in the west too our phones spy on us but everyone knows, everyone thinks it’s bad, and yet nobody cares

All mobile manufacturers could be doing this too. All of the SoCs are proprietary black boxes as are the modems.

I switched off my iphone autocorrect years ago for tge same reasons

I ve heard this a lot, how are modems black boxes?

I call that a normal day at Google or Meta

Did you also build it from source?

Why doesn't China, North Korea's biggest trading partner, pressure them to be less authoritarian?

At least you can choose not to use their services. Not much choosing going on in North Korea

I didn't say both sides are the same. I made a stupid joke about a garbage operating system and the garbage company that runs it.

And your example of stopping people on the streets to inspect their phones doesn't really do a great job at making the argument you're trying to make. We have ICE running around and throwing people into contracted prisons even when they have proof of citizenship. We are trafficking people to foreign concentration camps. We are rocketing at light speed to a techno fascist authoritarian state and the level of surveillance we are under is increasing at a mind boggling pace.

So we aren't the same, and the people currently in charge are striving to make the differences smaller every day.

The article doesn't source literally any of these claims...

Archived Link

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.

At least you can choose not to use their services.

I guess a smart phone would be a luxury item in NK. So one could chose not to use one instead of being tracked?

In Germany the government and police use the word Quellentelekommunikationsüberwachung (telecommunication source surveillance) when they express their desire to have a Trojan on someone's phone - to protect the children of course.

So the phenomenon is not unknown outside of NK.

Edit: fixed translation, thanks Muehe

frequently stopping young people on the streets to inspect their phones and review text messages for banned language

I'm really tired of people saying "both sides are the same" when it comes to western capitalist exploitation vs eastern totalitarian authoritarianism.

It's ironically so privileged to even make the comparison because if it were the same, you wouldn't have been allowed to make this comment.

At least you can choose not to use their services. Not much choosing going on in North Korea

Archived Link

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.

All mobile manufacturers could be doing this too. All of the SoCs are proprietary black boxes as are the modems.

frequently stopping young people on the streets to inspect their phones and review text messages for banned language

I'm really tired of people saying "both sides are the same" when it comes to western capitalist exploitation vs eastern totalitarian authoritarianism.

It's ironically so privileged to even make the comparison because if it were the same, you wouldn't have been allowed to make this comment.

So much whataboutism in the comments

This isn't really up to China, NK won't listen because it's not really up to them either. Most authoritarians would love to scale the repression down, but you can only do it while political and economic climate is right (without losing your power and your head)

If you signal to your citizens that they can speak more freely, the first thing out of their mouths will be Hey why did you do that fucked up thing?

Thus, you can "loosen the bolts" only when you are safe in your position of power and don't mind a few concessions to the masses. "Yes we overstepped a few lines, but it was all the fault of this one bad man and also look at all this bread we have now!"

This is why authoritarian countries usually have "seasons".

That secret screenshot folder would eat up your storage quite fast, and it would be known, from whistleblowers, workers having to check the screenshots, "proof coming out from it" etc etc etc