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Apple Removes WhatsApp, Threads, Telegram, and Signal from China App Store, says it complied with orders from the Chinese government (arstechnica.com)

submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Apple said it complied with orders from the Chinese government to remove the Meta-owned WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China. Apple also removed Telegram and Signal from China.

The New York Times similarly wrote that "a person briefed on the situation said the Chinese government had found content on WhatsApp and Threads about China's president, Xi Jinping, that was inflammatory and violated the country's cybersecurity laws. The specifics of what was in the content was unclear, the person said."

"These apps and many foreign apps are normally blocked on Chinese networks by the 'Great Firewall'—the country's extensive cybersystem of censorship—and can only be used with a virtual private network or other proxy tools," Reuters wrote.

"For years, Apple has bowed to Beijing's demands that it block an array of apps, including newspapers, VPNs, and encrypted messaging services," The New York Times noted yesterday.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Yes, use an Android phone (which you can sideoad apks on), preferably with a custom ROM and Tor, if you have to be in China for whatever reason.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Doesn't matter where you are. Side loading is a must have for any device, especially phones because a lot of their functions require installing applications. This is like saying privacy is only important if you have something to hide. People are under the assumption that just by enabling side loading they'll open up their phones to viruses or something. If you don't need to just stick to your regular app store but having the option is important. If everything you do on your phone is connected to a single company then you aren't private, it's only an illusion of privacy.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Oh, certainly I would advocate using Android anywhere, but especially China.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

Unless you plan on installing more than a bit of Chinese apps, in which case the chaotic market of Chinese notification services (made due to the discontinuation of Google's) will consume all your RAM.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Just be careful if the trusted download sources also get blocked.

I know sideloading is a big concern for the folks over at Signal. They’ve been worried about compromised APKs floating around.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah, Signal is a funny one. Claim to be about privacy and then don't put their app on F-Droid.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

They had a reasonable argument a long time ago. They didn't want fdroid to sign their app. They wanted to sign their own app. But now fdroid supports reproducible builds where the app developer signs their own app. So that argument has been addressed and they still haven't done it.

I think The signal leadership is still emotional about the big debate at the time