#ios

danie10@squeet.me

Orbot is the original free and open-source Tor-powered VPN browser, just released for iOS

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It’s finally an official release from The Tor Project for iOS. But as all browsers on iOS must use Webkit (even Onion Browser on iOS), I’m wondering how exactly Orbot is functioning. I did not find a proper explanation on their Github site. Most of Tor’s website documentation is also still aimed at Android.

From what I see after installation, it creates its own VPN service, and then offers various bridge services to circumvent censorship by various countries (a bit like Apple’s Privacy Relay). You also have an option to configure it to use a custom bridge. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see some security reviews about how this works in practice.

Orbot does require an iOS device running iOS 15 and newer.

See https://apps.apple.com/us/app/orbot/id1609461599

#technology #security #privacy #ios #torbrowser
#Blog, ##ios, ##opensource, ##privacy, ##technology, ##torbrowser

aktionfsa@diasp.eu

14.02.2022 Dein Handy kann alles mithören

Einfach mal darüber nachdenken, was man seinem Gerät anvertrauen möchte

Dies wollten Reporterin Nadine Hadad und Software-Entwickler Sebastian Bayerl vom "BR AI + Automation Lab" herausfinden. Dazu programmierten sie sich einfache Apps, um zu sehen und zu hören wie das funktioniert.

Um sicher zu gehen, dass es auf einem iPhone genauso gut geht, wie mit Googles Android nahmen sie sich

  • ein Apple iPhone 12 mit iOS 14.7.1 und
  • ein Samsung Galaxy A22 5G mit Android 11.

Die Reporterin meinte, dass sie ihren Apps bereits recht restriktiv Berechtigungen erteilt hatte, weil sie ein gewisses Datenschutzinteresse hat. Trotzdem stellte es sich schnell heraus, dass die Berechtigungserteilung ihre Tücken hat. So hat ihrer App, mit denen sie ihre Reportagen erstellt die Berechtigung "Mikrofon während der Nutzung der App" erteilen müssen. Aber wann ist die App aktiv, bzw. wie muss die richtig geschlossen werden?

Mit einer kleinen "Lausch App", die angeblich Katzen-Videos oder Bilder zeigt, gelingt bei beiden Systemen das Abhören. Der Unterschied ist noch, dass man beim iPhone noch den Zugriff auf das Mikrofon durch ein kleinen Punkt oben rechts erkennen kann. Bei Android ist keine Anzeige über die Mikrofonnutzung zu sehen.

Nach dem Experiment ist das Entsetzen groß - alle Gespräche konnten unbemerkt mitgeschnitten werden, bei Android unauffälliger als bei Apple. Die von der extra programmierten App genutzten Funktionen stehen auch den anderen Apps, wie Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagramm, ... zur Verfügung. Auch über die Bewegungssensoren, die ein normaler Benutzer nicht abstellen kann, können Sprachmuster aufgenommen werden.

Um das zu überprüfen, reden sie über Lego, Hundefutter und ähnliches und schauten dann bei den kommerziellen Apps nach - und siehe da, nach einigen Tagen hatten sie erstmalig Lego Werbung in Instagram. Auf Nachfrage bei Facebook wurde (natürlich) versichert, dass kein Mithören durch deren App stattfindet. Auch Goolge versichert dies und sagt, dass Apps, die ihre Berechtigungen missbrauchen würden, gesperrt werden.

Zum Test laden die Beiden die Katzen-Abhör-App in den Google Play Store und diese wird nicht gesperrt - noch Fragen?

Mehr dazu bei https://www.br.de/mediathek/video/wir-beweisen-handys-koennen-mithoeren-das-abhoer-experiment-av:6203daefd0f61f00084baa12
Link zu dieser Seite: https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/7925-20220214-dein-handy-kann-alles-mithoeren.htm
Link im Tor-Netzwerk: http://a6pdp5vmmw4zm5tifrc3qo2pyz7mvnk4zzimpesnckvzinubzmioddad.onion/de/articles/7925-20220214-dein-handy-kann-alles-mithoeren.htm
Tags: #Verbraucherdatenschutz #Datenschutz #Datensicherheit #App #mitlauschen #Berechtigungen #Android #Apple #iOS # #Transparenz #Informationsfreiheit #(a)sozialeNetzwerke #Verhaltensänderung #Lauschangriff #Überwachung #Vorratsdatenspeicherung #Videoüberwachung

danie10@squeet.me

Unlike most browsers on iOS, the Documents app can render offline JavaScript and web pages from saved files

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Whilst trying to get Wordle to run offline on iOS, I noticed neither Safari, Firefox nor Brave would render the offline JavaScript files (apparently all the browsers on iOS have to use the underlying Safari engine, and we know how Apple restricts nice things).

This is how I came upon the Documents app which can not only do this rendering easily, it also connects to various cloud storage services, can annotate PDFs, opens any file type, has a VPN, and a bunch more stuff all from a single app. Some features like rendering to PDF, though, are pay to use.

In retrospect, I found out that Safari’s offline Reading List function would handle Wordle, but it is nice to know that Documents can actually do so many things inside a single app. And if Wordle has finally gone, then the offline Reading List mode won’t be able to save it for offline use (it has to have been saved before the site goes offline), but Documents will still be able to do the job if you have obtained the files later on.

See https://readdle.com/documents

#technology #ios #documents #offline #mobile
#Blog, ##ios, ##mobile, ##offline, ##technology

danie10@squeet.me

AltStore is a way to install, and use, sideloaded apps to an iPhone without jailbreaking

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This app store basically allows you to sideload any .ipa file onto your iPhone. That does come with the risks associated with obtaining apps from unknown sources, but it is nice to know you can do it.

The only requirement is that you need a Windows or macOS PC (USB or WiFi connection) for this to work for the installations themselves. There are also some specific steps to be followed to install the AltStore app itself.

A major focus of these apps seem to be 3rd party game emulators.

See https://altstore.io/

#technology #ios #altstore #sideloading #mobile
#Blog, ##altstore, ##ios, ##mobile, ##sideloading, ##technology

danie10@squeet.me

Apple Podcasts’s store ratings have little to do with the app – Really consider good 3rd party podcast players instead

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That’s right: they’re reviews of the podcasts themselves, not the Apple Podcasts app. And that is an extremely convenient situation for Apple because actual reviews of the Apple Podcasts app most definitely do not trend toward five stars. In fact, they trend toward an abysmal 1.8-star score because the app has been remarkably buggy for months.

This is particular unfair to really excellent podcast players such as Pocket Casts, Player FM, and others that provide all sorts of other useful features, and actually work.

The content remains the same no matter what podcast player you use, but the features and quality of the playback experience depending on what app you choose.

Seriously, these Big Tech companies are not so good at innovating, or staying very long with a product. This is why they often throw money at something, and buy their “competitor” out. Apps such as Pocket Casts and Player FM exist only because of what they do very well…. think about that.

See https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/2/22914612/apple-podcasts-app-rating-user-reviews-problem

#technology #ios #podcasts #bigtech
#Blog, ##bigtech, ##ios, ##podcasts, ##technology

danie10@squeet.me

iPhones will soon accept tap payments, but will Apple then allow Mastercard’s Tap on Phone app?

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Apple Inc. is planning a new service that will let small businesses accept payments directly on their iPhones without any extra hardware, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The upcoming feature will turn the iPhone into a payment terminal, letting users such as food trucks and hair stylists accept payments with the tap of a credit card or another iPhone onto the back of their device.

But the big question is, given Apple’s reluctance for competition against their own products, will they still allow the new Mastercard app which will be a direct competition to this? Apple’s app will likely work with Apple Pay, and Mastercard’s will likely work with Mastercard itself.

See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/smartphones/431680-iphones-will-soon-accept-tap-payments.html

#technology #ios #payments #NFC #Apple
#Blog, ##apple, ##ios, ##nfc, ##payments, ##technology

danie10@squeet.me

The Inside Story Of iBeer, The Underdog iPhone Beer App That Made Millions

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The work of a down-and-out magician, nothing was bigger during the App Store’s first year of existence. But like so many overnight successes, iBeer got drunk on money and power and last call arrived far too soon.

I remember buying this app for the same reasons as everyone else, before the Android phone was even available. For some reason, when I switched to Android, I really missed this app as well as the iOS Barbecue app (will have a separate post on that story). Similar beer apps made it to Android fairly soon, but the Barbecue app never did.

See https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/ibeer-app-history

#technology #ios #iphone #mobile
#Blog, ##ios, ##mobile, ##technology

tarator@pod.asap-soft.com

#Navidrome

A #self-hosted #open-source #music #streaming server

enter image description here

Navidrome allows you to enjoy your music collection from anywhere, by making it available through a modern Web UI and through a wide range of third-party compatible mobile apps, for both #iOS and #Android devices.
Navidrome is open source software #OSS distributed free of charge under the terms of the GNU #GPL v3 license.

Installation was easy and fast (Docker-compose). This is the first Streaming-Server I tried to install which worked out of the box with my company iPhone. #subsonic #subsonic-api

Bye bye #spotify and #youtube-music !

https://www.navidrome.org/

danie10@squeet.me

Anyone else noticed how broken iOS 3rd party caller ID and spam caller protection has become?

Let me say up front, I migrated from Android early 2021 back to an iPhone, and I was truly spoilt with how flawlessly Truecaller worked on Android. But whilst becoming extremely disappointed at how crippled Truecaller (paid version) is on iOS, and having then subscribed to Hiya to try as an alternative, and also noticing so much not working, I started to drill deeper into the app store reviews.

What I noticed is many of these 3rd party caller ID / Anti spam call managers show ratings of 4.3 to 4.6 out of 5 start reviews. Looks very good, and there are thousands of reviews over the years... but change the sorting of reviews from 'Most Helpful' to 'Most Recent', and what you now see for the whole of 2021 and back into 2020, is just 1-star reviews and complaints about them no longer working.

It's probably worth noting that this is no coincidence, as it is not the apps themselves, but more likely due to Apple clamping down on the permission these apps can actually access to manage incoming calls. It basically looks like the market has dropped out of being able to ask for subscriptions any longer on these services. It's a great pity as I've been at the mercy of telemarketers and insurance and loans salespeople again this entire year since moving back to iOS. We can criticise Android's fragmentation and sideloading, etc, but at least they offer a solid way of blocking and reporting spam calls, and it's worth paying for that service.

Regretfully, I could not test RoboKiller as it's not available in my country's store, but it similarly seems to have an explosion of 1-star reviews from end of 2019 inwards. As it is, on iOS we do have to contend with trying to ensure the app stays active in the background, but just using Truecaller as the benchmark I have used on Android and iOS, it is like night and day, as far as the workable functionality goes. These apps generally are supposed to provide a caller ID name from crowdsourced info, advise also from that crowdsourced info whether it is a known reported spammer / robocaller, and provide us with a means of reporting / blocking calls we have received.

I really wish Apple would vet the apps that provide this service to either approve them having additional permissions, or else allowing us as users to grant those permissions, so that we also have some fully functional vetting and reporting of spam and robocallers.

Bild/Foto

#technology #robocallers #spam #iOS #truecaller #hiya


https://gadgeteer.co.za/anyone-else-noticed-how-broken-ios-3rd-party-caller-id-and-spam-caller-protection-has-become

danie10@squeet.me

How to Use App Privacy Report in the iOS 15.2 Beta - It also shows what network domains are contacted by which apps

This functionality is a lot easier now to use than some low-level log reader type apps of the past. Not only is it easily showing, by app, what sensor and data is being accessed, it also shows the most commonly accessed network domains, and which apps are contacting them in the background.

If you have iOS v15.2 Beta you may want to activate this as it is off by default.

See How to Use App Privacy Report in the iOS 15.2 Beta

#technology #iOS #privacy #iPhone

Imagem/foto

Apple in the iOS 15.2 beta introduced App Privacy Report, a feature that was first shown off at WWDC. App Privacy Report is designed to provide users...


https://gadgeteer.co.za/how-use-app-privacy-report-ios-152-beta-it-also-shows-what-network-domains-are-contacted-which-apps

petapixel@xn--y9azesw6bu.xn--y9a3aq

VSCO Introduces More than 100 New Film-Inspired Photo Effects

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VSCO has announced a set of more than 100 new film-inspired photo and video effects for iOS devices. Built from film scans, the company says they will give photos a nostalgic look and feel and bring the magic of analog to smartphones.

With over 93 photo and 40 video options rolling out this month, these new film effects presets -- which are broken into the categories of Light, Distressed, Texture and Frames -- will allow creators emulate film looks and bring analog styles to their digital iPhones.

The Light presets have expanded effects like Lens Flare and Light Leaks, which allow users to experiment with various color options and create what VSCO calls the "perfect" film effects they desire. Users can also adjust the intensity of the present for either subtle or dramatic effects. The Light category has over 30 new photo and 18 new video presets. Below are some examples:

VSCO says that the Texture presets are based on actual film stocks and allow photographers to create Dust, Grain, and Scratch overlays to photos and videos. Described as "subtle," VSCO says the 18 photo and nine video textures available add "dimension" to photos. Below are a few examples of the Texture presets in action:

The Distressed set of effects is slated to arrive later in October. VSCO says that its imaging science team spent hours mistreating film to create the digital effects, and the preset will include Burn, Expired, Glow “Off-track," and "Rip” in 19 different photo and four video presets. Below are some examples of what to expect:

Processed with VSCO with kc25 preset

Finally, Frames -- which VSCO says is comin gin November -- were created using various sizes of film (8mm, 16mm, and 35mm). VSCO says that it created these to allow photographers to experiment with various film mediums without having to bear the cost that comes with owning the cameras that use the different film sizes nor the price of the film itself. The Frames presets will include over 25 photo and nine video frames. Below are some examples of how they can be used:

Processed with VSCO with kp5 preset

As mentioned, these new presets are only available for iOS at launch, but VSCO says that it plans to expand this tookit to Android users in 2022. The new presets are available to VSCO members, which costs $20 a year.

#mobile #news #postprocessing #software #editing #effects #film #filmlike #ios #postproduction #presets #smartphonephotography #vsco