In North Korea, your phone secretly takes screenshots every 5 minutes for government surveillance
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Yeah, there is no reason for me to be connecting my TV to the internet. I use a HTPC which is much better for streaming than the TV's built-in apps.
The one time I do connect the TV to the internet is when there's a firmware update that fixes an issue I'm encountering. That's rare though.
I still have it on my network so I can control it using Home Assistant (eg have a backlight come on and dim the main lights when the TV is turned on) but it's on an isolated VLAN.
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Out of over 17,000 Android apps examined, more than 9,000 had potential permissions to take screenshots. And a number of apps were found to actively be doing so, taking screenshots and sending them to third-party sources.
this is a weird paragraph. no permission is needed for an app to take screenshots of itself. all apps can do that.
just an example: the Element matrix client has a bugreport feature that allows you to submit an automatically created screenshot of the previous menu.
it seems there are several ways to accomplish this: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2661536/how-to-programmatically-take-a-screenshot-on-android
Do those code snippets on the Stackoverflow post allow you to capture the entire screen regardless of which app is open, or do they only allow you to capture the app the code is running in?
Capturing the app itself makes sense (for things like bug reports) but does Android really let any app capture whatever is on the screen?
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LOL removed
This madlad frequently responds to his own moderated comments. I've officially become a follower, it's like watching a train wreck. He's just so fragile.
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Ah, lol.
Is that the web interface? Or what app is that? -
Ah, lol.
Is that the web interface? Or what app is that?Voyager from F-Droid
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Voyager from F-Droid
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Voyager from F-Droid
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That’s still 60 times fewer screenshots than Microsoft Recall. SIXTY.
Yeah, but at least it's our corporate overlords and not the government!!
/s
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Yeah, but at least it's our corporate overlords and not the government!!
/s
Unless the government wants to buy the data in which case it's just good capitalism
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I love how, for everyone, media literacy seemingly goes straight out the window the moment North Korea is mentioned. I remember a few years back every mainstream media outlet reporting that sarcasm was banned in NK, and that everyone had to get the same haircut as Kim Jong Un. Journalism at its finest.
It really is a shame, as accurate reporting enables their crimes to be documented better, and gives them less ammo on the world stage.
"How can we be mistreating our citizens? Remember when people said sarcasm was banned? Haircuts had to be approved and the same? How can you believe anything."
Documenting people/governments/coprorations for the things they've actually done is the most we can ask for. Making shit up on the fly for a quick buck is the death of truth. It just enables them to deflect everything and anything.
There's dozens of reasons to dislike/distrust North Korea. We don't need to make ones up.
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Yeah, but at least it's our corporate overlords and not the government!!
/s
Snowden may disagree with that.
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Unless the government wants to buy the data in which case it's just good capitalism
They won't even buy it, they'll just find a zero day and steal the data while everyone is none the wiser.
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A smartphone smuggled out of North Korea is offering a rare – and unsettling – glimpse into the extent of control Kim Jong Un's regime exerts over its citizens, down to the very words they type. While the device appears outwardly similar to any modern smartphone, its software reveals a far more oppressive reality.
The phone was featured in a BBC video, which showed it powering on with an animated North Korean flag waving across the screen. While the report did not specify the brand, the design and user interface closely resembled those of a Huawei or Honor device.It's unclear whether these companies officially sell phones in North Korea, but if they do, the devices are likely customized with state-approved software designed to restrict functionality and facilitate government surveillance.
One of the more revealing – and darkly amusing – features was the phone's automatic censorship of words deemed problematic by the state. For instance, when users typed oppa, a South Korean term used to refer to an older brother or a boyfriend, the phone automatically replaced it with comrade. A warning would then appear, admonishing the user that oppa could only refer to an older sibling.
Typing "South Korea" would trigger another change. The phrase was automatically replaced with "puppet state," reflecting the language used in official North Korean rhetoric.
Then came the more unsettling features. The phone silently captured a screenshot every five minutes, storing the images in a hidden folder that users couldn't access. According to the BBC, authorities could later review these images to monitor the user's activity.
The device was smuggled out of North Korea by Daily NK, a Seoul-based media outlet specializing in North Korean affairs. After examining the phone, the BBC confirmed that the censorship mechanisms were deeply embedded in its software. Experts say this technology is designed not only to control information but also to reinforce state messaging at the most personal level.
Smartphone usage has grown in North Korea in recent years, but access remains tightly controlled. Devices cannot connect to the global internet and are subject to intense government surveillance.
The regime has reportedly intensified efforts to eliminate South Korean cultural influence, which it views as subversive. So-called "youth crackdown squads" have been deployed to enforce these rules, frequently stopping young people on the streets to inspect their phones and review text messages for banned language.
Some North Korean escapees have shared that exposure to South Korean dramas or foreign radio broadcasts played a key role in their decision to flee the country. Despite the risks, outside media continues to be smuggled in – often via USB sticks and memory cards hidden in food shipments. Much of this effort is supported by foreign organizations.
Probly happens in the US too but we won't know until a whistleblower comes forward and gets a lifetime of solitary confinement for telling us
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They won't even buy it, they'll just find a zero day and steal the data while everyone is none the wiser.
No, I believe they come to the company and say "Give us a live feed or we shut you down. Also if you tell anyone we shoot your wife" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM
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NK censors reviewing photos...
"Toilet, toilet, toilet, cat, toilet..."
I'm sure it's automated. And a screenshot would be what you see on the screen, not what the cameras see
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No, I believe they come to the company and say "Give us a live feed or we shut you down. Also if you tell anyone we shoot your wife" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM
Lil o' column A, lil o' column B https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/EternalBlue
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Do those code snippets on the Stackoverflow post allow you to capture the entire screen regardless of which app is open, or do they only allow you to capture the app the code is running in?
Capturing the app itself makes sense (for things like bug reports) but does Android really let any app capture whatever is on the screen?
no, they only allow the app to capture its own screen content. to make a regular screenshot of the whole display, the app needs a permission that the user has to approve every single time, at least on most phones. that API is actually for continuous screen recording, but of course usable for this purpose too. this also means that after getting approved by the user, the app can keep its recording sessions to keep more screenshots, but that ends when the app gets killed by android. I think the system also shows a notification when an app is recording, but as anything that too could vary with phones.
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Probly happens in the US too but we won't know until a whistleblower comes forward and gets a lifetime of solitary confinement for telling us
didn't google just announce android was gonna do the same thing?
edit: it was microshaft.
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So glad that censorship bull shift can't happen in a ducking free democracy! /s
I don't know that ducks have democracy
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Anyone who still thinks that after the last year and a half of it operating as a pro-genocide propaganda outlet for Israel either hasn't been paying attention, or are themselves pro-genocide.
Lmao got banned from his own server