Muntashir Akon

@[email protected]
176 Followers
34 Following
360 Posts
Ph.D. student at UC Riverside. Creator of @appmanager. My interests are security, privacy, linguistics, medical science and physics.
Websitehttps://muntashir.dev
GitHubhttps://github.com/MuntashirAkon
Bloghttps://blog.muntashir.dev
Muntashir Akon1d ago
Mullvad VPN1d ago

The EU age verification app is presented as “completely anonymous”. The idea is to use Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) cryptography.

But currently, the EU app does not have ZKP functionality. More importantly, the app is designed to always function without ZKP. Even if fully developed ZKP technology could be implemented in the future, it would remain an optional feature that countries may choose to disable and that the EU could remove at any time.

More details on https://mullvad.net/blog/age-verification-for-social-media-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-a-free-internet

Age verification for social media – the beginning of the end for a free internet?

So-called age verification for social media is spreading across the world, framed as an effort to create a safer internet for children. In reality, age verification lays the foundation for a fully government controlled internet.

Mullvad VPN
Muntashir Akon1d ago

My reflections on the sixth anniversary of #AppManager

https://blog.muntashir.dev/2026/06/01/six-years-of-app-manager/

Six Years of App Manager

App Manager has come a long way since it was introduced to the world six years ago. Let’s talk about it.

Muntashir’s Blog
Show threadMuntashir AkonApr 15
Google has added an “other ways to verify” option now. So, now it may be possible to bypass the 50% rule.
Muntashir AkonApr 15

#Linux (mostly #GTK4) apps that I frequently use. #Fedora #GNOME

https://blog.muntashir.dev/2026/04/15/frequently-used-linux-apps/

Linux Apps that I Frequently Use

About four months ago, I had migrated to Fedora 43 (GNOME 49). After four months, I think I can share the frequently used apps like I did for Android.

Muntashir’s Blog
Show threadMuntashir AkonApr 14
UPDATE: #Google seems to have fixed the issue anyway. I was able to register both App Manager and Captive Portal Controller in the Android developer verification console.
Show threadMuntashir AkonApr 14
Today I've received the following generic-looking response from "Android developer verification support":
Show threadMuntashir AkonApr 9

Apps subjected to potential impersonation attack:
- App Manager
- Captive Portal Controller

Apps with F-Droid priorities:
- SetEdit
- UnApkm
- Metro (since this app is exclusive to F-Droid)

Show threadMuntashir AkonApr 9
Also, since I do not have access to the signing keys used by F-Droid, it's effectively a dead-end. Taking down apps from F-Droid (and move to IzzyOnDroid completely) potentially forfeiting all the users who rely on updates from F-Droid.
Show threadMuntashir AkonApr 9
Another issue is the 50% download requirements. Traditionally, most people would download the apps from #FDroid which historically used their own signing keys to sign the apps. Since most people have used #FDroid instead of other methods, only that signing key shows up there, and currently, it doesn't offer an option to choose a different key.
Muntashir AkonApr 9
It appears one or more impersonators have already registered some of the #Android applications that I maintained, including @appmanager. I've reported this to #Google, but not sure what's going to happen. The Android developer verification is still in beta, and it doesn't have a lot of features now to deal with this kind of problems.