#mobile monitoring software

[spyagencyindia-blog]

Track and secure your devices with our cutting-edge mobile monitoring software. Monitor calls, messages, apps, and location in real-time. Stay informed, ensure safety, and manage devices with ease. Reliable, secure, and user-friendly for peace of mind.

083840 32094

[onemonitarsoftware]

Introducing ONEMONITAR: Your Ultimate Mobile Monitoring Solution

Welcome to ONEMONITAR, the cutting-edge mobile monitoring solution designed to keep you connected, informed, and in control. Whether you’re a concerned parent, a vigilant employer, or simply someone who values security, ONEMONITAR provides comprehensive, real-time monitoring capabilities right at your fingertips.

Key Features:

Real-Time Tracking: Monitor the precise location of your mobile devices in real time, ensuring you always know where your loved ones or assets are.

Call and Text Monitoring: Keep track of incoming and outgoing calls and messages, providing you with detailed insights and peace of mind.

App Usage Insights: Gain visibility into the apps being used on the monitored devices, allowing you to manage and restrict access as needed.

Browser History Logs: Review browsing history to ensure safe and appropriate internet usage.

Geo-Fencing Alerts: Set up virtual boundaries and receive instant notifications when the monitored device enters or leaves designated areas.

Comprehensive Reporting: Access detailed reports that provide a clear overview of all monitored activities, helping you make informed decisions.

Stealth Mode Operation: Our discreet monitoring ensures that the app operates in the background without drawing attention, maintaining the privacy and security of your monitoring activities.

User-Friendly Interface: Designed with simplicity in mind, ONEMONITAR’s intuitive dashboard makes it easy to navigate and access all features seamlessly.

Why Choose ONEMONITAR?

Enhanced Security: Protect your loved ones and valuable assets with advanced monitoring tools.

Peace of Mind: Stay informed about the activities and whereabouts of those you care about most.

Proactive Management: Take control and respond swiftly to any concerning activities or situations.

Reliable Support: Our dedicated customer support team is always available to assist you with any queries or technical issues.

ONEMONITAR is more than just a monitoring solution; it’s a powerful tool that empowers you to stay connected and in control. Experience the ultimate in mobile monitoring with ONEMONITAR – your trusted partner for security and peace of mind.

[full-stackmobiledeveloper]

Revolutionizing Patient Care: On-Demand Healthcare Mobile App Development Company for 2025

Introduction: Healthcare at Your Fingertips. 

In today's fast-paced digital world, healthcare must keep up with the growing demand for real-time services and patient-centric experiences. On-demand healthcare mobile apps are now playing a pivotal role in modernizing the healthcare industry by allowing patients to schedule appointments, consult physicians remotely, and track their wellness anytime, anywhere. At CQLsys Technologies, we are at the forefront of this digital health transformation. As a trusted Healthcare App Development Company, we offer a wide range of custom healthcare mobile app solutions tailored to hospitals, clinics, wellness brands, and startups.

Whether you're planning to develop a medical appointment app, a telemedicine platform, or a personalized health tracking tool, our comprehensive Healthcare App Development Services are designed to deliver secure, scalable, and intuitive user experiences.

Why On-Demand Healthcare Apps Are Transforming the Industry

On-demand healthcare apps are rapidly reshaping patient-provider interactions. By reducing wait times, improving remote access to healthcare professionals, and enabling real-time health tracking, these apps empower patients while streamlining provider workflows. With features like digital prescriptions, chat-based support, and secure EHR integrations, on-demand healthcare solutions are becoming indispensable.

Healthcare institutions now rely on HIPAA-compliant healthcare App Development to protect sensitive patient data and maintain regulatory standards. Whether it's Health Monitoring App Development, EHR/EMR App Development, or launching a virtual clinic, mobile technology ensures better health outcomes and faster innovation cycles.

Tailored Healthcare App Development for All Stakeholders

Generic solutions don’t address the complexity of healthcare workflows. That’s why Custom Healthcare App Development is essential. CQLsys Technologies builds smart, custom-fit mobile solutions that align perfectly with your operational goals and compliance requirements.

Whether you're a hospital seeking centralized patient data access, a clinic looking to digitize appointments, or a startup building the next big Telemedicine App Development product, we offer modular, scalable, and secure healthcare app solutions.

Our apps integrate seamlessly with third-party platforms, wearable devices, and legacy systems, ensuring they evolve with your business. From Mobile Health App Development to fitness and wellness tracking, we craft experiences that are functional, flexible, and future-ready.

Key On-Demand Healthcare App Solutions We Offer

1. Medical Appointment App Development: Patients no longer need to wait on hold or stand in queues. Our appointment apps let users book, reschedule, or cancel visits effortlessly. Real-time calendar sync, doctor profiles, and reminders ensure a seamless experience.

2. Telemedicine App Development:t Virtual healthcare is no longer optional. Our telemedicine apps support secure video consultations, AI-based triaging, prescription sharing, and chat functionality, bringing doctors and patients closer than ever.

3. Health Tracking App Development Empower users to monitor vital health stats—like glucose levels, heart rate, and sleep patterns—through feature-rich mobile apps integrated with wearable devices and health sensors.

4. Patient Care App Development Support continuous care through personalized reminders, post-surgery follow-ups, and symptom checkers. These apps improve patient engagement and enhance recovery outcomes.

5. Fitness and Wellness App Development. From diet plans to exercise tracking, our wellness apps are designed to help users meet lifestyle goals. Custom-built for wellness brands, gyms, and health coaches.

Built-In HIPAA Compliance for Security and Trust. 

We know that trust is the backbone of any healthcare service. At CQLsys, all our mobile health applications are developed to meet HIPAA compliance standards. This means strong data encryption, secure cloud infrastructure, and strict access control.

Our team implements features such as two-factor authentication, audit trails, and role-based access, ensuring maximum security for patient records. If you're looking for HIPAA-compliant healthcare App Development, we are your go-to partner.

Complete Suite of Healthcare App Development Services. 

As a full-cycle Healthcare Software Development company, we offer:

Healthcare App Development for Startups – Rapid prototyping, MVP development, and scalable builds for startup healthcare ventures.

Mobile Health App Development – User-friendly apps focused on tracking wellness, fitness, and medical history for proactive care.

EHR/EMR App Development – Integrated apps that sync with existing hospital records and ensure data continuity.

Healthcare App for Hospitals – Unified platforms for managing hospital operations, patient workflows, and remote consultations.

Health Monitoring App Development – Real-time monitoring with wearable integration for chronic care and elderly support.

Why Choose CQLsys Technologies for Healthcare App Development

Healthcare Domain Expertise We understand healthcare—inside and out. Our developers, designers, and analysts have years of experience building compliant, reliable, and scalable Health Tech App Development solutions.

Customized Development. Every healthcare organization is different. We provide Custom Healthcare App Development based on individual workflows, compliance needs, and growth targets.

360° Development Approach From planning and wireframing to coding, testing, and post-deployment support, we deliver end-to-end mobile healthcare solutions.

Future-Ready Architecture Our scalable architecture ensures your app grows with your business and can be adapted to include emerging technologies like AI and IoT.

Cross-Platform Functionality Using Flutter, React Native, and native stacks, we deliver apps that perform optimally across Android, iOS, and web environments.

Emerging Trends in Healthcare App Development

The next frontier in healthcare app development is driven by innovation:

AI-Based Diagnostics: Predictive healthcare using machine learning.

IoT Integration: Wearable-based real-time vitals tracking.

Blockchain: Tamper-proof patient record storage and sharing.

Voice Assistants: Voice-activated health apps for elderly or differently-abled users.

At CQLsys, we actively incorporate these trends into our development strategy, making us a top choice for Healthcare App Development for Startups and established enterprises alike.

Conclusion: Redefine Healthcare with CQLsys.

In a healthcare world moving toward digital-first solutions, your mobile app can be the game-changer that improves care outcomes, increases access, and enhances operational efficiency.

CQLsys Technologies stands out as a top Healthcare App Development Company dedicated to delivering innovative, HIPAA-compliant, and user-focused healthcare mobile solutions. Whether it's a telemedicine app, a Patient Care App Development project, or a full-fledged Healthcare App for Hospitals, we help you build for impact.

Take the first step toward smarter healthcare. Get in touch with us today to build a secure, scalable, and successful healthcare mobile app.

[bluellab]

How to Handle App Crashes and Bugs in Production

Handling app crashes and bugs in production is one of the most stressful but critical challenges in software development. When your app goes live, everything is on the line—user experience, trust, retention, and revenue. You can’t afford to fumble in real time. In this guide, we’ll break down how to systematically identify, fix, and prevent production bugs and crashes without panicking. This isn’t theory. It’s battle-tested knowledge from real-world dev teams.

Why App Crashes in Production Are a Big Deal

Let’s start with the obvious: crashes destroy trust. According to a report by Dimensional Research, 61% of users expect apps to load and work perfectly every time, and 53% will uninstall an app after it crashes once. That’s brutal.

In fact, investing in robust app development practices from the start can drastically reduce the risk of production bugs and post-release chaos

Consequences of Crashes and Bugs in Production

Drop in user retention and engagement

Negative reviews and public backlash

Loss in revenue and lifetime value

Customer support overload

Internal team stress and burnout

Crashes are not just a technical issue, they’re a business problem.

First Rule: Don’t Rely on Users to Tell You Something’s Broken

If the only way you find out about bugs is through user complaints, you’ve already lost. You need observability built into your app from day one. That means real-time monitoring, alerts, and logs.

Must-Have Tools

Crashlytics (Firebase): Real-time crash reporting with detailed stack traces

Sentry: Monitors both frontend and backend with breadcrumbs and context

LogRocket: Replays user sessions to pinpoint UI issues

New Relic / Datadog: Deep performance monitoring and alerting

Add these tools into your stack, not later, but now.

Set Up Alerting and Monitoring Before It’s Too Late

The moment your app crashes, your team should be notified, not hours later.

Smart Alerting Tips

Create thresholds for crash frequency (e.g., alert if 5% of  sessions crash in 5 mins)

Route alerts to the right channel (Slack, PagerDuty, email)

Include context in alerts (device, OS, user action before crash)

Integrate with your incident response workflow

Silence is not golden when your app is down.

Reproduce the Crash Before You Fix Anything

Don’t just jump in and guess. Reproducing the crash helps confirm the root cause.

Steps to Reproduce a Bug

Analyze the crash report or logs

Match the environment (OS, version, network condition)

Follow the exact user flow

Identify patterns across multiple reports

If it’s hard to replicate, use user session tools like LogRocket or FullStory. Precision beats assumptions.

Triage: Prioritize and Categorize Bugs Intelligently

Not all crashes are created equal. Some affect all users; others hit niche edge cases.

Bug Categorization Framework

Severity 1 (Critical): App won’t launch or crashes on the main flow

Severity 2 (Major): Crash on secondary but common features

Severity 3 (Minor): Limited to specific devices or rare conditions

Prioritize based on impact, frequency, and user visibility.

Apply Hotfixes the Right Way

Sometimes you need to fix now, not later. That’s where hotfixes come in.

How to Apply a Safe Hotfix

Reproduce and confirm the root cause first

Patch only the affected code path

Test in staging with the same conditions

Deploy through CI/CD with rollback support

If your app is built on a modern stack, tools like CodePush or Firebase Remote Config let you patch client-side issues without waiting for app store approvals.

Preventive Measures: Build Crash-Resistant Code

Want fewer production bugs? Then stop writing fragile code.

Best Practices to Minimize Future Bugs

Write unit and integration tests, especially around critical flows

Use TypeScript or static typing for safer code

Lint and format automatically (ESLint, Prettier)

Code review every PR, no exceptions

Handle nulls and exceptions defensively

Stability starts at the keyboard, not the server.

Rollbacks: Know When to Pull the Plug

If a release is unstable, it’s okay to roll back. Don’t let pride keep your app broken.

Safe Rollback Tactics

Use feature flags to turn off buggy features remotely

Keep the last stable version available on your CI/CD pipeline

Document rollback scenarios in your incident runbook

Communicate clearly with stakeholders

Fast rollback = faster recovery.

Postmortem: Learn Every Time Something Breaks

After every crash incident, run a postmortem. No blame. Just learning.

What a Good Postmortem Includes

What happened and when

How was it detected

Root cause analysis

What went well and what didn’t

Action items to prevent recurrence

Turn every failure into a process improvement.

How Bluell Can Help You Build Stable, Production-Ready Apps

Whether you’re building from scratch or scaling an existing app, Bluell specializes in custom app development that doesn’t crash under pressure. We integrate full observability, testing pipelines, and scalable infrastructure from day one. 

Get in touch with Bluell AB to future-proof your app before bugs become business threats.

Conclusion

Crashes and bugs in production aren’t going away. But how you handle them can be the difference between losing users and winning loyalty. Set up real-time monitoring, categorize issues properly, respond fast, and document everything. Most importantly, build a culture of stability, not speed-at-all-costs. That’s how great software survives in the wild.

Let your next bug be your last surprise. Build smart. Ship stable.

[astiinfotech1]

Enhancing Healthcare Services with Imprint – A Smart Field Force Management SolutionAsti Infotech’s healthcare-focused solution, Imprint, is a comprehensive field force management system designed to meet the unique needs of the healthcare industry. It ensures seamless coordination, real-time monitoring, and efficient task allocation for healthcare professionals working in the field. Whether it's home healthcare providers, diagnostic service teams, nursing staff, or hospice caregivers, Imprint helps streamline operations and improve service quality. With features like live tracking, automated attendance, route optimization, and real-time reporting, Imprint empowers healthcare organizations to enhance productivity while ensuring timely patient care. Managers can assign tasks based on location and availability, reducing delays and improving response time. The system also ensures transparency and accountability with detailed logs and activity records. Imprint not only reduces operational inefficiencies but also boosts patient satisfaction by ensuring reliable and prompt care delivery. The solution is mobile-friendly and easy to use, making it ideal for healthcare staff constantly on the move. By leveraging Imprint, healthcare providers can focus more on patient outcomes while the system handles workforce logistics. It’s a powerful tool for organizations aiming to scale their services and maintain high-quality standards across their operations.

[imggloba]

Online Medicine Ordering Apps 2025: Revolutionizing Healthcare Access

Introduction

In the fast-paced digital age, healthcare has experienced a significant transformation, with online medicine ordering apps emerging as a crucial component of modern healthcare systems. As we step into 2025, these apps have evolved far beyond simple prescription deliveries, offering a seamless blend of convenience, accessibility, and technology. This article explores the landscape of online medicine ordering apps in 2025, highlighting their features, benefits, and future potential.

The Rise of Online Medicine Ordering Apps

The concept of ordering medicines online has gained immense popularity due to its ability to address key healthcare challenges such as long pharmacy queues, medication unavailability, and accessibility for patients in remote areas. The global pandemic accelerated the adoption of these apps, and by 2025, they have become a fundamental part of the healthcare ecosystem.

Key Features of Online Medicine Ordering Apps

User-Friendly Interface: Modern apps prioritize intuitive design, ensuring users of all age groups can easily navigate and place orders.

Prescription Upload: Users can upload prescriptions directly through the app using their smartphone cameras, streamlining the ordering process.

AI-Powered Recommendations: Advanced AI algorithms suggest medicines, health supplements, and alternative brands based on user preferences and past orders.

Real-Time Inventory Tracking: Integrated with pharmacy management systems, apps display real-time stock availability to avoid order cancellations.

Teleconsultation Integration: Many apps now offer telemedicine services, allowing users to consult doctors and receive e-prescriptions without leaving their homes.

Secure Payment Options: Multiple payment methods, including digital wallets, UPI, and net banking, ensure safe and flexible transactions.

Order Tracking and Notifications: Real-time order tracking, push notifications, and estimated delivery times keep users informed throughout the process.

Subscription Models: Monthly subscription plans offer discounts on recurring orders for chronic patients.

Medication Reminders: Built-in reminders help users stick to their medication schedules.

Multilingual Support: To cater to diverse populations, apps now offer interfaces in multiple languages.

Benefits of Online Medicine Ordering Apps

Enhanced Convenience: Users can order medicines anytime, anywhere, without visiting physical stores.

Improved Accessibility: Patients in rural or remote areas gain access to essential medications and healthcare services.

Time and Cost Savings: These apps often offer competitive pricing, discounts, and home delivery, reducing the cost and effort involved in purchasing medicines.

Data Security: Advanced encryption ensures the protection of sensitive medical and payment information.

Better Health Management: Features like medication tracking, refill reminders, and doctor consultations contribute to better health outcomes.

Trends Shaping Online Medicine Apps in 2025

AI and Machine Learning: AI assists in personalized medicine recommendations, predicting inventory needs, and improving customer support.

Blockchain for Security: Blockchain technology enhances data security, ensuring transparent transactions and secure patient records.

Voice Search and Virtual Assistants: Voice-enabled searches allow users to find medicines and place orders hands-free.

Integration with Wearables: Apps sync with smartwatches and fitness trackers to provide real-time health data to doctors and pharmacies.

Eco-Friendly Deliveries: Companies adopt sustainable practices by using electric vehicles and eco-friendly packaging for medicine deliveries.

Omnichannel Experience: Apps integrate with offline pharmacy chains, allowing users to choose between home delivery or in-store pickup.

Challenges and Solutions

Despite their growth, online medicine ordering apps face certain challenges:

Regulatory Compliance: Stricter regulations require apps to ensure prescription authenticity and prevent unauthorized drug sales.

Cybersecurity Threats: Developers implement robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive user data.

Digital Literacy Gaps: Companies offer customer support and tutorials to guide less tech-savvy users.

Conclusion

By 2025, online medicine ordering apps are not just about convenience—they are a lifeline for many. These platforms bridge the gap between patients, pharmacies, and healthcare providers, ensuring timely access to medications and medical advice. As technology continues to advance, the future of healthcare lies in innovation, and these apps are at the forefront of this digital revolution.

For businesses looking to enter the healthcare tech space, partnering with a trusted development company like IMG Global Infotech can help build robust, user-centric medicine ordering apps. With cutting-edge technology and customized solutions, they empower businesses to revolutionize healthcare delivery.

Are you ready to be a part of the future of healthcare? Let’s build something impactful today!

[drchristophedelongsblog]

“Age tech” is a growing field, and it is important to distinguish it from “health tech.”

What is Age Tech ?

Age tech, or aging technology, focuses on developing technological solutions specifically designed to address the needs and challenges associated with aging.

Its main objective is to improve the quality of life of the elderly by promoting 

Autonomy 

Enabling seniors to remain independent for longer.

Health

Monitor and support physical and mental health.

Well-being

Improve comfort, safety and social connection.

Main differences with Health Tech

Although age tech and health tech share common health-related goals, there are important distinctions.

Target audience  :

Health tech is aimed at a broad audience, covering all ages and health conditions.

Age tech focuses specifically on older adults and their unique needs.

Specific objectives  :

Health tech often targets the diagnosis, treatment and management of diseases.

Age tech focuses on prevention, maintaining autonomy and improving the quality of life related to aging.

Approach  :

Health tech can involve complex medical technologies and clinical interventions.

Age tech favors user-friendly solutions, adapted to the abilities and preferences of older people.

Examples of Age Tech technologies

Connected objects  : Smart watches, motion sensors, health tracking devices.

Software and applications  : Cognitive exercises, communication with loved ones, medication reminders.

Robotics  : Personal assistants, companion robots, mobility aids.

Telemedicine  : Remote consultations, home monitoring, management of chronic diseases.

Smart homes  : Automatic lighting, fall detection, security systems.

In short, age tech is a specialized branch of health tech, focused on the unique needs of older adults. Its development promises to have a significant impact on the way we age, allowing us to live longer, healthier, and more independently.

Go further

[rupasriymts]

Simplify Fuel Station Operations with Petrosoft Mobile App for Petrol Pumps

Managing petrol pumps has become easier with the Petrosoft mobile app. This app is designed to simplify daily operations and help petrol pump owners and managers stay in control, anytime and anywhere. It provides features like fuel stock monitoring, sales tracking, and payment management, all in one place. With real-time updates, you can keep track of your fuel stock levels and avoid running out of stock during busy hours. The app also ensures accurate billing, saving you from manual errors and improving customer satisfaction.

Petrosoft’s mobile app allows you to track sales reports daily, weekly, or monthly. It helps you understand business performance and make better decisions for growth. The app also supports multiple payment options, making transactions easy and secure for both customers and owners. Digital payment records are automatically stored, so there’s no need to maintain paperwork. This reduces workload and ensures smooth financial management.

If you own more than one petrol pump, the Petrosoft app lets you manage all locations from a single platform. You can monitor stock, sales, and employee performance at each station without having to visit them physically. This saves time and increases efficiency. Additionally, the app provides detailed reports and analytics, helping you identify trends and improve your services.

[caramel12345]

Azure Consulting: Tailored Solutions for You | FYI Solutions

Azure consulting that adapts to your needs. Navigate the complexities of cloud computing with our expertise, ensuring your success in every endeavor. Visit Today https://fyisolutions.com

[traegorn]

Time to be Internet Cockroaches

So I am constantly in active rebellion of the centralized web. We're in a world where all of our online interactions happen on just a handful of sites (and this includes DIscord and Tumblr too).

SO I WANT TO REMIND FOLKS -- YOU CAN BUILD YOUR OWN STUFF, AND WHEN YOUR FRIENDS DO IT YOU SHOULD USE IT.

Now I know not everyone can pay for their own webhosting and setup their own stuff, but for those of us who can -- we should. When every major platform is at risk, we should be splintering out across the web and decentralizing as much as we can.

I host the Nerd & Tie [dot] Social forums for my friends and my stuff for instance.

It's a "slow forum" right now, but it can support a lot more -- and works well on mobile. But, like, on a lot of webhosts setting up a Flarum forum like that takes almost zero technical skill.

And you can set up your own blog on a self hosted server. Like Wordpress is incredibly easy to set up on your own site, We run the main Nerd & Tie site -- and we use it to serve up our podcasts. I also use it to power my webcomics like Peregrine Lake.

My personal website comes from the old internet, so my blog is literally run from a hand coded piece of software I hacked together originally back in like 2001.

And you might be asking yourself "How do I follow blogs that are independently run" and the answer is simple -- RSS feeds.

RSS is an XML format that breaks down items in a standard way that can be interpreted by an RSS reader. You probably already use something that touches RSS feeds -- Podcasts run entirely on RSS feeds. I don't know if it still works, but even Tumblr blogs have RSS feeds at the url [username].tumblr.com/rss.

Now I use Thunderbird for email, which has a built in RSS reader to monitor certain blogs to watch for import updates.

Is it harder to discover people to follow in this model? Absolutely. The onus is on the reader to seek out the folks they want to read and interact with. But it's safer. We see with congress's attempts to constantly ban TikTok and Musk's destruction of Twitter that centralized platforms have deep vulnerabilities. By moving across the web to multiple datacenters on multiple hosts we ensure that we're much harder to get rid of.

Time to be the cockroach.

[onemonitarsoftware]

Ensure Safety with ONEMONITAR Mobile Surveillance

Safeguard your loved ones and assets with ONEMONITAR's mobile surveillance capabilities. Monitor mobile devices remotely and receive instant alerts for suspicious activities. With ONEMONITAR, you can stay one step ahead of potential risks and ensure safety in an increasingly digital world.

Start Monitoring Today!

[full-stackmobiledeveloper]

Revolutionizing Healthcare: On-Demand Mobile App Development Company for 2025Connect with CQLsys Technologies to build secure, custom healthcare mobile apps that enhance patient outcomes and drive digital innovation.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Subprime gadgets

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me THIS SUNDAY in ANAHEIM at WONDERCON: YA Fantasy, Room 207, 10 a.m.; Signing, 11 a.m.; Teaching Writing, 2 p.m., Room 213CD.

The promise of feudal security: "Surrender control over your digital life so that we, the wise, giant corporation, can ensure that you aren't tricked into catastrophic blunders that expose you to harm":

https://locusmag.com/2021/01/cory-doctorow-neofeudalism-and-the-digital-manor/

The tech giant is a feudal warlord whose platform is a fortress; move into the fortress and the warlord will defend you against the bandits roaming the lawless land beyond its walls.

That's the promise, here's the failure: What happens when the warlord decides to attack you? If a tech giant decides to do something that harms you, the fortress becomes a prison and the thick walls keep you in.

Apple does this all the time: "click this box and we will use our control over our platform to stop Facebook from spying on you" (Ios as fortress). "No matter what box you click, we will spy on you and because we control which apps you can install, we can stop you from blocking our spying" (Ios as prison):

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

But it's not just Apple – any corporation that arrogates to itself the right to override your own choices about your technology will eventually yield to temptation, using that veto to help itself at your expense:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/microincentives-and-enshittification/

Once the corporation puts the gun on the mantelpiece in Act One, they're begging their KPI-obsessed managers to take it down and shoot you in the head with it in anticipation of of their annual Act Three performance review:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/08/playstationed/#tyler-james-hill

One particularly pernicious form of control is "trusted computing" and its handmaiden, "remote attestation." Broadly, this is when a device is designed to gather information about how it is configured and to send verifiable testaments about that configuration to third parties, even if you want to lie to those people:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/your-computer-should-say-what-you-tell-it-say-1

New HP printers are designed to continuously monitor how you use them – and data-mine the documents you print for marketing data. You have to hand over a credit-card in order to use them, and HP reserves the right to fine you if your printer is unreachable, which would frustrate their ability to spy on you and charge you rent:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/hp-wants-you-to-pay-up-to-36-month-to-rent-a-printer-that-it-monitors/

Under normal circumstances, this technological attack would prompt a defense, like an aftermarket mod that prevents your printer's computer from monitoring you. This is "adversarial interoperability," a once-common technological move:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/adversarial-interoperability

An adversarial interoperator seeking to protect HP printer users from HP could gin up fake telemetry to send to HP, so they wouldn't be able to tell that you'd seized the means of computation, triggering fines charged to your credit card.

Enter remote attestation: if HP can create a sealed "trusted platform module" or a (less reliable) "secure enclave" that gathers and cryptographically signs information about which software your printer is running, HP can detect when you have modified it. They can force your printer to rat you out – to spill your secrets to your enemy.

Remote attestation is already a reliable feature of mobile platforms, allowing agencies and corporations whose services you use to make sure that you're perfectly defenseless – not blocking ads or tracking, or doing anything else that shifts power from them to you – before they agree to communicate with your device.

What's more, these "trusted computing" systems aren't just technological impediments to your digital wellbeing – they also carry the force of law. Under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, these snitch-chips are "an effective means of access control" which means that anyone who helps you bypass them faces a $500,000 fine and a five-year prison sentence for a first offense.

Feudal security builds fortresses out of trusted computing and remote attestation and promises to use them to defend you from marauders. Remote attestation lets them determine whether your device has been compromised by someone seeking to harm you – it gives them a reliable testament about your device's configuration even if your device has been poisoned by bandits:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/05/trusting-trust/#thompsons-devil

The fact that you can't override your computer's remote attestations means that you can't be tricked into doing so. That's a part of your computer that belongs to the manufacturer, not you, and it only takes orders from its owner. So long as the benevolent dictator remains benevolent, this is a protective against your own lapses, follies and missteps. But if the corporate warlord turns bandit, this makes you powerless to stop them from devouring you whole.

With that out of the way, let's talk about debt.

Debt is a normal feature of any economy, but today's debt plays a different role from the normal debt that characterized life before wages stagnated and inequality skyrocketed. 40 years ago, neoliberalism – with its assaults on unions and regulations – kicked off a multigenerational process of taking wealth away from working people to make the rich richer.

Have you ever watched a genius pickpocket like Apollo Robbins work? When Robins lifts your wristwatch, he curls his fingers around your wrist, expertly adding pressure to simulate the effect of a watchband, even as he takes away your watch. Then, he gradually releases his grip, so slowly that you don't even notice:

https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/ppqjya/apollo_robbins_a_master_pickpocket_effortlessly/

For the wealthy to successfully impoverish the rest of us, they had to provide something that made us feel like we were still doing OK, even as they stole our wages, our savings, and our futures. So, even as they shipped our jobs overseas in search of weak environmental laws and weaker labor protection, they shared some of the savings with us, letting us buy more with less. But if your wages keep stagnating, it doesn't matter how cheap a big-screen TV gets, because you're tapped out.

So in tandem with cheap goods from overseas sweatshops, we got easy credit: access to debt. As wages fell, debt rose up to fill the gap. For a while, it's felt OK. Your wages might be falling off, the cost of health care and university might be skyrocketing, but everything was getting cheaper, it was so easy to borrow, and your principal asset – your family home – was going up in value, too.

This period was a "bezzle," John Kenneth Galbraith's name for "The magic interval when a confidence trickster knows he has the money he has appropriated but the victim does not yet understand that he has lost it." It's the moment after Apollo Robbins has your watch but before you notice it's gone. In that moment, both you and Robbins feel like you have a watch – the world's supply of watch-derived happiness actually goes up for a moment.

There's a natural limit to debt-fueled consumption: as Michael Hudson says, "debts that can't be paid, won't be paid." Once the debtor owes more than they can pay back – or even service – creditors become less willing to advance credit to them. Worse, they start to demand the right to liquidate the debtor's assets. That can trigger some pretty intense political instability, especially when the only substantial asset most debtors own is the roof over their heads:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/06/the-end-of-the-road-to-serfdom/

"Debts that can't be paid, won't be paid," but that doesn't stop creditors from trying to get blood from our stones. As more of us became bankrupt, the bankruptcy system was gutted, turned into a punitive measure designed to terrorize people into continuing to pay down their debts long past the point where they can reasonably do so:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/09/bankruptcy-protects-fake-people-brutalizes-real-ones/

Enter "subprime" – loans advanced to people who stand no meaningful chance of every paying them back. We all remember the subprime housing bubble, in which complex and deceptive mortgages were extended to borrowers on the promise that they could either flip or remortgage their house before the subprime mortgages detonated when their "teaser rates" expired and the price of staying in your home doubled or tripled.

Subprime housing loans were extended on the belief that people would meekly render themselves homeless once the music stopped, forfeiting all the money they'd plowed into their homes because the contract said they had to. For a brief minute there, it looked like there would be a rebellion against mass foreclosure, but then Obama and Timothy Geithner decreed that millions of Americans would have to lose their homes to "foam the runways" for the banks:

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2012/08/how-treasury-secretary-geithner-foamed-the-runways-with-childrens-shattered-lives/

That's one way to run a subprime shop: offer predatory loans to people who can't afford them and then confiscate their assets when they – inevitably – fail to pay their debts off.

But there's another form of subprime, familiar to loan sharks through the ages: lend money at punitive interest rates, such that the borrower can never repay the debt, and then terrorize the borrower into making payments for as long as possible. Do this right and the borrower will pay you several times the value of the loan, and still owe you a bundle. If the borrower ever earns anything, you'll have a claim on it. Think of Americans who borrowed $79,000 to go to university, paid back $190,000 and still owe $236,000:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/04/kawaski-trawick/#strike-debt

This kind of loan-sharking is profitable, but labor-intensive. It requires that the debtor make payments they fundamentally can't afford. The usurer needs to get their straw right down into the very bottom of the borrower's milkshake and suck up every drop. You need to convince the debtor to sell their wedding ring, then dip into their kid's college fund, then steal their father's coin collection, and, then break into cars to steal the stereos. It takes a lot of person-to-person work to keep your sucker sufficiently motivated to do all that.

This is where digital meets subprime. There's $1T worth of subprime car-loans in America. These are pure predation: the lender sells a beater to a mark, offering a low down-payment loan with a low initial interest rate. The borrower makes payments at that rate for a couple of months, but then the rate blows up to more than they can afford.

Trusted computing makes this marginal racket into a serious industry. First, there's the ability of the car to narc you out to the repo man by reporting on its location. Tesla does one better: if you get behind in your payments, your Tesla immobilizes itself and phones home, waits for the repo man to come to the parking lot, then it backs itself out of the spot while honking its horn and flashing its lights:

https://tiremeetsroad.com/2021/03/18/tesla-allegedly-remotely-unlocks-model-3-owners-car-uses-smart-summon-to-help-repo-agent/

That immobilization trick shows how a canny subprime car-lender can combine the two kinds of subprime: they can secure the loan against an asset (the car), but also coerce borrowers into prioritizing repayment over other necessities of life. After your car immobilizes itself, you just might decide to call the dealership and put down your credit card, even if that means not being able to afford groceries or child support or rent.

One thing we can say about digital tools: they're flexible. Any sadistic motivational technique a lender can dream up, a computerized device can execute. The subprime car market relies on a spectrum of coercive tactics: cars that immobilize themselves, sure, but how about cars that turn on their speakers to max and blare a continuous recording telling you that you're a deadbeat and demanding payment?

https://archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/miss-a-payment-good-luck-moving-that-car/

The more a subprime lender can rely on a gadget to torment you on their behalf, the more loans they can issue. Here, at last, is a form of automation-driven mass unemployment: normally, an economy that has been fully captured by wealthy oligarchs needs squadrons of cruel arm-breakers to convince the plebs to prioritize debt service over survival. The infinitely flexible, tireless digital arm-breakers enabled by trusted computing have deprived all of those skilled torturers of their rightful employment:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/02/innovation-unlocks-markets/#digital-arm-breakers

The world leader in trusted computing isn't cars, though – it's phones. Long before anyone figured out how to make a car take orders from its manufacturer over the objections of its driver, Apple and Google were inventing "curating computing" whose app stores determined which software you could run and how you could run it.

Back in 2021, Indian subprime lenders hit on the strategy of securing their loans by loading borrowers' phones up with digital arm-breaking software:

https://restofworld.org/2021/loans-that-hijack-your-phone-are-coming-to-india/

The software would gather statistics on your app usage. When you missed a payment, the phone would block you from accessing your most frequently used app. If that didn't motivate you to pay, you'd lose your second-most favorite app, then your third, fourth, etc.

This kind of digital arm-breaking is only possible if your phone is designed to prioritize remote instructions – from the manufacturer and its app makers – over your own. It also only works if the digital arm-breaking company can confirm that you haven't jailbroken your phone, which might allow you to send fake data back saying that your apps have been disabled, while you continue to use those apps. In other words, this kind of digital sadism only works if you've got trusted computing and remote attestation.

Enter "Device Lock Controller," an app that comes pre-installed on some Google Pixel phones. To quote from the app's description: "Device Lock Controller enables device management for credit providers. Your provider can remotely restrict access to your device if you don't make payments":

https://lemmy.world/post/13359866

Google's pitch to Android users is that their "walled garden" is a fortress that keeps people who want to do bad things to you from reaching you. But they're pre-installing software that turns the fortress into a prison that you can't escape if they decide to let someone come after you.

There's a certain kind of economist who looks at these forms of automated, fine-grained punishments and sees nothing but a tool for producing an "efficient market" in debt. For them, the ability to automate arm-breaking results in loans being offered to good, hardworking people who would otherwise be deprived of credit, because lenders will judge that these borrowers can be "incentivized" into continuing payments even to the point of total destitution.

This is classic efficient market hypothesis brain worms, the kind of cognitive dead-end that you arrive at when you conceive of people in purely economic terms, without considering the power relationships between them. It's a dead end you navigate to if you only think about things as they are today – vast numbers of indebted people who command fewer assets and lower wages than at any time since WWII – and treat this as a "natural" state: "how can these poors expect to be offered more debt unless they agree to have their all-important pocket computers booby-trapped?"

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/29/boobytrap/#device-lock-controller

Image: Oatsy (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/oatsy40/21647688003

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

[mariacallous]

On ThursdaY, Reuters published a photo depicting then-United States national security adviser Mike Waltz checking his phone during a cabinet meeting held by President Trump in the White House. If you enlarge the portion of the image that captures Waltz’s screen, it seems to show him using the end-to-end encrypted messaging app Signal. But if you look more closely, a notification on the screen refers to the app as “TM SGNL.” During a White House cabinet meeting on Wednesday, then, Waltz was apparently using an Israeli-made app called TeleMessage Signal to message with people who appear to be top US officials, including JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and Tulsi Gabbard.

After senior Trump administration cabinet members used vanishing Signal messages to coordinate March military strikes in Yemen—and accidentally included the editor in chief of The Atlantic in the group chat—the “SignalGate” scandal highlighted concerning breaches of traditional government “operational security” protocol as well as compliance issues with federal records-retention laws. At the center of the debacle was Waltz, who was ousted by Trump as US national security adviser on Thursday. Waltz created the “Houthi PC Small Group” chat and was the member who added top Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg. "I take full responsibility. I built the group," Waltz told Fox News in late March. "We've got the best technical minds looking at how this happened," he added at the time.

SignalGate had nothing to do with Signal. The app was functioning normally and was simply being used at an inappropriate time for an incredibly sensitive discussion that should have been carried out on special-purpose, hardened federal devices and software platforms. If you're going to flout the protocols, though, Signal is (relatively speaking) a good place to do it, because the app is designed so only the senders and receivers of messages in a group chat can read them. And the app is built to collect as little information as possible about its users and their associates. This means that if US government officials were chatting on the app, spies or malicious hackers could only access their communications by directly compromising participants' devices—a challenge that is potentially surmountable but at least limits possible access points. Using an app like TeleMessage Signal, though, presumably in an attempt to comply with data retention requirements, opens up numerous other paths for adversaries to access messages.

"I don't even know where to start with this," says Jake Williams, a former NSA hacker and vice president of research and development at Hunter Strategy. “It's mind-blowing that the federal government is using Israeli tech to route extremely sensitive data for archival purposes. You just know that someone is grabbing a copy of that data. Even if TeleMessage isn't willingly giving it up, they have just become one of the biggest nation-state targets out there.”

TeleMessage was founded in Israel in 1999 by former Israel Defense Forces technologists and run out of the country until it was acquired last year by the US-based digital communications archiving company Smarsh. The service creates duplicates of communication apps that are outfitted with a “mobile archiver” tool to record and store messages sent through the app.

“Capture, archive and monitor mobile communication: SMS, MMS, Voice Calls, WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram & Signal,” TeleMessage says on its website. For Signal it adds, “Record and capture Signal calls, texts, multimedia and files on corporate-issued and employee BYOD phones.” (BYOD stands for bring your own device.) In other words, there are TeleMessage versions of Signal for essentially any mainstream consumer device. The company says that using TeleMessage Signal, users can “Maintain all Signal app features and functionality as well as the Signal encryption,” adding that the app provides “End-to-End encryption from the mobile phone through to the corporate archive.” The existence of “the corporate archive,” though, undermines the privacy and security of the end-to-end encryption scheme.

TeleMessage apps are not approved for use under the US government's Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program or FedRAMP. TeleMessage and Smarsh did not immediately return requests for comment about whether their products are used by the US federal government and in what capacity.

"As we have said many times, Signal is an approved app for government use and is loaded on government phones,” White House press secretary Anna Kelly tells WIRED. She did not answer questions about whether the White House approves of federal officials using TeleMessage Signal—which is a different app from Signal—or whether other officials aside from Waltz have used the app or currently use it.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency does not create policy around federal technology use but does release public guidance. When asked about Waltz’s apparent use of TeleMessage Signal, CISA simply referred WIRED to its best-practices guide for mobile communications. The document specifically advises, “When selecting an end-to-end encrypted messaging app, evaluate the extent to which the app and associated services collect and store metadata.”

It is not clear when Waltz started using TeleMessage Signal and whether he was already using it during SignalGate or started using it afterward in response to criticisms that turning on Signal's disappearing messages feature is in conflict with federal data-retention laws.

“I have no doubt the leadership of the US national security apparatus ran this software through a full information-assurance process to ensure there was no information leakage to foreign nations,” says Johns Hopkins cryptographer Matt Green. “Because if they didn’t, we are screwed.”

[my-castles-crumbling]

I was recently diagnosed with a chronic illness, which makes school extremely difficult and challenging. I'm not really sure what accommodations I can ask for (ik every school is different, especially in different countries, but any general accommodations ideas would be really helpful)

Hi!

I'm so sorry about your illness <3 I hope there's some sort of treatment to make it manageable

I think accommodations, laws, etc can vary greatly depending on age, school, and country (like you said) but a few that might be helpful are:

Designated note taker/provided notes or study guides/recorded class sessions

Flexible attendance requirement (like if a class normally punishes missed classes, that can be waived)

Extended exam time/ alternative testing environment (not testing with the rest of the class, testing at home, having extra time to test)

Alternative or minimized assignments, as long as mastery is shown (for example, if the teacher normally assigns 50 math problems, they only give you 20, as long as you get them correct)

Use of technology for assignments when it helps with any fatigue or mobility issues (like if it is more comfortable to type versus write assignments, or have an e-book versus carrying a textbook, or have a speech-to-text software if writing is painful)

Flexible seating and adjustment to environment (seating near the door if you often have to leave, a different type of seat if you have mobility devices that are difficult to access when sitting at a traditional desk, access to an elevator, use of non-LED lights)

Blanket permission to leave the classroom to go to the bathroom, nurse, guidance, etc without raising your hand/requesting a pass

Permission to have a cell phone out and accessible to converse with a medical professional, access medical monitoring devices, etc

Depending on your illness some of these may be wildly unhelpful but these are the most common ones I see! In most schools, you would just need to have a meeting with the school (and a parent/gaurdian) if you are underage) and bring a doctor's note to get these accommodations. In public schools in the US, you would be given what is called a '504' which is a plan legally requiring teachers to give you these accommodations.

I hope this helps!