, billions of people did it for 2-3 years without any major problems.

          • grue@lemmy.world
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            28 days ago

            What you’re doing is white-knighting for the gestapo. That’s weird.

            Quit trying ‘to be fair’ towards thugs who absolutely give zero shits about being fair to you.

          • Capricorn_Geriatric@lemmy.world
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            28 days ago

            I merely said something designed formedical use is probably easier to bread tbrough tha something designed for military use. Y’know, thick materials are harder to breathe through. Wouldn’t want a wild boar, terrorist or immigrant tearing through it. So probably harder to breathe throug than a thin little mask that breaks if you try to put it on your face more than a few times. Talking from experience. Didn’t know ICE masks were disposable.

          • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            28 days ago

            You people are so weird. At no point did i say that medical masks are hard to breathe through. I only said that whatever they are wearing will be easier to breathe through.

            I… Erm…

    • VitoRobles@lemmy.today
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      28 days ago

      Not disagreeing. The issues that come with it:

      1 - Not many people will install it because you have to disable default security features. Android gives a huge “Your device is insecure” scary message.

      2 - Then you’ll get the people who will use this for malicious reasons. Even the app store gets copycats that do nothing but steal information.

      • jsomae@lemmy.ml
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        28 days ago

        Regarding (1), it still gets the network effect because of iOS users. That it’s harder for android users to install does not mean the marginal utility of an android user installing the app is lower than that of an iOS user installing the app.

  • ofcourse@lemmy.ml
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    29 days ago

    Would it be possible to create a webapp version of this? With ICE and CBP freely able to search phones now, I am worried about retaliation if they find this app on the phone.

    • limer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      29 days ago

      Yes, it’s not hard for a full stack developer to make. Probably a thousand people already in the fediverse can, including me.

      But it cannot be hosted on USA controlled servers, and the developers need to find a way to be anonymous to USA offices

      • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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        28 days ago

        This is actually a spot where I think a public blockchain could work and it’s censorship resistant properties will be crucial one day.

        The server is the blockchain, so it’s not hosted anywhere specific and can’t be taken down. It’s also a smart contract which ended up working in favor of the devs of TornadoCash where a judge overturned the sanctions on it since it was just immutable public code.

        Now that Tornado Cash isn’t sanctioned, you could mix your coins through it to then pay the sub cent fee to post the sighting on one of the layer 2s like Arbitrium (the fee which will also help combat spam)

        The app could then be open source (web/android/iphone) and monitor the blockchain for the sightings in your area.

        The problem still becomes push notifications if it’s all being done locally… It would need to be your device itself monitoring. Apple is also bad about background processing, but it’s a better on Android, and especially easier if you don’t deploy to the store and can bypass some of the requirements.

        This way incurs no hosting costs for the developer, no load balancing, nothing to be seized etc.

        It does require adoption of something like Ethereum though.

        • michaelmrose@lemmy.world
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          28 days ago

          Why would you need the block chain here again? At that point it needs to be an app because your browser can’t consume any of that shit and you are creating an immutable record of who reported who in such a way to ensure punishment.

          • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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            28 days ago

            Because the government can’t take it down, and the government will want to take it down, and the government would even try to issue arrest warrants for people who made it outside the US to try and punish them. This dude who wrote this is in danger now.

            Web browsers are capable of self checking a smart contract for new transactions, it is totally possible.

            Who reported it would be anonymous if they used something like Tornado Cash, or if a service was able to be built ontop of a privacy coin like Monero.

            • michaelmrose@lemmy.world
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              28 days ago

              Once you need a normal server you might as well just have the server you already need serve the info preferably simply by grabbing a diff from previously so you reveal no info and without downloading a substantial portion of a chain. I swear people want to shove a blockchain into shit when it almost never adds any value whatsoever. You didn’t address the fact about making an indelible link between you and your report and indeed prior reports if you are ever nabbed.

              • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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                28 days ago

                You wanna go to jail hosting that server? You want to be extradited from another partnering country to the USA for inciting violence? For accessory to murder if something went wrong?

                How is the link indelible when it’s anonymous? This isn’t money that can be traced back to you once it goes through Tornado Cash, or if it was done on something like Monero.

                Edit:

                https://www.yahoo.com/news/attorney-general-pam-bondi-warns-092112825.html

                “Our ICE agents, all of our federal agents who are working hand in hand on these task force[s] — our federal agents from the Justice Department could be injured,” Bondi said Monday on “Hannity.”

                “He’s giving a message to criminals where our federal officers are. And he cannot do that. And we are looking at it, we are looking at him, and he better watch out, because that’s not a protected speech. That is threatening the lives of our law enforcement officers throughout this country.”

                This dudes life might be fucked now.

                But sure, no reason, just trying to shove blockchain into everything.

                • michaelmrose@lemmy.world
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                  28 days ago

                  A block chain is a distributed permanent ledger of transactions where any intermediary who claims to provide anonymity is in danger of being compromised and turning instantly into a Honey pot

          • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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            28 days ago

            It’s a cool tech. Just to help others out, a very brief TLDR on it

            You can only submit certain denominations like 0.01 Ethereum, which then gets shuffled amongst everyone else submitting the same 0.01 Ethereum.

            Then you can’t trace back who’s 0.01 is who’s.

            You can leave the money in the smart contract as long as you want to increase anonymity before withdrawing it.

    • KidNamedLainah@lemmy.world
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      29 days ago

      There’s a page “People Over Papers” or something along those lines. A linktree has the current working URL that I don’t have on hand at the moment

      • JaymesRS@literature.cafe
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        29 days ago

        At this point my understanding from other sources is that they can’t distribute via the android App Store in a way that uses location tracking but is still anonymous where they can with iOS because location services is device side only.

        • ViatorOmnium@piefed.social
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          28 days ago

          Android Location manager can get the location without Google Services and there are alternative notification services like ntfy.

          EDIT: The location manager is part of the official API and ntfy is available on the play store, so apps using them will also be allowed. Besides, it’s android, you can install alternative app stores or install apps directly. Maybe it’s a good time to teach vulnerable communities how to do it safely, because using Big Tech services is not safe for them.

          • randomblock1@lemmy.world
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            28 days ago

            Fused Location Provider data sent to Google is anonymized with a temporary device id anyway. They also can’t tell if you needed location for this, maps, or Pokémon Go. But they do sometimes collect GPS, WiFi, and cell data. Not using it is more private but I don’t think it’s worth worrying about.

  • Randomgal@lemmy.ca
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    28 days ago

    I don’t know. An app that only people with direct interest in this matter would use regularly, seems like a pretty convenient way to mark people of interest, no?

    Not even in a sci-fk distopían way. Imaginet: TSE sees the app on your screen as you’re powering it down in line? BOOM baby, alligator town.

    No?

    As much as I trash DeCeNtrAlIZaTiOn, maybe THIS is when you actually need DeCeNtrAlIZaTiOn, to protect all participants

  • garretble@lemmy.world
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    29 days ago

    What a good country we live in when this app is the #1 app in the Social Networking category.

  • 21Cabbage@lemmynsfw.com
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    29 days ago

    I just got a spare vest from the security department, I could totally costume change into an ICE agent if I wanted…

    • Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca
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      28 days ago

      Anyone can cosplay as an ICE agent; all you’ve gotta do is remove your license plate and wear a facemask+hat.

  • brucethemoose@lemmy.world
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    29 days ago

    even if it meant publishing on F-Droid instead of Google Play.

    Sadly this means it’s not accessible to like 95% of people, even if driven to install it.

  • Veltoss@lemmy.world
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    29 days ago

    Yeah that doesn’t make sense to me. They could easily release it on fdroid and through a website where you can download the apk.

  • DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works
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    29 days ago

    Have you ever fear for your life? Ever can’t sleep because of the police sirens?

    Now INTRODUCING: The GestapALERT App to inform you on when you will be sent to the camps! DOWNLOAD NOW, and sign up for a limited FREE Trial!

    *For Ad-Free Immediate access without 30-Second Ad-Delay, subscribe to our Basic Tier of GestapALERT 360 Radar to reduce Ads to 5 seconds and increase scanning range to 5 miles for $59.99 /month our limited introductory price of $39.99 /month for your first 6 months, or subscribe to our PREMIUM Tier of GestapALERT + S.S. Detection Shield 360+ Radar and remove all Ads and increase scanning range to 10 miles for just $89.99 /month at our incredible discount of $59.99 /month for your first year!

    30 days SATISFACTION GUARANTEED OR YOUR MONEY BACK!*

    *[You may be subject to an ICE Raid if you decide to request a refund]

    /too soon?

    • nthavoc@lemmy.today
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      28 days ago

      You forgot the GestapALERT Max tier, now with kung fu grip and 89% more GestapALERTING for an extra $15.99. Also comes a free key fob you can press when you get slammed to the ground. ( Queue up b-roll of old life alert lady and you’re golden. Also not too soon. )

  • hohoho@lemmy.world
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    28 days ago

    There needs to be an Icebook. A Facebook for tracking them with the express purpose of naming, shaming, and black listing.

  • Empricorn@feddit.nl
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    28 days ago

    Regarding the an Android version:

    https://www.iceblock.app/android

    TL,DR: “It’s difficult, so we’ll hide behind privacy excuses rather than helping the largest number of at-risk people.”

    Seriously, if VPN companies and every other company that handles sensitive data anonymously can do it, so can these developers. When 70% of the worldwide smartphone user base uses Android, an iOS-only app is just not good enough anymore.

    • diffusive@lemmy.world
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      28 days ago

      I think their argument is sounding.

      Offering VPN is different from storing private information like a device ID. You don’t get notifications from your VPN.

    • who@feddit.orgOP
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      28 days ago

      Thanks for the link.

      So the problem is that using Android’s push notification system would require ICEBlock to store people’s device IDs, which could then be used against them.

      I wonder if this could be avoided by using Web Push instead of google’s native push notification system. Or perhaps some other push notification system using rotating ephemeral IDs.

      • diffusive@lemmy.world
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        28 days ago

        Not an expert but ephemeral IDs would not give you much.

        AFIK under the hoods android notifications is just… a chat app (Ehehe classic google). So for sending a notification you need to send it to the ID of your mobile. Even if you manage to convince Android to register with an additional ephemeral ID Google would be able to map the ephemeral to the real since… well… it is running on the mobile

        • who@feddit.orgOP
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          28 days ago

          Note this part of what I wrote:

          some other push notification system

          Google’s default one is not the only one.

    • cley_faye@lemmy.world
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      28 days ago

      …almost none of what is said about Android push notification is true. A lot of apps uses firebase, which does not require the creation of user accounts or whatever to send push notifications to a device.

      Either they’re completely unfamiliar with it, or they don’t want to do it, but what they claim is dubious at best.

      • diffusive@lemmy.world
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        28 days ago

        How can you tell firebase who to notify?

        I guess you need a firebase id of sort… and firebase needs the device id… and firebase is an US Company… so it’s just an extra step but the result is the same. They have to store IDs that can link to devices

        • pipes@sh.itjust.works
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          28 days ago

          The gist of what they’re saying is we trust Apple, not Google. Both american companies. But on android it is possible to have real time notifications without google. I also didn’t like the wording of their page, read a lot like Apple apologia if not an utter advertisement - an iPhone XR costs only 50$! Don’t you guys have phones iPhones??

          Let’s go back for a second and think about the people who need this type of service the most, today, in the US. Are they Apple or Android users?

        • cley_faye@lemmy.world
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          28 days ago

          The same way with iOS. At some point, the third-party service have a way to link a push to a device. It does not mean that you can link an user to a device, or a specific request to a device. You get a unique ID for the notifications, yeah. And someone could tell that the app server have these ID. But that’s not particularly different with iOS. It not being exposed to the app dev directly does not mean that this info does not exist on the third-party server, that can still get asked about it.

          Unless Apple found a way to magically send a message to a specific device, from a specific external server, without anyone, anywhere, having any idea where the notification should go. Which, fair, could be done by sending every messages to everyone after encrypting it for a specific recipient, but that would be a bit inefficient at this scale. The trace for push notifications exists, whether you’re using Apple or Google as the backend.

          • JaymesRS@literature.cafe
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            27 days ago

            From what I’ve been reading on this lately (since this started) on iOS a method exists for a service to send out a list of locations, or references list that exists on device (this can work with date/time triggers as well) that would trigger a notification and the local device itself handles notification of the user so the developer has no idea who has been notified for all they know they just shouted locations out into the void and the on-device location services handles the rest.

            https://developer.apple.com/documentation/usernotifications/unlocationnotificationtrigger