Hi

I may be wrong, but can someone help me interpret the results of this analysis correctly?

hybrid-analysis.com/…/672423b56b46e4feb006681d

See the Network Related section: Why does Simplex.apk have a hardcoded communication with

issuetracker.google.com

android.googlesource.com

developers.google.com

An app that is advertised as the most privacy-friendly?

All other indicators can (probably) be considered false positives (for example, the Camera permission, which is needed for video calls)

Is that based on the F-Droid version of SimpleX from the native F-Droid repository?

I tried it with the official github .apk and same result. I have no idea what it means though maybe someone could chime in?

Found potential URL in binary/memory: Pattern match: “issuetracker.google.com/issues/new?component=6184…” Pattern match: “android.googlesource.com/toolchain/llvm-project” Pattern match: “developers.google.com/protocol-buffers///”

And while I linked directly to the apk (Associated URLs hxxps://github.com/simplex-chat/…/simplex.apk) the link is exactly the same as OP’s

hybrid-analysis.com/…/672423b56b46e4feb006681d

hybrid-analysis.com/…/672423b56b46e4feb006681d

Maybe they save the analysis per file and keep it in a database and that analysis was made with a non official apk?

I can’t speak to that with a familiar level with the code, I can only presume or guess. All I will say is that is why I never install any app from Github or Gitlabs, because there is no third party verification of the code for releases on those sites.

I only use F-Droid after disabling all anti-features in Settings and then install apps that I know are 100% clean from all dependancies.

Download the SimpleX apk from F-Droid website and then run that to see what it says for any difference in the results.

When installing from Github you only trust the developer and their signed certificate key.

When installing from F-Droid you additionally also have to trust the F-Droid developer’s signature.

Besides that F-droid has its own problems:

privsec.dev/posts/…/f-droid-security-issues/

I don’t use F-Droid. I use Obtainium and additionally check signatures in AppVerifier.

sideofburritos.com/blog/obtainium-overview/

The link for F-Droid security issues is goijg on 3 years old, have you looked at the code xhanges for F-Droid since then?

For using Obtainium, how do you avoid or block all apps from Github that depend on GCM, Firebase, or Google services? That’s wh I uae F-Droid and disable all anti-features so those apps are never listed, even if I search for an app that has Google dependancies, F-Droid will say that app does not exist or is not listed, as long as all anti-features is disabled.

For using Obtainium, how do you avoid or block all apps from Github that depend on GCM, Firebase, or Google services?

You do have a point though, but how does that even comes into the mix? Obtainium fetches directly from the source (api.github.com).

But to answer your question, it’s blocked at the DNS level with RethinkDNS. Blocking all requests, except those explicitly allowed by myself.

This seems more like hardcoded into the .APK or that we can’t correctly interpret the results or something is wrong in the analysis. And I’m also curious to get more Info’s from someone.

I woud still like for you to do a scan on the FDroid SimpleX apk to verify the difference for yourself instead of whatever I say about it.

Hello !

Version 6.1.1 (250) arm64-v8a f-droid.org/en/packages/chat.simplex.app/ f-droid.org/repo/chat.simplex.app_250.apk

Here’s the analysis: hybrid-analysis.com/…/672727b3fd3db6063b002513

Same exact result:

Pattern match: "android.googlesource.com/toolchain/llvm-project"
Pattern match: "developers.google.com/protocol-buffers///"
Pattern match: “issuetracker.google.com/issues/new?component=6184…”

Dunno if this is something we should worry about or not ? Maybe OP and myself are not educated enough to interpret the results, however I’m also not very comfortable seeing those Found potential URL in binary/memory from SimpleX’s APK. Do you have any further thoughts?

Thanks.

In the details for potential URL in memory, it says that’s for .onion address.

Thank you for posting the report, after I read through it, everything to me is clean and clear. The FDroid apk does not communicate with any outside resource that is not part of the anonymous network.

The Github version relies on Google, and to me nothing in the report suggeats that the FDroid version communicates with Google services.