Remove trackers from the app
N
Nickel Sailfish
Same for me, I spend a significant part of my time tuning the sites I browse, and the number of trackers provides me with an index of the ethics of these sites.
A
Assistant Parrot
Allow me to add one element: Exodus Privacy identifies 4 trackers but that's because the report is not up to date. By scanning the.apk with Classy Shark (an application that builds an Exodus report, basically, but on the real apk, not on an old one on which the report was built), we find the following trackers:
Adjust, Google AdMob, Google Play Install Referrer, Google Play Install Referrer, Facebook Share, Facebook Login, Crashlytics, and Firebase Analytics
Goggle AdMob is very explicitly an ad tracker based on personal data, that's quite problematic for me. I hope Helios doesn't use it, but if it's present Google probably uses it 🤷♂️
M
Mandarin Chimpanzee
Note that the virtual card and the initial registration (face photo step) are only functional with Google Mobile Services (GMS) 😿
I am on LineageOS without GMS.
It seems to me that it is fine with EOS/Murena with microG.
R
Remaining Muskox
Mandarin Chimpanzee: Having a smartphone that doesn't run on Android or Apple, I couldn't open a Helios account on my own. My phone actually stuck during the facial recognition stage. I had to go through someone else's phone to register. No alternative on a computer, it's a shame. And yes, I agree with most of the remarks made here: I am in the process of getting out of GAFA because, although it is not easy, ecology and monopoly do not mix well.
Y
Yarrow Raccoon
Same, I have a friend whom I invited to join Helios who ended up giving up in the face of facial recognition blockages.
P
Plain Mouse
Update: the app works under CalyxOS with microG. If the app should ever stop working due to dependencies on Google Play Services or the Google Play store, I would leave Helios. Even my “classic” bank works under CalyxOS, so a bank like Helios must set an example in terms of independence for GAFAMs.
M
Mandarin Chimpanzee
Whatever the real purpose of these 4 sub-services of these GAFAM (thank you Exodus Privacy), it is true that if the developer team could do without them, Helios would still gain points on the ethical side. A significant argument that the company could use in its communication. 🏆
The feeling of trust on the part of (future) customers would be stronger.
E
Estimated Cattle
Same problem on the website
J
Jambalaya Hedgehog
I am personally an application developer, I do not work for helios. However, I put my two cents in saying that it is stupid to say that “application trackers” are used for the resale of data. This is false, for example, crashlytics allows you to report technical information about a crash, or an app slowdown. It is completely anonymous. There is only the technical “stacktrace”. What file, what method, what line. In particular, it makes it possible to correct bugs that the development teams could not see before. Firebase Analytics is unfortunately the common core of all firebase products, and so to have Firebase Crashlytics, you need the other one. That doesn't mean he's spying on you, it's just a technical addiction. Facebook login is often a necessity because a large number of users want to use this means of connection, that's the way it is.
B
Bold Parakeet
Jambalaya Hedgehog: indeed, for firebase, it is a necessary tool, and personally I am not against this kind of tool. And for me the problem is not that Helios uses this kind of tool, but that it is a Google tool. However, while Helios certainly does not use these tools for tracking, the probability that this is the case for Google is very (very) high. However, this does not mean that there is no alternative and that you must necessarily use Google services. It's just a question of ease. To take an example in my field, the site helios.do uses Google Analytics. However, there is a largely comparable alternative: Matomo.
As for Facebook, registering for Helios is done very quickly, and I doubt that there would have been less registration without Facebook. Especially if there was a communication explaining the reason.
I
Ivory Squirrel
Totally agree. 👍
Hopefully it will be removed as soon as possible.
B
Bold Parakeet
Totally agree. Especially since it would be logical in terms of Helios's ideals. For me, you cannot have ambitious climate goals without thinking about people (in fact, the latest IPCC report speaks well of this). And respecting people in their privacy is part of that.
Moreover, I use a blocker on my phone, and I have to deactivate it for example to make an appointment (luckily, I have never needed one yet)