What I don't understand:
With a jw.org app on your cellphone governments can follow you continue.
Is this - in country's with a different type of democraty - not a big security risk for the user of the app???
G.
Jw.org app
by Gorbatchov 5 Replies latest jw friends
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sir82
What is unique about the JW.borg app, that other apps don't have?
Or are you saying, in countries that don't have a favorable view of JWs, that anyone who has downloaded the app is putting themselves under greater risk of scrutiny - because the government would monitor the people who downloaded that one app?
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Anders Andersen
@Gorby,
That's not how any of that works.
If (a) government(s) want to identify JW in their population by that method, they need either
- Access to the user data for all phone accounts from Google and Apple, or
- Hack into the phones of every citizen to see who has JW app installed.
The latter is ridiculously time consuming and expensive, the former might be remotely possible for the USA but hardly for anyone else.
Of course, if a government were to confiscate an individual's phone and find the JW app, that's a different story. But that's hardly a scalable method of mass identification of JW.
Interestingly though, Watchtower might be able to track users who have installed the app if they would build that possibility into their app. Right now the app doesn't seem to be able to send some data back to Watchtower; the app doesn't have any permissions from the phone's operating system...
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Anders Andersen
Addition:
I do think Watchtower uses the statistics and search phrases used in the app, JWorg and their online library to see which topics are researched and might need to be addressed.
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Gorbatchov
I'm no technician but are there no other options to follow certain app users?
G.
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SAHS
I would think that it would be a far greater danger for the user in accessing the JW dot com Website from their usual browser than through the app. Browsers store browsing histories, cookies, and favourites, whereas the app is a more direct and simple way which simply downloads the materials right from the database on the JW server. The app essentially involves one-way communication, from the JW server directly to the user’s device.