AquaMail Forum

English - Android => General Discussion => Topic started by: liquid_ter on December 22, 2018, 03:47:42 pm

Title: 8 Trackers found
Post by: liquid_ter on December 22, 2018, 03:47:42 pm
In Aquamail (1.18.0-1396) Exodus -> https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/search/ finds 8 Trackers in the program Code:

    Facebook Ads
    Google Ads
    Google Analytics
    Google DoubleClick
    Google Firebase Analytics
    Inmobi
    Moat
    Twitter MoPub


Explain to me please, what your goal is in embedding these trackers.




edit due to spelling mistake
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: Justin on December 22, 2018, 05:59:50 pm
Obviously you meant this report:
https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/51144/
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: liquid_ter on December 22, 2018, 11:53:08 pm
Yes, thank you this is the direct link to the result of Exodus.
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: Kostya Vasilyev on January 04, 2019, 06:35:20 pm
These are ads (for free version, not used by the Pro version by it's same .apk) and analytics.
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: liquid_ter on January 05, 2019, 04:47:36 pm
Thank you very much for this information.
Did I understand correctly that my AquaMail pro version does not send any information about the usage and no statistics / analytics?

It remains a bad feeling that unwanted information will be transmitted as long as these trackers are included in the pro version. Could you please remove the code from the AquaMail pro version?
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: mikeone on January 05, 2019, 04:51:14 pm
Thank you very much for this information.
Did I understand correctly that my AquaMail pro version does not send any information about the usage and no statistics?
Go to the settings > About > and disable the option "Send usage statistics"
... that's it (for Pro and for the Free version)
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: liquid_ter on January 05, 2019, 06:48:35 pm
Yes, thank you - I have ticked the box (idle) in the options since Flurry was temporarily integrated back then. But there are now 8 trackers and I can't and don't want to check again and again if all trackers are switched off.
When the code is removed there is no more uncertainty about what is happening in the background.
Therefore I would like to suggest that in AquaMail pro the code could be removed.
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: phred on January 05, 2019, 08:12:34 pm
Therefore I would like to suggest that in AquaMail pro the code could be removed.
I don't speak for Kostya (or for MobiSystems) but it's not very efficient to remove the code as you suggest. That would then require two versions (free and pro) instead of one version plus an unlocker. If Kostya says the pro version doesn't use those, then they aren't used.
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: because on January 06, 2019, 05:29:20 am
Therefore I would like to suggest that in AquaMail pro the code could be removed.
I don't speak for Kostya (or for MobiSystems) but it's not very efficient to remove the code as you suggest. That would then require two versions (free and pro) instead of one version plus an unlocker. If Kostya says the pro version doesn't use those, then they aren't used.

It's actually quite easy to remove the code.. it can be isolated in a separate library / function, and be a compile time option.

And while Kostyaor MobiSystems may be honourable... when it comes to privacy and trust these days?  No one is beyond question.

There should be MORE questions about such things, not less.
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: liquid_ter on January 06, 2019, 03:08:59 pm
AquaMail is a really good mail program, but even if you pay 10 Euro per version, the trackers (statistics / analytics) are not removed. Without the trackers I don't have to constantly check my trust and can be happy about a very good piece of software every day.
I consider this a legitimate request and would be happy if my wish is granted.
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: Kostya Vasilyev on January 08, 2019, 01:48:40 pm
We don't use Flurry these days - switched to Firebase Analytics.

The setting (in app settings) still works - when off we make special function call to disable Firebase Analytics reporting.

All the others are from ads. We use several ad networks and some pull in their own reporting libraries.

But:

When the app is activated to Pro, we don't show any ads and don't initialize any ad SDKs. And so, there should be (emphasis on "should") nothing to report by ad SDKs and whatever analytics they have "inside" - because Pro version doesn't request ads, and doesn't even initialize ad SDKs.

A few more specifics:

Flurry SDK is actually not included there are some files that one ad SDK pulls in but it's not the whole Flurry SDK just a technical dependency.

Google Analytics is pulled in by another Google thing that we use - Google Tag Manager. We explicitly turn off Google Analytics at startup because we don't use it.

Moat is "ad view analytics" and we don't use it so I expect that soon it should be removed completely.

---

Re: It's actually quite easy to remove the code.. it can be isolated in a separate library / function, and be a compile time option.

Sorry you missed the point. There is still a single Free / Pro .apk file so the code is always going to be there.

And speaking of programming techniques - all ad related code is in one file, but we can't "delete" it from the already installed app once it's activated.
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: liquid_ter on January 09, 2019, 07:59:53 pm
Thank you for this detailed information about the functionality of the tracker in AquaMail.
Is it possible to buy one AquaMail pro version without first installing the free version?
I would pay for it again.
In my opinion it is becoming more and more important for the user to offer software without a tracker. In any case, I would be very happy if AquaMail went this way.
I dream of a version without tracker and the possibility to encrypt and decrypt email with OpenKeychain.

Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: phred on January 09, 2019, 08:49:15 pm
Is it possible to buy one AquaMail pro version without first installing the free version?
I would pay for it again.
There are -not- two versions of AM. What you pay for is an 'unlocker' which unlocks the Pro features that are not available in the free version. Like the ability to have an unlimited number of accounts. Or to disable ads. What the unlocker does is unlock the free version. Therefore there is only one version.
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: because on January 13, 2019, 04:47:23 pm
Everyone knows there is CURRENTLY one apk/version.  No one questions that.  No one *cares*, because what people are asking for is TWO versions.

One free, one pro.  Thousands and thousands andf thousands of other developers / apps do it this way.  It is in fact very, very easy to do.  Even converting users over to two versions, is very easy to do.

And truthfully, it wasn't the users that added tracking.. it was mobisystsems.  You sold people something, they paid for it, then you *changed* it.  Modified it, post-sale, to add tracking.  So do you really think end-users care, if you have to do more work, to fix up the work you created for yourself?

Franky, I'm not really all that concerned.. because you WILL get caught eventually if the pro version still spies, and if it sells info to ad networks.  However, pretending that it can't be done because there is currently only one version?  That's just a slap on the face to users.

Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: Kostya Vasilyev on January 20, 2019, 11:36:54 am
Wow wow wow, "selling to ad networks", "slap in the face"......

Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: jwsp1 on January 30, 2019, 10:10:24 am
Hi, I've just read this thread and wanted to say that I'm also concerned about the 8 trackers. I understand the use and trust Aquamail that the trackers are disabled when you pay for premium and unckeck the tracking-box in settings.
But I wonder if it is so hard to simply copy the code from the 'free' app into the 'paid' app and remove all trackers there. A lot of companies provide 2 separate apps (one free, one paid), without relying on an unlocker app.
This way, you are not required to have 2 apps installed anymore (aquamail free and unlocker) and would give the user a better feeling using aquamail.

P. S. I don't think so but if it's because of money - I would pay double premium price to go tracker free. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who would pay more.
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: plsfixit on January 30, 2019, 11:03:13 am
Hi, I've just read this thread and wanted to say that I'm also concerned about the 8 trackers. I understand the use and trust Aquamail that the trackers are disabled when you pay for premium and unckeck the tracking-box in settings.
But I wonder if it is so hard to simply copy the code from the 'free' app into the 'paid' app and remove all trackers there. A lot of companies provide 2 separate apps (one free, one paid), without relying on an unlocker app.
This way, you are not required to have 2 apps installed anymore (aquamail free and unlocker) and would give the user a better feeling using aquamail.

P. S. I don't think so but if it's because of money - I would pay double premium price to go tracker free. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who would pay more.
If its so easy then learn smali and do it :-).
Believe me when I say its not that straightforward to keep two codebases in sync with additions and stuff in one and the other. Its not just that youve got to do everything twice, but there is additional compexities. If you dont trust the dev use sg else. If you do.. ..then there is no prob. They r not going to sell your data out for scraps. However they might want to see your crashes so they can fix the app for you...

 If youve got nuclear launchcodes anywhere near your phone then you probably messed up already ;-)
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: CTK on January 30, 2019, 05:14:46 pm
I just registered to take some steam off the discussion:

Aquamail Pro does not activate any tracker. I can prove it. Anybody can.

The App Netguard is a VPN firewall. It tunnels every network access an app can try through its own firewall filters.
Using Netguard you can actually see what addresses an app connects to.

Aquamail Pro does connect to my Mailserver. It does connect to websites, when I click links in E-Mails to load graphics.

It does nothing more.

Although I also would prefer an app-version that has no trackers in the first place, I am confident that at the moment everything is as promised.
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: plsfixit on January 30, 2019, 08:04:16 pm
Thanks for confirming that :-). Is uppose the topic can be closed than.. 8)
I just registered to take some steam off the discussion:

Aquamail Pro does not activate any tracker. I can prove it. Anybody can.

The App Netguard is a VPN firewall. It tunnels every network access an app can try through its own firewall filters.
Using Netguard you can actually see what addresses an app connects to.

Aquamail Pro does connect to my Mailserver. It does connect to websites, when I click links in E-Mails to load graphics.

It does nothing more.

Although I also would prefer an app-version that has no trackers in the first place, I am confident that at the moment everything is as promised.
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: Philip on February 02, 2019, 02:16:17 pm
Thanks for confirming that :-). Is uppose the topic can be closed than.. 8)
I respectfully disagree. Given the appalling history that AquaMail has (removing functionality without mentioning it in the release notes, putting adverts in the paid-for "ad free" version), who could possibly trust them not to exploit those trackers at some point in the future?
Title: Re: 8 Trackers found
Post by: liquid_ter on February 05, 2019, 06:30:22 pm
I just registered to take some steam off the discussion:

Aquamail Pro does not activate any tracker. I can prove it. Anybody can.

The App Netguard is a VPN firewall. It tunnels every network access an app can try through its own firewall filters.
Using Netguard you can actually see what addresses an app connects to.

Aquamail Pro does connect to my Mailserver. It does connect to websites, when I click links in E-Mails to load graphics.

It does nothing more.

Although I also would prefer an app-version that has no trackers in the first place, I am confident that at the moment everything is as promised.

I have looked with NetGuard and NetMonitor what AquaMail does, but it remains that I do not know Kostya personally and even less can estimate how MobiSystems behaves / will behave.
So it's a bad thing that this really good piece of software has includes Tracker in the Pro Version.