Can anyone recommend trustworthy game apps (puzzle games, word games etc) ? What do you think of apps from this developer?
I don’t know whether that developer is trustworthy, but I think this discussion is relevant:
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it doesn’t look like any of these games require network permissions to use. You could just throw the ones you want to play in a seperate profile or private space with limited permissions.
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If you play games on mobile, they can’t access your files, contacts, photos, etc without asking permission. If you’re on GOS you can deny them network permission as well. I generally think less about whether I think I can trust the developer (I have no idea who they are, even if the app is open source they could change it in an update in the future) and more about what the game can access and what it requires for me to play it i.e. does it make me create an account, give them my email, ask for sensitive permissions, etc.
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I do not really have much experience with the specific games you listed, but I do have two recommendations for FOSS games.
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Kinda off-topic, but here's Proton's research on “free“ mobile games:
Free mobile games send Americans' data to China, Russia, Israel | Proton VPN
Also have a look at the Android FOSS list’s Games category. Games being open source doesn’t make them automatically trustworthy, but you’re likely to find more user-respecting stuff on here.
Otherwise, what fria said.
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Since games don’t directly handle sensitive data, you only need to make sure they are sandboxed and then install what you want.
Are you also worried about whether the game itself has malware?
Yes, that as well.
I am not using GOS, but could I just use a firewall like Rethink and block internet access? And what does this permission mean:
com.sidhant.game.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION
Seems like it is the only permission the apps have.
I barely know anything about firewalls, so my best advice would be to look for games on the Google Play Store. Every app should have a section showing what data, if any is collected. Then, pick the ones that you deem good enough.
Be aware that although Google and Apple both display information on how most apps collect and use data, this information is almost exclusively developer reported.
As far as I am aware, there isn’t anything stopping developers from completely making up what data their apps collect and what they do with that data, until they get caught.
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iOS supports systemwide adblocking now, Wipr 2’s Filtr feature is the only content blocker I’m aware of that implements it but perhaps there’s others now. Would be really nice to see Android implement it as well.
Useful if you don’t wanna trust the App Store privacy nutrition label, or an adblocking DNS service works as well.