Rabat_ Social Media Exchange (SMEX)—a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing human rights in digital spaces across MENA [Middle East and North Africa] — is warning that Israeli-linked software secretly embedded in Samsung phones across the Middle East and North Africa region poses a serious surveillance threat.
According to SMEX, Samsung’s A and M series devices either come preloaded with the app “Aura” or install it automatically through system updates, without the user’s consent. The application reportedly collects a wide range of personal and device-specific data, including IP addresses, device fingerprints, hardware details, and network information.
Yet another reason why running GrapheneOS is a great idea. The surveillance state is now.
Pixel only?
yes, and you have to get one that is from google and isn’t from a carrier so you can unlock the bootloader. Carrier versions have locked bootloaders.
I just bought a Pixel 10 from Spectrum with the repeated assurance that the phone would be fully unlocked after it was paid off and had several months of service. I intended to load Graphene OS, but apparently I was fucking lied to yet again by another business that say anything to make a sale.
I can’t do anything about that now, but I can move to another carrier and make damn sure they don’t ever make another dime off my mobile account.
In most markets, kind of. There are some others but most aren’t sold in NA other than the Pixel.
Ah okay, thanks
It’s fine, they’ll still be able to change the OS
https://sammyguru.com/breaking-samsung-removes-bootloader-unlocking-with-one-ui-8/
Oh…
I wonder what spyware they’d be willing to put in their phones in the US for the regime in charge.
Also, if I bought a Samsung phone while a dictator is in charge and it gets the update and I get the spyware — hypothetically speaking here — and by the time a progressive is in office, they’re pushing updates that remove it, but my phone is outside the update period, how would I go about removing it? Just buy a new one at cost? Seems like that’s something they’d let you do for free, though.
