I was looking at the firefox flatpak on flathub. Won't this warning make a non tech-savy user anxious? This might make them think they'll get a virus or something like that.

federino@programming.dev to Linux@lemmy.ml – 313 points –

Imagine your friend that does not know anything about linux, don't you think this would make them not install the firefox flatpak and potentially think that linux is unsafe?

I ask this because I believe we must be careful and make small changes to welcome new users in the future, we have to make them as much comfortable as possible when experimenting with a new O.S

I believe this warning could have a less alarming design, saying something like "This app can use elevated permissions. What does this mean?" with the "What does this mean?" text as a clickable URL that shows the user that this may cause security risks. I mean, is kind of a contradiction to have "verified" on the app and a red warning saying "Potentially unsafe", the user will think "well, should I trust this or not??"

89

You are viewing a single comment

It's not specific to browsers, but to every flatpak that is verified and has the potentially unsafe warning.

"Verified" doesn't mean too much to privacy advocates. There have been incidents. I indeed want to check what my app is going to access before installing it.

I think it's okay to check what the app is going to access in your system. I'm just talking about the warning design, this comment suggests a different approach for a less alarming design.

Ah, very good point! If we all had the dedication for UX like you do, Linux would be so so so perfect.