
Chinese border guards put secret surveillance app on tourists' phones - tnolet
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/02/chinese-border-guards-surveillance-app-tourists-phones
======
r3bl
Discussed yesterday:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20335816](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20335816)

------
awsedr58479
Disclaimer: using a throwaway for the matter.

I've crossed this border before, and I did get my phone checked. A few
additional facts:

\- 1-2 years ago, they were only taking the phone away while crossing the
border TO China. If exiting China, they were using a portable machine in front
of you

\- they attempt to connect your phone to a local WiFi network, download and
install an app. The apps runs quick and is unlikely to send much data

\- at that time, they weren't checking iPhones, Android only

\- having another user on your Android phone, with restricted privileges
(especially for chrome) seemed to be enough to prevent them from installing
anything. The guard ended up searching the phone manually (i.e pictures) - but
still on the restricted user

Oh and: all police checkpoints have "charging" stations along the way.

Edit: formatting

~~~
chvid
I am curious; what border did you cross? How was Xinjiang? Did you just go
there for tourism?

~~~
awsedr58479
The same as mentioned in the article: Irkeshtam (kashgar -> Kyrgyzstan). Yes
mainly tourism, but also to see from my own eyes what's happening in Xinjiang,
and the situation at the time wasn't great at all and very close to what you
can read now and then (and it probably still is).

------
Macuyiko
This has been going on for at least a year.

See [https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-orders-
xinjiang...](https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-orders-xinjiangs-
android-users-to-install-app-that-deletes-terrorist-
content-07142017102032.html)

Some news outlets have also mentioned it in passing previously:

[https://www.wsj.com/articles/twelve-days-in-xinjiang-how-
chi...](https://www.wsj.com/articles/twelve-days-in-xinjiang-how-chinas-
surveillance-state-overwhelms-daily-life-1513700355)

[https://www.economist.com/briefing/2018/05/31/china-has-
turn...](https://www.economist.com/briefing/2018/05/31/china-has-turned-
xinjiang-into-a-police-state-like-no-other)

[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/23/in-chinas-
far-...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/23/in-chinas-far-west-
experts-fear-a-ticking-timebomb-religious)

Around that time, a user on reddit also reported that the app had been
installed on his phone:

[https://www.reddit.com/r/security/comments/8ofiiw/chinese_bo...](https://www.reddit.com/r/security/comments/8ofiiw/chinese_border_police_installed_software_on_my/)

So not really news. Best advice remains to buy a burner phone to bring. Avoid
public USB charging stations.

------
karlp
It's illuminating that even on Hacker News, the first two comment are "It's
old news" and "They don't do too much". Even here public perception on
surveillance is changing.

~~~
pas
Yes and no. It's atrocious, but what can you do besides not going there,
trying to persuade Trump et al. to conduct a much different foreign policy,
use a burner phone, all of the above?

And all of these have been already said. Today/yesterday in quite a few
submissions and their comments.

~~~
michaelt

      It's atrocious, but what can you do besides
      [...] trying to persuade Trump et al. [...]
      all of these have been already said.
    

American politics would look very different if people who were for/against
abortion, or for/against gun control, or for/against tax cuts were so quick to
abandon their positions when they suffered a setback.

------
NeonTiger1992
Burner phone it is for China travels.

------
345218435
you gotta love the openess of android. such delightful side-loading is not
possible on ios. oh and sandboxing makes everything so hard.

------
tobyhinloopen
What about iPhones though?

~~~
baybal2
Apple iphone has signature check on packages being installed

I guess Apple refused to sign that

