Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)
This might be a hot take but the best way to avoid or "bypass" onerous things like the "integrity API" is to opt out of the proprietary world as much as possible. Use exclusively free (Libre) software and technology where you can.
We should not be thinking in terms of how do we get proprietary crapware onto our free systems, because that defeats the purpose of a free system. The idea is to build an alternative to the proprietary world.
GrapheneOS is already working on it:
We're going to add a secure way of working around this without breaking the app source security model. We'll be adding support for having the OS automatically verify the Play Store signing metadata and then inform Play services those apps were installed from the Play Store.
That's already released and only deals with recent changes. It doesn't fix apps using strong integrity challenges
Do you think we can find a way to bypass these,
Yes. Direct physical access always wins. A device in my hands is my device.
or is the future of the digital world just authoritarian and dystopian?
Yes. Many people aren't going to explore the solutions, or be willing to give up the convenience that comes with not changing what they're doing.
A device in my hands is my device.
Could you then please help root the Meta Quest 3? So far I believe nobody managed.
We're a decade too early for open source vr.
That's not a VR headset, You bought an expensive Facebook paperweight.
Edit for TL;DR as this became lengthy : agreed, do NOT buy "an expensive Facebook paperweight" but also, open source VR exists today! Depending on your definition and needs, there is a lot that can be done and you can help.
Rooting isn't open source...
Anyway Valve Index runs perfectly on Linux, that's how I finished Half-life: Alyx. I also do already have a rooted Lynx XR1 and a Project NorthStar which is open hardware (even though not OSHW iirc).
There are also :
IMHO one of the best resource covering that and more is https://lvra.gitlab.io/
So... I'm a bit confused, maybe I misunderstood, what did you mean by being "a decade too early"? Which functionality specifically is missing today?
The Index and the Quest are entirely different things.
The index is a monitor with sensors attached to it.
The Quest is a proprietary PC with an ecosystem, DRM and billion dollar company backing.
Rooting isn't open source They don't have anything to do with each other other than the fact that you don't need to root open source devices. They lock us out of root because they don't want us to control our own devices, They want us to use their stores, they're walled gardens, and their support for everything which is very un-open source.
My point behind touting an open source mobile VR device would be that it would not need to be rooted.
I looked at the hardware you mentioned and while the open stuff looks very nice it looks very not available for anyone to purchase. Do you expect any of that hardware to be more available soon?
I sadly believe we’re fucked
We where fucked when the internet got consolidated into what five companies.
And them being in the USA as well
We were fucked a long time ago it's just the effects showing now. But I hope the rebels at Graphene OS and other custom ROMs will find a way.
Sadly I moved away from Graphene because of all the restrictions :(
Genuinely curious here, I but what restrictions?
No mobile payments, a lot of apps have integrity check which means I can't really use them, no way to reset the unique device ID sent to apps so they can track you (why am I even using Graphene 🙄?), slow device, annoying to set up things like carplay's android thingy...
IMO the only reason tech world can be authoritarian is people's negligence. Otherwise even if all major brands produce unhackable locked down hardware, people could boycott those and buy the one obscure open device (like pine64) and market force will force big names to revert.
Corporations do not have power by themselves. People refusing to think and understand gives them power. Same applies to mainstream politics.
They have money which means they advertise which influences peoples decisions. As much as some people might deny it ads work.
So unless I can convince my mom to install Firefox we're fucked.
...we're fucked.
Unless you can convince them to get out of the 'surveillance for free stuff' market then they're fucked, not everyone.
You can choose to use free and open source software and sped time learning and putting together a system that benefits you. Or you can just sign up for Google, let them do all of the work in exchange for spying on you with every device that you buy and put in your house.
Oh I'm gonna dodge corporate bullshit at every opportunity, but they're also allowed to gather data on me simply tracking my friends and family
I'm fucked either way. Big corporations control so much of the internet devices the chances are my stuff is going to them anyway.
yes. also your friends, not only mom.
(/s aside, most people of younger generations don't care as well, not only elderly less tech literate folks)
We are soooo fucked.
If you can root your phone and use an xposed module, maybe. Or the EU forces them. Otherwise, there's not much option.