this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2025
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Do you trust Xi with your 'private' browsing data? Apple and Google app stores still offer China-based VPNs. (www.techtransparencyproject.org)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by Pro@programming.dev to c/technology@lemmy.world
31 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The Apple and Google app stores continue to offer private browsing apps that are surreptitiously owned by Chinese companies, more than six weeks after they were identified in a Tech Transparency Project report. Apple and Google may also be profiting from these apps, which put Americans’ privacy and U.S. national security at risk, TTP found.

The apps are virtual private networks (VPNs), which promise to mask a user’s identity as they browse the internet. But Chinese-owned VPNs raise serious privacy and security concerns for Americans because Chinese companies can be forced to share user data with the Chinese government under the country’s national security laws. VPNs have access to particularly sensitive user data since they see all of a person’s web activity.

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[–] jjlinux@lemmy.ml 1 points 12 minutes ago* (last edited 9 minutes ago)

How are the Chinese data hoarders providing government your information to the government any worse than the US ones doing the same? VPNs are only a small part of the full arsenal needed for obfuscating your identity, and the nationality of any of them is irrelevant, as pretty much all governments are gathering data from them.

I don't trust Chinese VPNs, and I don't trust American VPNs, or Russian, or Israeli. I feel somewhat safer with Mullvad or Proton VPNs, and even then, they are worthless if you're relying only on VPNs.

[–] b161@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 2 hours ago

Who cares if China has your data?

If you give your data to America, you’re definitely going into the Palantir AI tech so you can get drone striked in your bedroom for not jerking off to your Donald Trump pic for the correct number of strokes.

[–] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

No.

[–] Amnesigenic@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 hour ago

Yes I do

[–] febra@lemmy.world 27 points 1 day ago (1 children)

As someone living in Europe I'm more concerned with American companies harvesting my data.

[–] percent@infosec.pub -2 points 8 hours ago (3 children)

Just curious: Why would you prefer your data to be harvested in China vs. the US?

[–] febra@lemmy.world 2 points 49 minutes ago (1 children)

Because China doesn't have as much influence in Europe as the US does. Besides that, there's a higher chance of US companies sharing data with European governments than Chinese companies doing so.

[–] percent@infosec.pub 1 points 25 minutes ago* (last edited 31 seconds ago)

Ah, thanks for the explanation. That totally makes sense. If forced to choose a foreign entity to harvest my data, I'd the one least likely to share my data with my government too.

[–] Amnesigenic@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 hour ago

Because the US is worse in every quantifiable way

[–] eskimofry@lemmy.world 6 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

thats not what they said did they? they said they are more concerned about American companies harvesting their data as they live in Europe and don't have as much affinity to China.

[–] percent@infosec.pub 1 points 29 minutes ago

thats not what they said did they?

Is it not? They said they're "more concerned" with American companies harvesting data. Doesn't that mean that, given the choice between the US and China harvesting their data, they'd choose China because it concerns them less? Did I misunderstand it?

they said they are more concerned about American companies harvesting their data as they live in Europe and don’t have as much affinity to China.

Actually, they didn't say this part:

and don’t have as much affinity to China.

They answered my question with a more specific explanation though, and now I understand. In their position, I'd probably choose China too.

[–] pinkapple@lemmy.ml 16 points 1 day ago

Do you trust the NSA, ICANN, IANA (all headquartered in the USA) etc and that SSL/TLS cert authorities haven't been backdoored to hell and back? (Probably a decade+ since top level cert authorities were found to be backdoored but who cares amirite.)

[–] LostXOR@fedia.io 26 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Don't use sketchy VPN apps, at all. The fact that they're Chinese owned is irrelevant.

[–] a1studmuffin@aussie.zone 6 points 1 day ago

Honestly, I wouldn't trust most commercial VPNs these days, especially the ones that are nearly always on 100% discount sales. If they're not making their revenue from customers, they must be making it some other way. And that's a mighty fine data set they're sitting on.

[–] Libra@lemmy.ml 22 points 1 day ago

Oh no, China is stealing your data! Wait, America is also stealing your data and you don't care? Hmm.

[–] mke@programming.dev 16 points 1 day ago

About as much as I trust the yanks.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago

So, trust your VPN service. Makes sense.

[–] Zerlyna@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago

it can’t be worse that what DOGE has done.

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago

you can move onto proxies, or even host your own, but thats going to cost money.(yea thats what the of ACCOUNTS, AND LINK FARMING accts use on reddit these days). VPn is way to compromised and abused already.

[–] superniceperson@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago

Sincerely, what is China going to do with it? Open a Chinese bank account in my name? If any institution in the us accepts account openings from a chinese or vpn ip address then it cant be trustworthy enough to ever affect me.

[–] FreedomAdvocate 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

What’s China going to do with your data? Far less than your own country can.

If the choice is between China and your own country, China every day.

[–] stephen01king@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)

That is until they have enough data to be able to sabotage a major part of your country's infrastructure and use it as a bargaining chip to exploit your country, then it won't be less damage. Its just theoretical, but we know that's one of the reason any country collect data from another country's citizens.

Just weigh the risks every time instead of defaulting to a position of China all the time.

[–] Pirate@feddit.org 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

China hasn't revealed itself to be Cthulhu, unlike the US or Russia. So for me yes, it's China at every turn unless a local option exists.

[–] stephen01king@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What does that even mean?

[–] Pirate@feddit.org 6 points 1 day ago

It means I trust China more than the US.

[–] DeathsEmbrace@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I don't see a problem here. Capitalism has already done this. At least they have competition.

[–] stephen01king@lemmy.zip -1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

My problem is his general conclusion to always prefer China. Making predetermined decision without considering the situation you're in is kinda stupid.

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

But that's not the choice

[–] FreedomAdvocate 2 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

You don’t think it is, but yeah it pretty much is. The only VPN company I know of who has proven in court that they don’t keep logs is PIA.

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 1 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

So choose PIA lol

[–] FreedomAdvocate 1 points 14 hours ago

I have been using PIA for the last like 10 years :)

The point was that you’re not going to have the CCP come knocking on your door to arrest you unless you live in china, whereas your own country’s government could.