4 ms·

Slightly off topic: Haven’t tried it, but does a simple VPN for the EU allow you to access all these great EU features like 3rd party appstores?

jsheard 3y ago
Apple says you must be physically located in an EU country to be eligible, as determined by your device, so presumably they are checking GPS and/or cellular location data rather than just IP geolocation.
- walterbell 3y ago
  Even if on-device location is disabled?
  - jsheard 3y ago
    In that case they'll probably either (a) ignore your setting and check anyway because the OS can do whatever it wants, or (b) default to "not EU" mode until you agree to turn location services on. They're not going to give you an easy workaround, Apple has made it clear they're going to do the bare minimum they can get away with.
    - walterbell 3y ago
      In that scenario, future policy authors would thank Apple for free legislative fuzzing.
  - pests 3y ago
    This is how the online casinos do it in my state. They require location access on mobile or a dedicated download for desktop. I recently spent a bit of time trying to bypass the location check (out of curiosity) and they have it pretty locked down. The key is they require WiFi to be on so they can get around GPS spoofing. I had even attempted re-creating all the SSIDs and other networks nearby my spoofed location but the existing networks near my real location were reducing the confidence and still getting me flagged. One thing I learned during this was how complicit browser manufactures are in providing this information. There is no way to enable location services but disable WiFi triangulation in any mainstream browser. If you disable location permissions websites can just outright block you. End solution was just a remote KVM setup but not exactly what I wanted.
    - walterbell 3y ago
      > There is no way to enable location services but disable WiFi triangulation in any mainstream browser. An opportunity for alternative browsers?
      - pests 3y ago
        Potentially but not yet. Tried Brave and a few others with no luck. I really didn't want to patch and compile myself so I abandoned this avenue.
    - FuturisticGoo 3y ago
      I don't think Wifi triangulation uses SSID, instead it uses the BSSID, which afaik can't be changed.
      - pests 3y ago
        OpenWRT supports changing the BSSID on supported models. I should have been more clear that I matched both the SSID+BSSID. From both a dump I did from the spoofed location and the public online databases.
- Zekio 3y ago
  considering the fact EU has countries with overseas territories and the like, it will likely land them in trouble with the EU fairly quickly because their geo fencing isn't correct
- margana 3y ago
  It doesn't matter what Apple says on this topic, the final say on how to interpret DMA lies with the CJEU. The text of the law says Apple must offer the "EU mode" to "end users established or located in the Union". If CJEU rules that a person on a 3-month trip to a different country is still "established in the Union", then Apple will have to abide by that.

jsheard 3y ago

Apple says you must be physically located in an EU country to be eligible, as determined by your device, so presumably they are checking GPS and/or cellular location data rather than just IP geolocation.

walterbell 3y ago
Even if on-device location is disabled?
- jsheard 3y ago
  In that case they'll probably either (a) ignore your setting and check anyway because the OS can do whatever it wants, or (b) default to "not EU" mode until you agree to turn location services on. They're not going to give you an easy workaround, Apple has made it clear they're going to do the bare minimum they can get away with.
  - walterbell 3y ago
    In that scenario, future policy authors would thank Apple for free legislative fuzzing.
- pests 3y ago
  This is how the online casinos do it in my state. They require location access on mobile or a dedicated download for desktop. I recently spent a bit of time trying to bypass the location check (out of curiosity) and they have it pretty locked down. The key is they require WiFi to be on so they can get around GPS spoofing. I had even attempted re-creating all the SSIDs and other networks nearby my spoofed location but the existing networks near my real location were reducing the confidence and still getting me flagged. One thing I learned during this was how complicit browser manufactures are in providing this information. There is no way to enable location services but disable WiFi triangulation in any mainstream browser. If you disable location permissions websites can just outright block you. End solution was just a remote KVM setup but not exactly what I wanted.
  - walterbell 3y ago
    > There is no way to enable location services but disable WiFi triangulation in any mainstream browser. An opportunity for alternative browsers?
    - pests 3y ago
      Potentially but not yet. Tried Brave and a few others with no luck. I really didn't want to patch and compile myself so I abandoned this avenue.
  - FuturisticGoo 3y ago
    I don't think Wifi triangulation uses SSID, instead it uses the BSSID, which afaik can't be changed.
    - pests 3y ago
      OpenWRT supports changing the BSSID on supported models. I should have been more clear that I matched both the SSID+BSSID. From both a dump I did from the spoofed location and the public online databases.
Zekio 3y ago
considering the fact EU has countries with overseas territories and the like, it will likely land them in trouble with the EU fairly quickly because their geo fencing isn't correct
margana 3y ago
It doesn't matter what Apple says on this topic, the final say on how to interpret DMA lies with the CJEU. The text of the law says Apple must offer the "EU mode" to "end users established or located in the Union". If CJEU rules that a person on a 3-month trip to a different country is still "established in the Union", then Apple will have to abide by that.