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Wouldn’t the OS vendor just block the installation of certain apps? Say, UK says that Samsung and Apple should block certain encrypted messaging apps. Regardles

by f6v 2y ago

Wouldn’t the OS vendor just block the installation of certain apps? Say, UK says that Samsung and Apple should block certain encrypted messaging apps. Regardless if it’s from App Store or not.

londons_explore 2y ago
Or the silicon chips inside could just turn off whenever they see the word 'telegram' anywhere in memory...
luuurker 2y ago
I don't know about Apple, but I don't think Samsung has something in place to just ban certain "package names" from being installed. So far what countries have been doing is 1) ban the app store from distributing the apps and, sometimes, 2) try to block it at a network level. What you're suggesting would be a escalation and we should worry about that when it happens. Package names (the real name of an app on Android) can be randomised, for example. The problem right now is that if you own an Apple device in Brazil, you can't install the app of this VPN provider. That doesn't sit right with me. Android has its issues, but if I can find the apk, then I can install it. What can you do with an iPhone? Perhaps use a 3rd party Wireguard or OpenVPN client that hasn't been blocked yet and download a profile from Proton's website? What happens when that client is blocked too?
- noodlesUK 2y ago
  I wouldn't be at all surprised if the implementation of 3rd party app stores in iOS resulted in something like XProtect (macOS's built in antimalware) coming to iOS. It would then be possible to compel Apple to add the signature of an offending app to the malware database.
bastawhiz 2y ago
How exactly would Samsung reach into your phone and prevent you from installing an APK?
- userbinator 2y ago
  Under the guise of "antimalware" or similar.
  - bastawhiz 2y ago
    That presupposes Samsung decides to start installing an agent on your device to do this and makes it impossible to disable (which they can't really do, because it's Android).
    - userbinator 2y ago
      Those who have attempted to remove preinstalled bloatware from Android will have experienced how hard it is. You need root access, which is getting harder to achieve over time.

by f6v 2y ago

Wouldn’t the OS vendor just block the installation of certain apps? Say, UK says that Samsung and Apple should block certain encrypted messaging apps. Regardless if it’s from App Store or not.

londons_explore 2y ago

Or the silicon chips inside could just turn off whenever they see the word 'telegram' anywhere in memory...

luuurker 2y ago

I don't know about Apple, but I don't think Samsung has something in place to just ban certain "package names" from being installed. So far what countries have been doing is 1) ban the app store from distributing the apps and, sometimes, 2) try to block it at a network level. What you're suggesting would be a escalation and we should worry about that when it happens. Package names (the real name of an app on Android) can be randomised, for example. The problem right now is that if you own an Apple device in Brazil, you can't install the app of this VPN provider. That doesn't sit right with me. Android has its issues, but if I can find the apk, then I can install it. What can you do with an iPhone? Perhaps use a 3rd party Wireguard or OpenVPN client that hasn't been blocked yet and download a profile from Proton's website? What happens when that client is blocked too?

noodlesUK 2y ago
I wouldn't be at all surprised if the implementation of 3rd party app stores in iOS resulted in something like XProtect (macOS's built in antimalware) coming to iOS. It would then be possible to compel Apple to add the signature of an offending app to the malware database.

bastawhiz 2y ago

How exactly would Samsung reach into your phone and prevent you from installing an APK?

userbinator 2y ago
Under the guise of "antimalware" or similar.
- bastawhiz 2y ago
  That presupposes Samsung decides to start installing an agent on your device to do this and makes it impossible to disable (which they can't really do, because it's Android).
  - userbinator 2y ago
    Those who have attempted to remove preinstalled bloatware from Android will have experienced how hard it is. You need root access, which is getting harder to achieve over time.