Rabat_ Social Media Exchange (SMEX)—a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing human rights in digital spaces across MENA [Middle East and North Africa] — is warning that Israeli-linked software secretly embedded in Samsung phones across the Middle East and North Africa region poses a serious surveillance threat.
According to SMEX, Samsung’s A and M series devices either come preloaded with the app “Aura” or install it automatically through system updates, without the user’s consent. The application reportedly collects a wide range of personal and device-specific data, including IP addresses, device fingerprints, hardware details, and network information.
Pixel only?
yes, and you have to get one that is from google and isn’t from a carrier so you can unlock the bootloader. Carrier versions have locked bootloaders.
I have a Canadian carrier purchased phone. Brand new Pixel 9. 5$ a month. For 24 months.
It has only ONCE booted to the Google version of Android.
To flip the toggle to enable OEM unlock.
I kept WiFi off and hadn’t inserted a SIM so it couldn’t update or do anything else that might have prevented flashing graphene.
Not sure if that was necessary, but it worked.
And now I live my life free of google software surveillance.
Just so nobody else is confused, Canadian carrier phones legally have to be sold unlocked as of 2017
I just bought a Pixel 10 from Spectrum with the repeated assurance that the phone would be fully unlocked after it was paid off and had several months of service. I intended to load Graphene OS, but apparently I was fucking lied to yet again by another business that will say anything to make a sale.
I can’t do anything about that now, but I can move to another carrier and make damn sure they don’t ever make another dime off my mobile account.
They thought you meant carrier-unlocked. That’s what most people care about, being able to switch providers.
I doubt they even knew what a bootloader is.
Once it’s carrier unlocked you should be able to unlock the bootloader though right?
I don’t believe they are related
Rogers in Canada has pixels that allow unlocking the bootloader (just got a pixel 9, and once I have some time I’m going to try putting a custom build on it).
Mine went fine. I kept the radios off before using it and fully flashing just in case.
I read on the grapheme forums that some carrier software might flip a bit or something if it gets downloaded/provisioned.
In most markets, kind of. There are some others but most aren’t sold in NA other than the Pixel.
Ah okay, thanks