this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2025

986 points (96.9% liked)

Technology

63399 readers

6483 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each other!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

986

Google’s ‘Secret’ Update Scans All Your Photos (www.forbes.com)

submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/technology

264 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Per one tech forum this week: “Google has quietly installed an app on all Android devices called ‘Android System SafetyCore’. It claims to be a ‘security’ application, but whilst running in the background, it collects call logs, contacts, location, your microphone, and much more making this application ‘spyware’ and a HUGE privacy concern. It is strongly advised to uninstall this program if you can. To do this, navigate to 'Settings’ > 'Apps’, then delete the application.”

(page 2) 50 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] [email protected] 10 points 17 hours ago

Fuck these cunt

[–] [email protected] 20 points 20 hours ago (7 children)

Thanks for bringing this up, first I've heard of it. Not present on my GrapheneOS pixel, present on stock.

I suppose I should encourage pixel owners to switch from stock to graphene, I know which decide I rather spend time using. GrapheneOS one of course.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 12 hours ago

I'm traumatized by trying to use banking apps on lineage.. don't think I'll risk it until I get a backup phone

load more comments (6 replies)

[–] [email protected] 15 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Well then I hope they like seeing my butthole.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA 13 points 19 hours ago

My older brother swipes through your phone's photos without asking, so I put some colonoscopy pictures in there. He hasn't tried to look at photos on my phone since.

Oh Google what have you done to yourself.

[–] Whippygoatcream 9 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Hope they like all my dick pics

[–] [email protected] 7 points 18 hours ago

Don't worry they won't!

/Burn

[–] LotrOrc 19 points 21 hours ago (4 children)

I just un-installed it

Anyone know what Android System Intelligence does? Should that be un-installed as well?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 15 hours ago

You can safely uninstall System Intelligence if you don't need it. My phone has worked fine without it in the past year.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Jesus Christ they're like bed bugs

Is it too much to ask that my phone only contain the shit that makes it work, and not anything else?

[–] A_Random_Idiot 5 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (2 children)

Its a classic example of using "BUT THE CHILDREN" to be invasive dickheads.

And it immediately reminds me of the story of the guy whose kid had a rash in the diaper area during covid, and the pediatrician requested pictures to remotely diagnose and treat, which google flagged as child pornography and called the cops on him, and banned/locked him out of everything (phone number, emails, pictures, etc etc) because he had everything on google.

and no amount of the police, or even doctor, insisting the pictures were medical necessity and not child pornography would convince google to restore his acount or even let him recover his number/email/pictures/etc.

load more comments (2 replies)

[–] [email protected] 30 points 23 hours ago (5 children)

I switched over to GrapheneOS a couple months ago and couldn't be happier. If you have a Pixel the switch is really easy. The biggest obstacle was exporting my contacts from my google account.

load more comments (5 replies)

[–] Nightsoul 22 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Thank you was able to find and uninstall the app with no issues

load more comments (1 replies)

[–] Event_Horizon 11 points 21 hours ago (10 children)

It didn't appear in my apps list so I thought it wasn't installed. But when I searched for the app name it appears. So be aware.

load more comments (10 replies)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 19 hours ago (9 children)

Seems to be innocuous, but there's no harm in removing it. Next update, it'll be returned, so the better solution long-term will be (if you're rooted) is to use an application to freeze it, which effectively disables it and it should survive and update. If you delete the app, a new update will put it back.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Jokes on you my phone is so old it hasn't updated in 4 years

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 hours ago

Who would have thought the best security practice would turn out to be having devices too old to be updated with spyware? No jokes

[–] [email protected] 5 points 18 hours ago (6 children)

You can freeze using ADB/Shizuku as well. No root needed.

load more comments (6 replies)

load more comments (7 replies)

[–] werefreeatlast 13 points 23 hours ago (7 children)

I'd that what's killing my fucking battery like crazy lately?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 17 hours ago

Now that you say that, my battery was draining fast the past couple of weeks. It would last maybe a day. It lasts 2 days again now.

load more comments (6 replies)

[–] DuskyRo 213 points 1 day ago (19 children)

SafetyCore Placeholder so if it ever tries to reinstall itself it will fail due to signature mismatch.

load more comments (19 replies)

[–] TK420 115 points 1 day ago (24 children)

Gimme Linux phone, I’m ready for it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 hours ago

I just gave up and pre-ordered the Light Phone 3. Anytime I truly need a mobile app, I can just use an old iPhone and a WiFi connection.

load more comments (23 replies)

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Even with the latest update from Samsung, I am not seeing this app. My OnePlus did get it with the February update and I had to remove it.

load more comments (3 replies)

load more comments