Apps for Shopping, Download via the Aurora Store vs. Using Browser?

BraX3 iodéOS
1

I have yet to explore any apps where you’d shop (e.g. Amazon, Walmart, etc.) and need to have an account to sign in, have a saved Ship to Address, and a payment method.

I may be a little cautious, but I wanted to put the question out there: Is signing into these apps (presumably done via downloading them in the Aurora store) going to jeopardize my privacy/anonymity?

These kinds of apps aren’t your Uber, Door Dash, or other real-time delivery services or functions where you need to disclose a real-time location in addition to other KYC data required to transact.

How much better is it to run them through a browser?

2 Likes
2

I’d personally use the native app, whenever I can.
Reason - I can control more granularly app permissions.

For the apps in the category you mentioned, I’d never grant access to mic, location, camera, etc. I will also not grant access to run in the background. You can use iode’s traffic analyzer to see if there is something iffy happening in terms of connections when you use the apps.

3 Likes
3

I used the Amazon app and it is granted no permissions by me. For almost all my apps I have them set on “restricted” in Trebuchet to protect against malicious recipients.

Note: On Brax.Me Rob said:
“Don’t uninstall Trebuchet or you might have a brick.
Trebuchet is the APP Launcher (the Home screen etc). You obviously need that”

3 Likes
4

I, and probably others, would appreciate a “how to video” by someone at Iodé about the blocker app. Seems a bit confusing in the deep down areas for blocking and restricting. I may give one of my Brax3 to my grandchild if I know I can restrict all the evil. Thanks

1 Like
5

Here is the introductory documentation on the iodé app (this is the GUI frontend you interact with):

Here is the documentation on the iodé blocker (which is the actual content filter, consider it the “backend” to the iodé app):

4 Likes
6

@Greenie the app isn’t called Trebuchet, the app is just called the iodé app, but it does have a persistent notification in the top bar. The reason Trebuchet shows in the notification is because you have no other active app, basically meaning Trebuchet is your active app, as it is essentially your “home screen”, which is also why you don’t want to uninstall it (as you note from Rob).

4 Likes
7

Oh ok. Guess I should have explored your sight. I’ll ck them out. Thank you.

8

I tend to follow this advice as well, but for apps like that I add an extra layer by running them with “Shelter” as discussed in this thread. But honestly the main reason I do that is so I can freeze them when not using them, but @plamen’s advice to just disable allowing them to run in the background should accomplish that purpose as well.

4 Likes