I get the outrage, I really do, but the app broke many privacy rights for users and also the app did technically break ToS by definition being a “doxxing” app.
Regardless, there are websites out there that do it far better than the app, and have universal access Apple and Android devices, which makes sense, because the developer of ICEBlock made it exclusive to Apple, and hispanic communities are overwhelmingly Android users.
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently gave Trump a 24 carat gold bribe.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/08/07/tim-cook-trump-gift/85555805007/
Google’s sideloading restrictions seems almost like its perfectly timed… 👀
Anyways, Google can gargle my:
How to choose between this and GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, etc? I feel ready for the switch too.
Edit: Plus is it possible to get banking apps and Google Wallet to still work (easily) in these Android-based alternatives?
Mostly: Price
Are you willing to, either: (a) spend $500-$600 for a new Google Pixel? (the 9 that is, I don’t think 10 is ready for GrapheneOS yet), or (b) willing to dig into the second hand market and potentially get not-unlockable phones? (those run rampant in the used market, note that Carrier Unlock does not equate to Bootloader Unlock, and Verizon ones are guaranteed to not allow bootloader unlocking, I’m unsure about other carriers)
(Also you are kinda supporting google if you get a new one btw.)
I personally don’t wanna spend $500 since if it ever breaks, its hard to replace or even repair. And I hate dealing with the used market.
So for me, Graphene isn’t an option.
I went for the cheapest new Moto that has custom ROM support, Moto G 5G 2024 for $140 (carrier variants do not unlock).
I’m basically still testing to see what wouldn’t work, haven’t really be using it as a “daily driver”
I’ve also come across the CMF Phone 1 which is OLED and supports e/OS its about $300
TLDR: Get Graphene if you can afford a pixel or willing to look for a used phone from a reputable source. I personally do not like used phones because I think there’s too much risks IMO, you might assess the risks differently. Other options are Moto G 5G 2024 for $140 which runs both LineageOS and e/OS, or CMF (by Nothing) Phone 1 which runs e/OS and is an overall much better phone, but its more expensive, at $250 for 128 GB and $300 for the 256 GB.
Oh one last thing: Even “New” “Unlocked” cheap Pixels on sites like Amazon aren’t guaranteed to unlock. I was looking at older pixels like the 6a, 7, 7a and checked the reviews and some comments indicate they are locked to Verizon because the reseller didn’t unlock it for some reason, so I’m get the vibes that its unsold stock previously owned by carriers, so I don’t know if they’ll bootloader unlock, even if its SIM unlocked. Where as CMF never has carrier variants, so they all should unlock.
Edit: Also, the CMF phone needs the IMEI added in to carriers such as ATT and Verizon, since they use IMEI whitelisting, Tmobile is fine. For some countries like, Australia they also does nationwide whitelisting. Custom ROMs can break VoLTE, rendering it not work with cell service for csrriers that require VoLTE, Might wanna research about that.
I don’t like how the default answer around here is to just get a pixel. It seems so backwards
In Australia it’s a blocklist, not an allowlist. I think some VoLTE-capable devices may have been swept up in the blocking that occurred with the ending of 3G services, that you can manually have allowed, but it depends on carrier and device. Most though are fine.
When I had an iPhone 3GS I got in a hot tub with it in my pocket and it died. I let it dry out. Then I very carefully took it apart and found all the little white stickers inside that turn from white to pink when in contact with water. I used a razor blade to remove those stickers without damaging them. I then placed a drop of bleach on each which turned them back to white and let them dry out. I used very tiny amounts of super glue to re-apply them to the exact same positions within the phone and then very carefully reassembled the phone.
Took the phone into an Apple store. Guy disappeared into the back for about 10 minutes with it. Came back out and said it must have just up and died but he doesn’t know how and gave me a new iPhone.
Only Apple product I’ve ever owned.
Fuck you Apple.
remember when Tim Apple gifted tRump a golden statue? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
I remember him being gifted a golden pager and I’m still holding out hope that he gets the call.
Yeah, but are Apple users going to punish Apple for glazing Trump’s tiny manhood by not buying Apple products?
Tim Apple certainly doesn’t think so.
I mean I’m doing my best to only buy second hand iPhones and replace them 5-10 years. The power of Apple is the reoccurring revenues of software and the new phone buyers
It’s really not that bad a compromise, as far as bribes go. Some cheap gaudy bauble as payment for not interfering with billions of dollars in business?
It’s still a bribe and it’s still encouraging mango mussolini, but very efficient tradeoff
This is cowardice from Apple, but ICEBlock was not a good app:
Doesn’t matter if it was good or not.
Was this ever even available to non-US accounts? Was there ever an explanation for why it was georestricted?
It’s an app about ICE, why would it be available to non-US accounts? It was pawbably georestricted by the developer, just like most apps that have a geoblock.
Because ICE targets people not from the US?
Define from the US. Are you saying those travelling in from internationally by air or road, that are getting stopped and generally detained by CBP, where ICE reporting apps would be useless because they aren’t making it to the broader community? Or are you saying those who are living and working in the US and pawbably have a US Apple account?
People living in the US but using an Apple account set to another country. Because you can only switch it once a year or something inconvenient like that. Whatever the circumstances may be, there is seemingly no good reason to restrict the app to US accounts only.
Does anyone remember how the Devs from there didnt want to release for Android because ApPlE iS sOoOo mUcH mOoOrE sEcUrE
Get rekt.
In terms of security alone, iPhones easily beat most Android phones. Which may be a fair argument in favor of iPhones. However, to ignore Apple’s policies and long history of delisting similar apps is delusional.
In regards to security, Apple does have three upsides, and only those:
- No sideloading and no unlocked bootloader means you can’t sideload malware or install malware-preloaded ROMs. No root also means you can’t just install malware that uses root access.
- Long OS support means fewer people run around with iPhones that are 5 OS versions behind.
- There’s no tiny boutique iPhone manufacturers who sell phones that come pre-loaded with malware.
The solution for the first one is “don’t sideload untrusted stuff” and the solution to the second and third one is “buy an Android phone from a trusted manufacturer that has long term OS support”.
Long os support meant to intentionally brick your iphone so you buy new. That is 100% true as I had many apple products started degrading after upgrade and still have old models that are not upgraded and work perfectly
I’m not defending apple here. Short OS support (or none at all) is not a good thing, and it’s something that’s sadly still quite common if you buy the wrong Android brand.
Samsung is doing pretty well in that regard right now.
In other words do not confuse long support with good support as these are totally different things
Sorry, didn’t think I had to clarify it. Long support is good IF has good intentions behind it. Most long supported os has bad intentions behind it as making old models inferior and unusable as in case with ios on iphone 5. For example in my opinion windows xp was THE best windows, maybe on par with seven. So if you give me two options, first is updating my phone so it becomes laggy and unusable or keep current version, I will choose to stay on old OS.
Most long supported os has bad intentions behind it as making old models inferior and unusable as in case with ios on iphone 5.
Your evidence is an iPhone that came out 13 years ago last month? Back in those days, the year over year improvements in the hardware were immense, and the software tried to take advantage of it. But people would complain, A Lot, if those features didn’t come to their older device. Do you remember how much folks lost their mind when the iPhone 4 came out and iOS 4 allowed it and the 3GS to have a home screen wallpaper, but not the iPhone 3G? People were pissed and called it “planned obsolescence” that it didn’t get the feature. So, when the iPhone 4 hit iOS 7, they included all the animations. And then people called it planned obsolescence that it stuttered.
It really depends on what your goal is. Usability, keeping a familiar interface, performance, all of that are things that make it reasonable to stay on an outdated OS, and none of these reasons are bad.
Security (which is the only thing we are really talking about here) does require updates.
If security is your most important concern, you need to update. If security is not your biggest concern and other topics are more important for you, it might be reasonable to stay on older versions.
But in the context of this post, which was purely about security, having long term security updates is important.
No sideloading and no unlocked bootloader means you can’t sideload malware or install malware-preloaded ROMs
It’s a simple configuration change to disable it and can be done with any corporate MDM system, making this a moot point. Not to mention too many people don’t understand security, so Android is taking away sideloading anyway, FoR sEcUriTY
No root also means you can’t just install malware that uses root access
The vast majority of Android phones do not come with root access. For both, you generally have to elevate access yourself
Long OS support means fewer people run around with iPhones that are 5 OS versions behind
If you’re running an out-of-date OS, clearly security is not a priority
There’s no tiny boutique iPhone manufacturers who sell phones that come pre-loaded with malware
Supply chain attacks absolutely can happen to iPhones as well. There are plenty of re-sellers
You missed the actual security benefit over iOS that Android cannot compete with: Apple controls the entire software chain from security patch to OTA update. This allows them to patch and release a fix for critical vulnerabilities far faster than any Android device possibly could. Apple does not need to get the approval of an OEM (such as Samsung), and, due to special deals, they do not need to get the approval of a carrier (like Verizon). Android devices typically need to get approvals from both before releasing updates (although Google flagship phones can bypass one, and can fast track the other)
The downside there is there are no checks on Apple. They could release a horribly vulnerable patch with no additional checks in-between
You don’t seem to get my point and seem to think that I’m some apple fanboy that you need to convince or win against.
I use android, I’ve never used iOS. I enjoy the freedom of sideloading. Still it is a fact that the overwhelming majority of malware infections on Android happen due to side loading. The percentage of devices running corporate MDM is tiny, making this a moot point.
The vast majority of Android phones do not come with root access. For both, you generally have to elevate access yourself
And yet quite a few devices in the wild run rooted or custom ROMs.
If you’re running an out-of-date OS, clearly security is not a priority
You seem to forget what this thread is about. It’s not about personal security and whether one can run a safe android device, but about an app developer not providing an Android version, because the platform as a whole (meaning the average user) is less secure.
Personal preferences like paying for a new, non-outdated phone don’t really matter for that big picture view.
Supply chain attacks absolutely can happen to iPhones as well. There are plenty of re-sellers
That’s a strange argument. Getting malware that survives a factory reset onto an iPhone without apple’s approval is close to impossible. Making an Android phone from scratch that contains malware right in the system image has been done over and over again. You are argueing a hypothetical versus something that happens every day.
You say that based on what?
Based on most smartphones being very insecure. Of course, iPhones aren’t extremely secure, but the competition is practically nonexistent. Pretty much the only secure Android phones are Pixels. Samsung is considered one of the more secure manufacturers too, but according to GrapheneOS devs it’s still way behind Google.
Note that even police and government agencies sometimes have trouble getting into iPhones. They never have such troubles getting into Android smartphones, except Pixels.
This is by no means meant to advertise iPhones. It’s just a simple observation that security in smartphones is heavily lacking.
So based on marketing.
You fell for the propaganda marketed as truth.
Dude give one example so we can google and have our own opinion. You are just saying “because they said so/because someone considered it so”.
Look up grapheneos’s reasoning
Both iPhones and Android phones can be configured to your desired security level. Both are used by various government agencies around the world for their most important secrets. Neither are secure out of the box. You have to harden them to your desired level of security
Arguing whether Android or iOS is more secure is a bit like arguing whether an SUV or pickup is safer. It doesn’t matter which you pick when basic security steps are magnitudes more important: Wearing a safety belt, having a functioning air bag, driving a safe speed, not driving drunk, etc.
Removed by mod
In terms of security alone, iPhones easily beat most Android phones
That’s not how security works in the modern tech landscape. No major OS is going to meet a high security standard out of the box. All of them have to be configured to the desired security level, then be added to ongoing security efforts. Every major OS can be secured to the highest security standards
The primary difference is how much effort each takes, but even then there isn’t much of a difference. You’ll find tooling and in-house expertise makes a much larger difference than the OS
The myth that some OS are inherently secure really needs to die off
Every major OS can be secured to the highest security standards
Has Android added E2EE to their cloud backups yet like Apple has?
Apple is no friend to any of us, but Google openly and shamelessly scrapes every piece of data you put on their phones. Apple is absolutely the lesser of these two evils with out of the box functionality. I say this as a lifelong Android fan and Apple hater that entered the cybersecurity space and am only interested in the most private option I can get out of the box.
Like an Android can be more secure and private than an IPhone, but afaik that involves owning a Pixel specifically and installing an entirely different OS on it, one that Google a Is also out to get.
There’s a similar app for Android.
Same problems
Not open source for once
This is why the web is way better than any app store, yes even with the problems of DNS (DIDs becoming more prevalent cant come fast enough though). Any future phones should have a first class web experience imo.
Edit: I wanna add that browser monopolies are a real threat too. Ladybird is legit on Charlie Kirk’s side aka nonpolitical so not a fan of the outlook there. Would love to see KDE fork chromium/blink with valve money and recreate Konquerer and bring back KHTML (I like irony). Valve even has a fork of CEF (Chromium Embedded Framework, electron uses this as well) because of Steam and its ui being a big web app. KDE then has web apps and add them to Discovery, or you can build qt apps. Make it happen valve! And hire me to help lol
It’s how I browse Lemmy - I sometimes forget that my home-pinned app, Voyager, isn’t actually from the app store.
What the fuck is a DIDs?
I had to look it up too
Apparently it stands for “decentralized identifiers”
From what I’m gathering it’s a client based web protocol That works in conjunction with DNS
Thanks. I’d already be happy with updating/mutable v2 torrents for browsing static websites via hashkey.
I’m only just learning about this, but don’t the encrypted DNS protocols solve the privacy problem?
Or do you mean more like not being able to trust a registrar or public DNS server?
Usually when people complain about DNS, they’re talking about stability issues. In this case I think he’s pointing out how centralized it is, and how a bad actor could cause significant issues
At a local level, the most common issue I know of is ISPs blocking sites at the DNS level by feeding in fake information that redirects you to one of the ISP’s blocked/parked domains. Usually implemented to prevent customers going to piracy sites. It’s not much of an issue to subvert currently, as you can simply use any public DNS provider
That being said, much of that has been consolidated into a dozen or so tech companies. In the current political climate, I could see a coordinated effort happening between those tech companies to block sites deemed non gratis. Obviously there’s still ways to subvert it, but the vast majority of user’s won’t be able to
This kind of thing is coming for Android as well once Google has converted it to it’s own walled garden bullshit.
This shouldn’t be on the app store. It gives the US government too much access to pull data from it, or order it pulled down. This should be a web app hosted outside the US that can be accessed by any device and can be obscured by VPN access so the regime can’t persecute participants. Apps pull way too much data from phones that ICE can subpoena.
Disclaimer: The app is closed source, so all we can go off is the developer’s word, although the fact the government removed it is a strong indicator they don’t have access to data from the app
The developer stated they do not even retain any identifying data, so the only data the government could get is public anyway. Through Apple they’d be able to see who downloaded it, and likely when it was used. Your defense would be easy enough though: “I just wanted to make sure the libs weren’t harassing our
fascistpatriotic ICE agents near me”It is impossible to send a (edit: true) push notification to a device without knowing which device it is going to. The developer may not know/have access to that information, but Apple/Google know which devices they are sending those pushes to. If it wasn’t a true push notification, then they would not arrive in a timely manner and potentially only when the app was opened the next time.
He was using true push notifications, so the government could just subpoena that information.
He could maybe obfuscate who initiated the initial message, but its impossible to do that for the receivers.
Apps give way too much access to phone data, whether the developer collects it or not. As you said, Apple has access and has capitulated to the Trump fascist regime already. The app leaves enough fingerprint for them to use. A Web app is just a safer and more available option.
“Good thing I got revenge though on Google’s sideloading ban by buying a phone that never allowed it to begin with”
I’m surprised it stayed up as long as it did. I thought Apple would have taken it down within days.
Anyways I’ve seen this as a non app alternative: https://www.stopice.net/
Would I be paranoid to use a VPN while visiting this site? (And others like it) god only knows if IP’s visiting the site could be uncovered…
Yeah, I’m probably being paranoid…
Not a bad idea. Just make sure your VPN doesn’t cooperate with law enforcement or sell your data otherwise.
Back to the WWW just like the good ol days
What’s objectionable about it Apple? Hmm?
They can only buy a politician so many gold statues.
Who could have seen this coming from the company whose CEO gifted Trump a literal gold plaque in celebration of his reelection?
