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Posted by Cider9986 23 hours ago

Loupe – A iOS app that raises awareness about what native apps can see(github.com)
279 points | 103 commentspage 2
lencastre 4 hours ago|
/me wonders of the privacy label should actually mention that it reads everything and the kitchen sink!!!
api 8 hours ago||
This is why I avoid installing apps and don’t have a lot of them.
iririririr 7 hours ago|
...wouldn't it be better to have a pocket computer you own?
dylan604 5 hours ago|||
It would be even better if app devs weren't pieces of shit making apps whose sole purpose is to gather all of this data to sell to other pieces of shits while skinning their app as a game or other app to trick users into thinking it's worth installing.

Fighting devs being able to make money in this manner is not dissimilar to getting made a drug dealers. As long as users want their product, they will sell the product.

downrightmike 5 hours ago||
Most people don't know and we are seeing that things get slipped in at a later date
throawayonthe 4 hours ago||||
if you think "desktop" operating systems aren't even worse on this, you're very mistaken
NietTim 2 hours ago||||
Just use the browser, it's fine 99% of the time.
normie3000 6 hours ago|||
Phones are quite useful.
Barbing 7 hours ago||
Sweet, been wanting this a while. Just mentioned last month and here it is! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48187972
Forgeties79 4 hours ago||
This is neat and interesting, truly, but the classic “what now?” emerges. I guess the only answer is “throw out my iPhone”? Otherwise this kind of seems like a circuitous ad to make people get worried and download Psylo, which I see has in-app purchases. I’m not trying to come at you here, but it’s just hard not to feel suspicious online these days.
microtonal 2 hours ago||
Don't install apps outside trustable apps that don't embed tracking. Even if you cannot uninstall every app, the fewer you have, the less cross-app tracking. Also donate to and consider installing privacy-conscious alternative phone OSes. They may not have closed all holes (yet), but at least their incentives are aligned with yours.
Cider9986 4 hours ago||
The only way to prevent this right now is to avoid installing apps that are doing this.
Forgeties79 2 hours ago||
“Just don’t use it” only gets you so far and isn’t always an option. Also, as some have mentioned in this thread, many sites now make the mobile experience so painful (or remove key features) so as to force you onto the app.

I am against cars for the most part, but I can’t just get rid of my car. In this case, I can’t get rid of Slack (and other apps) because of work and unfortunately I do not work at a company that will buy me a work phone for work things.

Ultimately this has to start at a more root level. We need to claw back privacy.

Cider9986 2 hours ago||
I'm not saying it's not a problem and I understand you have to use some apps. I'm just saying that currently the only way to effectively prevent apps gathering and selling this info is to never install the app in the first place.
Forgeties79 1 hour ago||
Fair enough
lencastre 4 hours ago||
this is fantastic, just great really, and honestly makes one stick out so easily, reminfs me a lot of that license plate xkcd
fragmede 4 hours ago|
https://xkcd.com/1105/
paulirish 11 hours ago||
Would love this for MacOS as well.
weikju 11 hours ago||
Fortunately, if you read the README (and decide to go past the “this was mostly built by AI” part,

> Loupe also builds for macOS. The Mac version is mostly complete, but a few things still need work before it's polished.

heavensteeth 9 hours ago||
> and decide to go past the “this was mostly built by AI” part

I got that feeling just seeing the title use "native" as a synonym of "not a website".

bethekidyouwant 11 hours ago||
What “apps” do you use on a mac?
VertanaNinjai 10 hours ago|||
Probably a ton since macOS apps are literally distributed as .app bundles.
winstonwinston 10 hours ago||
Though there is a difference what store apps and non-store apps can do. I think is about store apps which are “sandboxed” and have to use public api to request then access information which non-store apps can access without.
internet2000 10 hours ago|||
Google Chrome, VS Code, among others
bethekidyouwant 9 hours ago||
Well “they” can technically “read” anything your user can.
iancarroll 9 hours ago||
Apps installed via the MAS have sandboxing applied to them, so this isn't really true.
winstonwinston 9 hours ago||
Yes but chrome is not from MAS. I have none MAS apps installed because they are simply not available via MAS.
socalgal2 6 hours ago||
Yea, it's infuriating that most of the HN crowd thinks the apps are better then web. Apps can spy on you way more than web. It's the reason every website says "please download the app". If it was better for them to spy on you via the website they wouldn't ask you to download the app.
yreg 5 hours ago|
There are plenty of other (better?) reasons why developers might want to push apps.

More APIs, less friction selling stuff, business presence right on the homescreen.

cute_boi 7 hours ago||
Apps like TikTok can know which username we logged in with, even if we uninstall and reinstall the app. This is egregious, as many companies like Facebook have SDKs embedded in many apps, allowing them to accurately interconnect user activity.

Apple should be ashamed that they aren't putting effort to randomize these fingerprints....

gene91 4 hours ago||
That’s just keychain. It’s not even fingerprinting.
diebeforei485 6 hours ago||
This is probably Keychain, right?
momoraul 2 hours ago|
[flagged]
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