this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2025

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You Should Know

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YSK: This May Have Been Auto-Installed on Your Device Recently (www.androidauthority.com)

submitted 12 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) by onyxjet to c/youshouldknow

36 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/25202993

This was Likely Recently Auto-Installed on your Phone.

This morning I noticed that an app was silently installed on my device. Android System Safetycore.

So what is this app for? Supposedly it is designed to blur any images that are sent to or from you the user.

Android Authority Article Snippet
Sensitive Content Warnings is another new Google Messages feature that Google is announcing today. It’s a feature that gives you more control over seeing and sending images that may contain nudity. Sensitive Content Warning blurs images that may contain nudity before viewing them, and it then prompts you with a “speed bump” that contains “help-finding resources and options, including to view the content.” When it’s enabled and you try to send or forward an image that may contain nudity, Google Messages will also show a “speed bump” that reminds you of the risks of sending nude imagery. - Android Authority

The feature seems to be geared towards google messages.

However why this needed to be a seperate app isn't really known. Why not just a feature within the google messages app? Google gives no explanation.

Another Android Authority Snippet
Warnings check runs entirely on-device, it didn’t mention that it will actually be powered by an entirely separate app and not Google Messages itself. - Android Authority

Google claims it runs entirely on your phone. Whether that's true? ¯_(ツ)_/¯

According to my device, the app can have internet access restricted to it (via phone settings) implying that the app does have internet access. Any apps that dont have internet access wouldn't be in my settings list for restricting network access.

Here's the developer page. Not much in terms of detail going on there.

Here is the app on Play store with its further lacking detail and currently plunging reviews. Interestingly it seems the app has many good odd sounding reviews. Furthermore, all the new reviews are very negative. The app was 3.8 this morning. Plunging.

The whole concept of the feature isn't a bad one. However, I certainly dont wish for it to be automatically installed on my device as a seperate app. A feature that is supposedly for a messaging platform that I don't even have activated on my device.

I removed it myself as it can be uninstalled. It doesn't show up on play store by search, however you can look up the app link online and get a direct link to it. Which I put here.

Spyware? A helpful feature? I don't want it on my phone anyways.

(Yes this is a repost, I hope it isn't considered spam. Yes I did also delete the original one :/ . Goodnight 🥱!)

all 37 comments

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago

Reinstall your OS without google, and you'll never have to worry about this happening

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

I need some security researchers to tear this obvious dystopian spyware apart so we can see what kind of disgusting shit it's doing.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

Galaxy S9+ Gang Gang is immune to your plots, GOOGLE.

(But not Samsung's insane amounts of bloatware)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 hours ago

universal android debloater to the rescue

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

A25 here, so far I'm in the same boat, bloatware and all.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

honestly I am just "relieved" I can uninstall this one

just root your phone

I tried, my phone has rooting disabled by the manufacturer

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

Note to never buy from that manufacturer again

[–] ParadoxSeahorse 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

How long until this tech is used to block sending of nudes?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago

I think their priority is to use the nudes for genital recognition technology.

They dont want to block nudes. Why would they do that?

[–] Absaroka 28 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

Just looked and sure enough it was installed on Jan. 22.

Nothing screams "spyware" like installing an app without notice and providing no context for what it does whatsoever.

Btw this has been installed by "More than 1 Billion" devices, so if you have an Android devices the odds are pretty flipping good you have this.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

Yeah, no. If you have android without google, odds are almost certainly you dont have this.

Just reinstall your OS. By default it doesn't have google.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Custom ROM wins again

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

It also apparently gets installed on LineageOS if you have Google Play...

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 hours ago

God damn... Appreciate the heads up on that

With that being said. Mcirog with aurora folks!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 hours ago

Postmarket OS it is then

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 hours ago

I swear, every time I'm tired of the limitations of AOSP I inevitably begin to bargain with my conscience, like what if I just have a sandboxed play store, what if it's just microG, surely LineageOS has enough safeguards... and sure enough, within 24 hours one of these things pops up and I'm done with coveting the easy path.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 9 hours ago

In the play store, don't forget to flag it as innapropriate.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Android System Safety Core is the name of the app. Found it in Settings>Apps and uninstalled on my Samsung.

[–] blipcast 3 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Thanks! Strangely this wasn't showing up in searches within the app store for me, but it did turn up in settings.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 hours ago

That's addressed in the above post. There's a direct link to the playstore page

[–] [email protected] 16 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

I just tested it. I sent an obviously nude photo via a Google Messages text to myself. I didn't see any speed bumps sending out or receiving and there was no blurring of the photo, so it doesn't seem to do what the article says it does. Has anyone seen the app work as they say it does?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

But at least someone at Google gets to see your nude now! How kind of you to share with them :)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 hours ago

Getting them feet wet for that OF Career

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Just speculating, but maybe it does something like where it checks the image against a CSAM database or something similar, so only images flagged in some government database get blurred.

Edit: or more likely it's still in the testing stage and has to be enabled either by google or through some obscure setting.

[–] StarshotJohn 2 points 6 hours ago

Uninstalled. Thanks for the heads up!

[–] iamdefinitelyoverthirteen 10 points 9 hours ago

The app is ASS and it blurs pictures of your ass.

[–] capt_wolf 18 points 11 hours ago

Thanks for the info. Quickest uninstall since getting a new phone and removing Facebook. I'll be waiting for the morality police to come pick me up any moment now....

[–] meco03211 14 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

The 5 star reviews are... well they are something.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago

Trust me bros

[–] onyxjet 17 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I did have this up previously and deleted it. I realized my mistake later and now I've cross posted it again. Sorry about that. There it is again.

[–] robolemmy 20 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

You have a slightly confusing typo in the title. I initially read it as “uninstalled” because you have “unstalled” in the title.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I was like "Wow, did they roll it back already?"

[–] onyxjet 3 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

Such an obvious error. Thanks for the heads up. Fixed.

[–] P00ptart 5 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

I just searched for it on the playstore and couldn't find it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 hours ago

I couldn't find it on the playstore either, but i did find it in my apps on my phone, so check there.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 hours ago

Same here, so I did a Google search for it and the results had a link to the app in the Play store. Navigating there shows me it was already installed.