Android spyware with over 1.5 million downloads sends your data to China

L4sBot@lemmy.worldmod to Technology@lemmy.world – 174 points –
Android spyware with over 1.5 million downloads sends your data to China — delete these apps right now
yahoo.com

Two file management apps on the Google Play Store have been discovered to be spyware that quietly sends user data to servers in China.

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Edit: I've realized I'm wrong below. A bot is a bot, and mine is no exception. Sorry to anyone who felt deceived, that was not my intention.

@BettyWhiteInHD@lemmy.world my apologies for not replying, I read your message while updating a bunch of code for the bot and forgot to reply.

When I made L4s I had gone through Lemmy’s Code of Conduct, and didn’t see where that was required for bots? If I misunderstood the Code of Conduct I will gladly mark it as a bot, or if the admins of lemmy.world clarify to me they want it to be done. Please let me know if you are aware of where it is required, as I want to abide by the the rules here, and don't want to annoy anyone. Maybe @ruud@lemmy.world could clear this up for me, I know he is extremely busy though.

The goal of L4s is to help jump-start communities and content, and I felt 99% of people uncheck “show bot accounts” since they don’t want what would be the equivalent of “automod”, spellchecker bots, etc to show up - not something that's bringing them content they subscribed to or previously enjoyed on reddit.

So far it’s helped multiple communities that way (see !technology@lemmy.world prior to its posts, and a few days after, it’s now the largest "active users" community on all instances), and has sparked a lot of conversations in the posts. The reason I bring that up is most have not complained about the fact it’s not checked, even though I do not hide that it’s a bot in any way, and most enjoy seeing the content it posts. Checking that would mean that those who don't quite understand there are content bots, would no longer see these posts.

Also, yes, I'm a mod here. My role irl is very deeply technology related, that is what I enjoy. In my free-time I have been trying to make Lemmy.World one of the best instances as far as content, and helping keep !technology@lemmy.world on-topic and toxic free.

I second the suggestion to mark @L4s@lemmy.world as a bot. Regardless of what the CoC says, it would be unethical not to.

In this thread people were complaining about how the body contained insufficient information, and the copied title of the article is click bait. A human poster would be able to respond to these concerns whereas a bot cannot.

I think it would be overall healthier for the Fediverse as a whole if the bot-marking feature was widely respected and exceptions like this not being taken.

This was my main concern. It felt very low effort and felt like a Reddit karma farmer, not a bot meant to spark discussion within the community. I wouldn't have had an issue with the content if it was clear that the post was made by a bot.

Edit: I've realized my mistake and will just leave it on, my bot is not above any other, and my goal doesn't justify not checking the box.

That's a fair point, and seeing that a lot of people would prefer it be on, I will probably reconsider my stance regardless of what the admins say.

I still appreciate your work in modding and creating tools that help make Lemmy.world thrive. Thanks for your consideration as well.

I agree with the sentiment from the others here, but I also wanted to add that as a general rule, you shouldn't behave in a way that would be detrimental for the community if everyone did it. Bots should be marked as bots, or the user preference switch to show content from bots is meaningless regardless of how positive or influential you think yours is -- as I'm sure most bot creators feel about their own work.

It's understandable that you want to have a positive impact, and that is commendable, but your bot shouldn't be an exception just by your own judgment, especially considering the problems with what the bot is doing that have been pointed out to you.

Just my take. I would prefer your bot, and all bots, be marked as such irrespective of function.

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