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Samsung embeds IronSource spyware app on phones across WANA

(smex.org)
845 points the-anarchist | 1 comments | 21 Jun 25 03:06 UTC | HN request time: 0.202s | source
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AlotOfReading ◴[21 Jun 25 03:43 UTC] No.44334298[source]▶
Because the link is down:

https://web.archive.org/web/20250506145643/https://smex.org/...

The article leaves out quite a lot about what AppCloud is, but it's essentially how Samsung monetizes their non-flagship device users and can do things like insert installation advertisements into the notification tray, and silently install apps.

Personally, if I found this on my device it'd be the final straw to grit my teeth and finally get a personal apple device.

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hkt ◴[21 Jun 25 13:09 UTC] No.44337324[source]▶
No need to ditch Android. Fairphone exists: https://fairphone.com

Their stock android is fine. If you want more privacy, installing e/OS/ is trivial. It blows my mind that anyone is concluding Samsung stuff is worth buying under any circumstances.

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subscribed ◴[21 Jun 25 18:26 UTC] No.44339637[source]▶
Fairphone has astonishingly bad upgrades and patches policy. Very late, very delayed, not all of them.

Sure, better than, say, Sony (and as an ex-Sony user I kind of know what I'm talking about), but far from calling it good.

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1. Aachen ◴[22 Jun 25 12:30 UTC] No.44346366[source]▶
Every vendor waits a month before sending out security patches, including Google. I've never understood this (with Linux desktops as my context) but so if you have a risk profile where the OS needs more frequent updates but still want to use Android, you need to take extra hardening steps such as limiting what you expose the OS to (from the outside (firewall, turn off unnecessary connections like Bluetooth) and inside (potentially malicious apps))