Lets build more ICE-tracking apps
this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2025
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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...
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
I'm not sure if this guy is just dumb or it's a honeypot.
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As mentioned elsewhere, they don't use device ID
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Android is the only platform that supports alternative push methods
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Apple knows everyone who downloads this app, which is subject to subpoena
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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.
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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.
Interesting, especially with GrapheneOS people shooting it down immediately to call them out on their baloney.
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.
I'm pretty certain push notifications have been shown to be grossly insecure actually...
There's no way to be anonymous on the play store
Aurora store.
I was quoting them but you're right-or Fdroid ofc
Twenty years ago tracking armed thugs in ski masks would have been called a public service.
This gives honeypot vibes. IOS only with no way to access via browser?
Sweet. I appreciate that their reaction has Streisand-effected this app into my awareness.
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.
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.
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)
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They could try not being brown shirts. Problem solved.
I love the quote about how it is putting federal agents in danger...and I sort of think that they are doing that themselves.
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.
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I love how the Streisand Effect works. They just made this app the hottest thing out there.
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
can’t even find “Joshua Aaron” on linked in or github. feels a little sus. my moneys on honey pot
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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.
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"[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.
Lol.
R's have not only painted targets, they've made ads, and joked about killing civilians and anyone other than MAGAts
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."
"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)
Is the app foss?
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.
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Anyone have a link to the app/website? I’d like to follow some among honing my horn and warning folks.
Is this only on Apple? Kind of lame.
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.
There are other stores besides the playstore..
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."
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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.
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It's going to be filled with false warnings from MAGA idiots and trolls...
“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.
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if they're worried about being tracked maybe they could do the easiest thing in the world which is not being complete shitheads?
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