766

Trump Team Has Full Meltdown Over CNN Story on ICE-Tracking App (newrepublic.com)

submitted 3 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

152 comments fedilink hide all child comments

top 50 comments

sorted by: hot top new old

[-] [email protected] 90 points 2 days ago

Was curious so Iooked up the app's site.

Apparently the devs claim they can't release it on Android because "There's no way to be anonymous on the play store", but it's even more impossible to be anonymous on the platform they've released. That's how you know the developer is incredibly stupid and/or shady as hell- because they've never even heard of Fdroid?

Makes me think the app is a troll/trojan horse (not as in infection, trojan horse as in it has alterior motives)

The Drumpf crew "losing it" over the app just makes it more questionable. They love to create a firestorm so people talk about the thing "they definitely don't want you to use!!" to get people to do things...

[-] [email protected] 32 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

they mentioned that its because push notifications require device id and that would make it easy to be tracked if aubpoenaed.

https://bsky.app/profile/iceblock.app/post/3lmzykc7rb42d

edit: for the record i don't agree; i'm just saying what they said on bsky

[-] [email protected] 45 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I'm not sure if this guy is just dumb or it's a honeypot.

As mentioned elsewhere, they don't use device ID
Android is the only platform that supports alternative push methods
Apple knows everyone who downloads this app, which is subject to subpoena
The gov has been collecting push notification data from both Apple and Google for a long time. It would be as simple as knowing when notifications went out and then comparing timestamps to figure out who is using the app.
The app is closed-source

It would take significantly more mental energy on the part of the user but it would be far safer (which is extremely important in this specific case, as the dev agrees) to distribute through F-Droid and then use some other UnifiedPush implementation, as many Android apps already do. Anyone using this app is painting a huge target on their backs for the current authoritarian state.

[-] [email protected] 18 points 2 days ago

Interesting, especially with GrapheneOS people shooting it down immediately to call them out on their baloney.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago

Push notifications though GMS don't use the device ID; they use a generated GCM registration ID that occasionally rotates. Who knows what Google uses internally to associate GCM reg IDs to users, but to overly state that it uses device IDs is simply not correct.

I'm not suggesting push notifications are inherently secure because it's impossible to make that determination from the outside. But their assessment is incorrect and the same privacy concerns apply to Apple.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

I'm pretty certain push notifications have been shown to be grossly insecure actually...

[-] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago

This is a really good comment

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

There's no way to be anonymous on the play store

Aurora store.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

I was quoting them but you're right-or Fdroid ofc

[-] [email protected] 48 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Twenty years ago tracking armed thugs in ski masks would have been called a public service.

[-] [email protected] 38 points 2 days ago

This gives honeypot vibes. IOS only with no way to access via browser?

[-] [email protected] 271 points 3 days ago

Sweet. I appreciate that their reaction has Streisand-effected this app into my awareness.

[-] [email protected] 80 points 2 days ago

Shouldn’t be an app. It should be a site accessible using vpn and private browsing with an appropriate browser. Nobody should have to worry about the Stasi finding the app on their phone regardless of the situation.

[-] [email protected] 23 points 2 days ago

While this is true, most people are not so tech savvy, maybe giving an option to mask app Icon to user choice can help it hide better.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago

going to a website (not tech savvy enough for this) vs going to the settings on an app and select a new icon (yay anyone can do it)

load more comments (1 replies)

load more comments (2 replies)

[-] [email protected] 171 points 3 days ago

They could try not being brown shirts. Problem solved.

[-] [email protected] 98 points 2 days ago

I love the quote about how it is putting federal agents in danger...and I sort of think that they are doing that themselves.

[-] [email protected] 37 points 2 days ago

Good, those agents are playing a dangerous game and you should know if you play with fire your going get burned. Its a matter of time before they try to kidnap the wrong person, and that person decides its better to die in America then it is to go to a camp then deported.

load more comments (6 replies)

[-] [email protected] 48 points 2 days ago

I love how the Streisand Effect works. They just made this app the hottest thing out there.

[-] [email protected] 88 points 2 days ago

It's closed source, and the build and publishing pipeline isn't transparent.

For me that makes this no different than a potential ICE honey pot

[-] [email protected] 29 points 2 days ago

can’t even find “Joshua Aaron” on linked in or github. feels a little sus. my moneys on honey pot

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] [email protected] 14 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

which is exactly what this whole 'meltdown' frame for the pr hints at. republicans know how to use publicity stunts to get what they want.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

Haven't followed it much (EU), can you elaborate who did what and what can be done potentially?

load more comments (1 replies)

load more comments (9 replies)

[-] [email protected] 142 points 2 days ago

"[the app] basically paints a target on federal law enforcement officers’ backs"

When it comes to painting targets on backs, better them then innocent civilians.

[-] [email protected] 76 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Lol.

R's have not only painted targets, they've made ads, and joked about killing civilians and anyone other than MAGAts

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/guns-republican-primary-campaign-ads-midterms-1336903/

Greene in an ad for her 2020 campaign cocked an assault rifle as she warned “antifa terrorists” to stay out of her district

Masters, a venture capitalist and favorite of Trump-loving billionaire Peter Thiel, has featured guns prominently throughout his primary campaign. He responded to President Biden’s promise on Monday to crack down on “ghost guns,” which are homemade and untraceable, by tweeting a picture of a “ghost gun” he recently built himself. “Very legal & very cool,” he wrote.

https://www.indy100.com/politics/eric-greitens-campaign-ad-gun

"There's no bagging limit, no tagging limit, and it doesn't expire until we save our country."

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/south-carolina-governor-henry-mcmaster-hunting-dogs-b2344416.html

"I look forward to the day that Democrats are so rare, we have to hunt them with dogs,"

Edit: and for the record, Blake Masters is a piece of shit buddy of both elon and Vance and they are all tied together in their hate for democracy and love of Curtis Yarvin and the plot to destroy western civilization. (Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets)

[-] [email protected] 42 points 2 days ago

Is the app foss?

[-] [email protected] 76 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

No, and even worse, its only for apple devices lmao. These kids are so unserious in their activism it would be funny if it werent so sad. If shit hits the fan, this stuff will go down instantly and im sure it has no backup plan for a Tor based or p2p service. Activists in the US should start using Briar. This situation is exactly what it was made for and people have to get their tech game up fast or they will be done for. Get a shitty 80$ android phone if you only have an iphone. Install a panic trigger app that will wipe the phone if you are in trouble.

On ICEBlocks website it says:

Modeled after Waze but for ICE sightings, the app ensures user privacy by storing no personal data, making it impossible to trace reports back to individual users.

Which worries me, because if its closed source then thats a worthless promise and actually makes the app a perfect candidate for a honeypot or backdoor.

load more comments (14 replies)

[-] [email protected] 89 points 3 days ago

Anyone have a link to the app/website? I’d like to follow some among honing my horn and warning folks.

[-] [email protected] 79 points 3 days ago

https://www.iceblock.app/

[-] [email protected] 38 points 3 days ago

Is this only on Apple? Kind of lame.

[-] [email protected] 54 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

This is IOS only owing to Android play store collecting a device identifier; the creator wanted complete anonymity

Quote from some other place people were discussing it. Unfortunately no source on it.

EDIT: https://www.iceblock.app/android

[-] [email protected] 46 points 2 days ago

There are other stores besides the playstore..

[-] [email protected] 26 points 2 days ago

It's not about the store, it's about the notification.

As mentioned in the Time article:

the app is not available on Android because it "requires a device ID in order to send push notifications, which requires a user account and a password."

load more comments (10 replies)

load more comments (2 replies)

load more comments (10 replies)

load more comments (2 replies)

[-] [email protected] 40 points 2 days ago

I would imagine this is very similar to marking a cop on Waze and completely legal which is why they are throwing a hissy fit.

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] [email protected] 17 points 2 days ago

It's going to be filled with false warnings from MAGA idiots and trolls...

[-] [email protected] 57 points 3 days ago

This app sounds exceedingly useful to me.

load more comments (3 replies)

[-] [email protected] 43 points 3 days ago

“He’s giving a message to criminals where our federal officers are, and he cannot do that, and we are looking at it, we are looking at him, and he better watch out,” Bondi said. “Because that is not protected speech, that is threatening the lives of our law enforcement officers throughout this country, and shame on CNN!”

Why can't he do that, Pammy?

Gotta say Aaron is a bold motherfucker.

load more comments (32 replies)

[-] [email protected] 27 points 2 days ago

if they're worried about being tracked maybe they could do the easiest thing in the world which is not being complete shitheads?

load more comments

this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2025

766 points (97.4% liked)

Technology

72360 readers

2804 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related news or articles.
Be excellent to each other!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]