Joseph Cox

'ICE Block' is an app that lets users report sightings of ICE officials in their local area. The app says it doesn't collect peoples' location data, preserves their privacy, etc. A security researcher now corroborates that.

https://www.404media.co/immigration-raid-tracking-app-ice-block-keeps-your-data-private-researcher-finds/

Immigration Raid Tracking App ‘ICE Block’ Keeps Your Data Private, Researcher Finds

The app, which jumped to the top of an App Store chart, lets users report sightings of ICE officials.

404 Media
Jul 15 at 2:11pmWeb
Show threadFaraiwe1d ago

@josephcox and to use it you must have an iphone with iOS.

Which requires iCloud subscription.

Yes, there are ways around that, no vast, crushing majority of people arguing about that still have apple own their info.

So.... yeahm....

Show threadJennifer1d ago
@faraiwe @josephcox yeah I just tried to install it on my Android and it's not available...
Show threadNazo19h ago

@josephcox And it's *ONLY* available to iOS, which means it's less open and less available, requiring more expensive devices than what the people who need it may be more likely to have. The statement on their refusal to even consider an Android version was questionable. https://bsky.app/profile/iceblock.app/post/3lmzykc7rb42d (Statement is straight up false -- they would *NOT* have to store device IDs on Android devices -- and Apple actually has device IDs too and could be subpoenaed.)

An open alternative is needed.

Show threadNazo19h ago
@josephcox I can't find it at the moment, but I'm pretty sure that they for some reason had a weirdly hostile towards open platforms available to Android devices. (The ones that don't go through Google like F-Droid.) Which is kind of the ultimate irony because if it truly was trying to do what it's saying it's trying to do (avoid tracking and etc) by definition it requires this. Both Apple and Google can be subpoenaed (and have a vested interest in tracking.) Open releases can't be.
Show threadNazo18h ago
@josephcox I hate to don the tinfoil hat, but their false statements, ignoring of what several users pointed out that they could just make a read only non-push version even if it was true (and there are ways of doing push without tracking btw -- a number of F-Droid apps do that -- so it isn't true) and insisting that Apple definitely does not track while keeping the software closed source and not working with devs makes me wonder if they might be up to something with this.