this post was submitted on 12 Oct 2023

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Privacy

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Today I got this POP-UP, anyone? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

68 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Originally I've download the signal app through playstore, but often it also get updates from Droid-ify(Fdroid client). Today its weird and I got this . Explain to me this.

On the Droid-ify the signal app is provided by: org.thoughtcrimes.securesms

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[–] [email protected] 261 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

~~The package name is correct~~, but signal was never on F-droid.

Do you have a third party repo that might be compromised?

Edit: Package name isn't correct, so that's almost definitely a compromised version. Get rid of it ASAP.

[–] [email protected] 109 points 1 year ago (1 children)

To add to that:

Always check the projects' website to see the official ways it's distributed, before you just download it from anywhere.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Not applying for signal though, as their apk site is hidden away

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[–] [email protected] 64 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

org.thoughtcrimes.securesms

It actually might not be, googling "org.thoughtcrimes.securesms" doesn't get results.

thoughtcrimes vs. thoughtcrime

My question though is how this popped up in droidify, would someone need to manually add some special repo?

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I missed that, thanks for pointing it out. The one without S is the correct one.

But that makes me wonder, how did OP not end up with two signal apps then?

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago (1 children)

how did OP not end up with two signal apps then?

by that popup blocking him from installing the wrong one?

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh, that's from the installer and not one of those warnings you get after opening apps. Makes sense.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

Technically it's from "Google Play Protect" that got triggered during the install but yeah.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Twinhelix is the only one compiling the app from source without proprietary blobs

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago

And molly.im

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[–] [email protected] 101 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Google is actually right here for once. Signal is not offered on F-Droid, and its package name is org.thoughtcrime.securesms, not org.thoughtcrimes.securesms.

Only official places to download Signal are through the Google Play Store or their website (which self-updates).

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[–] [email protected] 70 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I recommend checking the official website or the Play Store to ensure that you are downloading the latest and official version of the app.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago (2 children)

https://www.signal.org/download/android/

The official website only links to Google Play for the Android client, even on the fairly "hidden" download page.

[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

They hide it away, thats the tricky part

https://signal.org/android/apk/

Below the Playstore link

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If the official website redirects you to the Play Store, then it is safe to download the app from there.

And to be noted, I don't think that the Android app client for Signal is available on F-Droid.

[–] [email protected] 61 points 1 year ago (2 children)

From which (enabled) repository does the app come. Signal is not on F-Droid or Izzydroid.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't know about OP, but it is available in https://thecapslock.gitlab.io/fdroid-patched-apps/fdroid/repo and https://calyxos.gitlab.io/calyx-fdroid-repo/fdroid/repo

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[–] [email protected] 53 points 1 year ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (4 children)

"This app tries to spy on your personal data"

Needless to say Google hates competition

[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 year ago

They hate the competition.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago

Pretty rich coming from google

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago

Google is like your big brother. They will beat the shit out of you. But If anyone else tries to beat you they will kick their ass.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago

they obviously want all the data to themselves

[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 year ago

org.thoughtcrimes.securesms specifically?
I may be wrong but isn't the real one org.thoughtcrime.securesms, not "crimes"?

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It's a fake copy of Signal

The actual package name is org.thoughtcrime.securesms, not org.thoughtcrimes.securesms

Also Google officially recommends Signal on the Android website last I checked, so I don't see why Play Protect would flag it as malware

edit: attach screenshot of package name

edit 2: fix typo in package name (accidentally typed thoughcrime)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Thanks mate

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago

I'm on the apk from the signal website. This showed up for me as well.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'll just drop this here

https://molly.im/

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (5 children)

What is the benefit of using this instead of Signal?

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You get to convince your peers once more to use a different app.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Uses the signal back end and is cross compatible

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

you don’t have to tell your peers that, you can still convince them to switch anyways

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

It seems you are not cross compatible with my joke. I admit, I use an obscure back end.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's named after a rave drug.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

Hell yeah

[–] AlecSadler 10 points 1 year ago

Android tablets as linked devices is why I use it. Something Signal seems to refuse to add.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Fully foss dependencies, degoogled (doesnt require Google Play services), and further hardening to the app. And you can still keep your signal contacts since it is just a fork. Available through Accressant, fdroid, and github.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

Maybe a botched version and goolag was triggered. On the safe side get rid of it.

Check the repo where it was downloaded.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Use molly.Im. They have a repository for F-droid.

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