This morning I noticed that an app was silently installed on my device. Android System Safetycore.
So what is this app for? Supposedly it is designed to blur any images that are sent to or from you the user.
Android Authority Article Snippet
Sensitive Content Warnings is another new Google Messages feature that Google is announcing today. It’s a feature that gives you more control over seeing and sending images that may contain nudity. Sensitive Content Warning blurs images that may contain nudity before viewing them, and it then prompts you with a “speed bump” that contains “help-finding resources and options, including to view the content.” When it’s enabled and you try to send or forward an image that may contain nudity, Google Messages will also show a “speed bump” that reminds you of the risks of sending nude imagery. - Android Authority
The feature seems to be geared towards google messages.
However why this needed to be a seperate app isn’t really known. Why not just a feature within the google messages app? Google gives no explanation.
Another Android Authority Snippet
Warnings check runs entirely on-device, it didn’t mention that it will actually be powered by an entirely separate app and not Google Messages itself. - Android Authority
Google claims it runs entirely on your phone. Whether that’s true? ¯_(ツ)_/¯
According to my device, the app can have internet access restricted to it (via phone settings) implying that the app does have internet access. Any apps that dont have internet access wouldn’t be in my settings list for restricting network access.
Here’s the developer page. Not much in terms of detail going on there.
Here is the app on Play store with its further lacking detail and currently plunging reviews. Interestingly it seems the app has many good odd sounding reviews. Furthermore, all the new reviews are very negative. The app was 3.8 this morning. Plunging.
The whole concept of the feature isn’t a bad one. However, I certainly dont wish for it to be automatically installed on my device as a seperate app. A feature that is supposedly for a messaging platform that I don’t even have activated on my device.
I removed it myself as it can be uninstalled. It doesn’t show up on play store by search, however you can look up the app link online and get a direct link to it. Which I put here.
Spyware? A helpful feature? I don’t want it on my phone anyways.
(Yes this is a repost, I hope it isn’t considered spam. Yes I did also delete the original one :/ . Goodnight 🥱!)
Thanks for the post. I had it on my phone as well. A couple days ago the messenger app forced me to update, I wonder if they are related.
I don’t see it on my dumb phone
A “dumb phone” these days is really just an android phone with more user restrictions and less security, but all the same spyware.
No, its not running Android at all, Android uses way too much power and drains the battery much faster. Its actually terrible for a phone if all you want is to make phone calls with it.
Your dumb phone is much insecure than a smartphone which has GrapheneOS or LineageOS. Your dumb phone certainly lacks secure 4G or 5G communication, cannot use e2e encrypted messaging platforms and cannot update firmware in case of security bugs.
Why would I need any of that, its only used for calls or SMS when I am out of the house. Anything important I can do on Linux.
I first heard about this 2 days ago and it want installed on my phone at that time. Just checked again on a whim and sure enough it was installed!
Google, nobody asked for your safety center bullshit app.
Hmm, don’t seem to have it on my GrapheneOS phone. :)
It’s into the 2s now. Not ok to push something like this automatically. Should be opt-in.
Doesn’t even appear to exist for me in the UK. Yay?
It didn’t appear in my apps list and yet if I looked at the link to the play store it said it was installed… maybe double check you don’t have it by looking it up on the play store as well. Fishy to say the least
Thank you! I wasn’t aware of it! Un-installed now 😁
Oh thank you! Had it on my phone without any notifications or anything else to tell me that!
Am an EU resident, so that’s very worrisome to say the least.
Honestly, if the app was open-source so we can check it does not leak data, I would probably have no issue with it.
Making it a separate app makes sense if google wants to allow other apps to re-use the code. No reason to have the same functionality bundled into each app separately.
And the feature, as long as it is configurable, seems useful.
The auto-install is bad but understandable. As far as I am aware, there is no easy way to mark an app as a dependency of another app so it gets automatically installed only when needed. This should be fixed, but auto-install for all is not terrible temporary solution. This does not apply when the app is closed source and may steal your data.
If I had a nickel for every time I reported a pervy corporation to the ACCC, I’d have two nickels– which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
Infrastructure to give Google system wide control over what content you can and cannot view.
Right, because if that’s what they wanted to do this is how they’d go about doing it rather than, let’s say, using any one of the dozen or so Google-controlled device administrator apps already on your phone.
so it will be able to restrict the messages you send…and cut off those it does not like?
and if in a year, no anti trump opinions are allowed…we won’t even be able to complain to our friends?
Ham radio time
The technician test is pretty easy if you remember some stuff from physics and you study. https://hamstudy.org/ (you don’t need to make an account here to practice).
Ok, I gotta change to Graphene asap
Keeping sealed iodine patches and band aids inside my leather wristbands.
Staying on the edge of the pit to catch anyone who falls or takes a hit.
🧷 safetycore 🧷
And what if I want to see and send nudes? Google, mind your business.
