Apple Is Sending URLs to Tencent? (twitter.com)

Article summary

Apple is sending URLs to Tencent as part of its Safe Browsing feature, which has raised concerns about user privacy. This feature is used to protect users from malicious websites, but some argue that it may compromise user data. The exact details of how Tencent's Safe Browsing works are unclear, but it is believed to use a similar method to Google's Safe Browsing API. This has led to questions about the potential for Tencent to collect user browsing data.

Main themes

• Safe Browsing
• User Privacy
• Tencent API
• Google API
• Malware Protection
• Data Collection

What commenters say

• Some commenters argue that Apple's decision to use Tencent's Safe Browsing API is a necessary trade-off for protecting users from malware and scams.
• Others believe that this compromise on user privacy is unacceptable, especially given the lack of transparency about how Tencent's API works.
• A suggested alternative is for Apple to operate its own Safe Browsing service, rather than relying on a third-party provider like Tencent.
• Some commenters propose that a client-side solution, where the list of malicious URLs is stored locally on the user's device, could be a more private and secure approach.
• However, others argue that this approach would be impractical due to the large number of new malicious URLs being created every month.
• There is also a discussion about the potential for bad actors to exploit the Safe Browsing API, regardless of whether it is operated by Google, Tencent, or another provider.
• The use of Bloom filters or other data structures to store the list of malicious URLs locally on the user's device is also debated, with some arguing that it would be too large and others suggesting that it could be compressed and updated efficiently.