Google has known about a bug that breaks VPN apps for 7 months, leaving users exposed with no warning or error, just a VPN app that stopped working in the background.

[tehstu@hachyderm.io]

@protonprivacy I've had this happen to me on Mullvad, Proton, and my Wireguard link to my home router. And honestly, from the description, I think the issue may be even older, as I'm almost positive the DDG local tracker blocker used to do this.

I had no idea it was an known issue in Android itself.

Thanks for bringing it to light.

[apalrd@hachyderm.io]

@protonprivacy @mullvadnet

As someone who's done plenty of Android testing in IPv6-mostly/only environments, this is not even slightly surprising, Android's networking state machine is a huge mess

[funnymonkey@freeradical.zone]

@protonprivacy @mullvadnet

Making sure I'm reading this correctly:

If you're running Android (or an Android variant) and your VPN app updates, the only way to stop this issue is to:

1. Reboot your phone after the VPN update

OR

2. Keep the phone on, delete the VPN app, and reinstall the app

Am I correct in reading that one or the other approaches will fix this?

IE, restarting your phone after an update eliminates the need to delete and reinstall the app?

(and thank you, and Google wtaf)

[rusty__shackleford@mastodon.social]

@protonprivacy @semitones

Or we could stop the grift & circle jerk. Release your source code so we can make secure email a real standard. Stop releasing to the play store entirely & teach people to install their own apps safely.

Start initiatives to teach children about public private keys, identity verification, trust, & best practices.

Be a man proton.

Or are the normie dollars making you salivate? With fascism on their doorstep, you do have more customers, better bank on their ignorance…

[danamcfarland@mastodon.social]

@funnymonkey @protonprivacy @mullvadnet can confirm that the second worked for my Samsung phone, and not the first. Yes, wtaf.

[hnapel@mastodon.social]

@protonprivacy

MF J6 on a raft, this is why I see ads where I didn't expect them as VPN (Wireguard) is connected to a router using PiHole DNS.

[itseperkele@expressional.social]

@rusty__shackleford @protonprivacy @semitones
Proton: "hey google is ignoring this issue, lets make them fix it"

You: "you are not 1000% perfect, Proton! Man up! Greedy fucks!"

[babaq@mastodonczech.cz]

@protonprivacy and why didn't you inform your users and paying customers? because I don't recall any email from Proton on this topic...

[rusty__shackleford@mastodon.social]

@ItsePerkele @protonprivacy @semitones

Me: Fuck google

Me: Fuck proton too

[itseperkele@expressional.social]

@rusty__shackleford @protonprivacy @semitones

Dont let perfection be the enemy of good.

Or something like that.

[rusty__shackleford@mastodon.social]

@ItsePerkele @protonprivacy @semitones

Or, and this is a wild concept... we can hold everyone accountable. Crazy, I know.

[georgelenzer@mastodon.social]

@rusty__shackleford ...but they don't and never will. The best options we have are making things very simple to use, and secure by default. No knowledge needed.

[rusty__shackleford@mastodon.social]

@georgelenzer

*spoon feeds people

You: I wish people knew how to do more

*creates tools to remove friction

You: It seems like people don't want to learn

*makes algorithms reinforcing bias & ignorance

You: People seem so tribalistic in this post truth age

*refuses to teach because of "human nature"

You: This is a realistic view

How's that clown makeup look?

If someone is incompetent, they shouldn't use it. It isn't our job to make it accessible for those who are ignorant. Teach & Learn.

[itseperkele@expressional.social]

@rusty__shackleford @protonprivacy @semitones

Sure. But cant do everything at once.

[wpeckham@social.linux.pizza]

@protonprivacy @mullvadnet I had decided long ago not to use VPNs on Android because it didn't actually help. Connecting to the onion network and using Tor tools does kind of help but only solves half of the problem. far better to work from Linux instead of Android where you have the option but in my case that means not using the cell phone for that particular traffic or anything that requires real security.

[rusty__shackleford@mastodon.social]

@ItsePerkele @protonprivacy @semitones

Skill issue
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[wpeckham@social.linux.pizza]

@semitones @protonprivacy To be a true Google replacement, all of the vendors would have to write their drivers so that they could be incorporated into either Android or this new probably Linux-based phone operating system. We already have solutions that work for one or two or twelve different models or vendors, but all of the rest of the cell phone ecosystem is currently out of reach. I propose an alternative, a version of Android that belongs to the community, but will use the vendor's drivers and can replace Google Android with the community android. Google will, of course, attempt to make that technically impossible and illegal if they can, because that's what monopolies do.

[oldoldcojote@climatejustice.social]

@protonprivacy @mullvadnet

We need an android alternative we the people own.

[semitones@tiny.tilde.website]

@wpeckham @protonprivacy that would have to be a fork of android AOSP, right? To keep google from making breaking changes?

[oldoldcojote@climatejustice.social]

@ItsePerkele @rusty__shackleford @protonprivacy @semitones

Rudeness aside. There is a compelling reason to ditch google as fast as possible. Security and personal control. We need to rapidly shift the center from a market focus on helpless users who want to be fed and diapered to people that want to own their own lives before we get lobbied and legislated out of existence.