Aurora Store, geo-restricted apps, and anonymous logins

[Jeroen2]

@petefoth

It adds a layer of ‘friction’ for /e/ users, just at a time when /e/ seems to be picking up a lot more ‘non-techie’ users who want a smooth-functioning alternative to Google. And the Aurora Store admins wouldn’t agree that anything was ‘broken’…

The underlying problem of course being G**** which we’re trying to avoid…

@petefoth

PS Does someone else want to suggest to /e/ that they put version 4 of Aurora Store into Apps quite soon, otherwise /e/ users will need to use their Google account to log in?

I’m one of those newby users and have indeed logged into to a G**** account to get it working again. And I assume it’s going to be hard to log back out again after doing that… But then I figured that if all G**** gets out of this is information about which Apps I use through the Aurora store (which is my last resort anyway), it’s not that big a deal for me…

[petefoth]

Glad it works for you. but I know of several /e/ users who don’t or won’t have a Google account.

[petefoth]

@petefoth

Two workarounds were suggested.

There is a third workaround, but it involves installing a vpn sadly doesn’t work (for me at least)
https://telegra.ph/Aurora-Store-GeoSpoof-08-13

[AnotherElk]

@petefoth

It adds a layer of ‘friction’ for /e/ users, just at a time when /e/ seems to be picking up a lot more ‘non-techie’ users who want a smooth-functioning alternative to Google.

“Non-techie” users may still choose to stay with /e/'s own Apps installer instead of installing Aurora Store.
Although it’s clear that using Aurora has benefits and I applaud your effort to keep them all in v4.

[petefoth]

@AnotherElk

“Non-techie” users may still choose to stay with /e/'s own Apps installer instead of installing Aurora Store.

And when that doesn’t have the app they need? They might request it and wait around for a few weeks with no feedback and no idea whether the suggestion will be accepted. Or they might think that, if they want those things to work, they should stick with Google (or iPhone in the case of the potential user in a different thread who got fed up with not being able to install /e/ on his Samsung

@Ells

I am done with this. It has beaten me. iPhone it is. Thanks for putting up with me. At least we’ve tracked down what is causing this permanent error. I hope someday this shitcan Big Tech Authoritarianism idea catches on in a bigger way. I wanted to do this very much, but it is definitely for Android experts.

It’s more friction. You may think that’s good because more people might choose to use /e/'s Apps. I tnink it’s bad because fewer people will use /e/. I guess will have to ‘agree to differ’

[petefoth]

Quite a few people moaning about this in the Telegram channel overnight. The ‘official’ response from a channel admin

Hey there,

I do get your point, but considering why we are using Aurora store, new way is a better way.

In old version, the tokens were bound to your actual device and ip, so you were not actually anonymous. Allowing you to see local app listings and search results.

This loophole is now fixed in v4, so all the tokens are bound to our dispenser server. Making you completely anonymous.

One downside you may notice is, you can’t find/install apps that are specific to your region. (In your case the banking app or the particular game).

So it’s not a bug, it’s a fix to ensure your anonymity.

If you can’t live without those apps, just login with your own Google account and enjoy the same experience as 3.2.9

It would be laughable if it weren’t so sad

[petefoth]

@AnotherElk

“Non-techie” users may still choose to stay with /e/'s own Apps installer instead of installing Aurora Store.
A

See this message in Telegram
https://t.me/c/1159413728/88174

/e/ really needs to do better with Apps

[petefoth]

@petefoth

PS Does someone else want to suggest to /e/ that they put version 4 of Aurora Store into Apps quite soon, otherwise /e/ users will need to use their Google account to log in?

v4 is now available in Apps

[petefoth]

I have tried this workaround.

I installed the Windscribe VPN app (from Aurora Store )) , logged in, and connected using a UK access point.
In Settings > Apps and notification > Aurora Store, cleared storage to force a new login

UK Apps still not visible.

When I tried to follow the procedure in the linked page, I could not do step 1

1. Goto to Settings>Developer Options>Mock Location App - Select “Aurora Store”.

Aurora store did not appear in the list of apps. The devs/admins in the Telegram channel did say that the spoofing option would be removed in v4 - presumably to make it “better”. Looks like that has happened already.

Anyway, this “workaround” doesn’t work (for me at least)

[hkmike]

I experienced something when upgrading to 4.0 I haven’t seen mentioned in this thread yet.

Aurora blacklist manager was wiped. I had put all /e/ system apps on there (mostly to make sure I didn’t accidentally “upgrade” microG). with the upgrade had to do it all over. I should have taken a screenshot or made a list before updating, would have made it easier.

[smu44]

Rahul posted on the Telegram group :

[ File : AuroraStore_Insecure_Anonymous.apk ]
Hi all,

On public demand I added an optional Insecure anonymous session, disabled by default.

Which basically allows you to generate GSF ID on your own device rather than the dispenser server.

This would allow you to get apps & listing from your own country, similar to v3 and also opens up bridge for Geo-Spoofing

The new preference is located at Settings > Networking > Insecure anonymous session

To apply geo-spoofing just use a VPN and set location for where ever you want to geo-spoof.

Make sure you relogin & restart Aurora Store to apply these changes. Test it & let me know if it works fine for you.

Also, stop sending me bulk messages & emails , you want something just create a Gitlab issue.

Enjoy!

@AuroraSupport

[petefoth]

Great news! Almost worth being asked to leave the Telegram channel

Looks like we may need to install a VPN app, or maybe that only applies if you want to spoof a different location from your phone’s locale. I’ll report back when the update makes it to F-Droid

[smu44]

Not sure it will be published to F-Droid …
If you can’t get the app from Telegram, I’ll share it to you.

[petefoth]

Thanks, but I did download it from the Telegram Channel. It’s also downloadable from gofile.io

Gofile - Free file sharing and storage platform

Someone asked in the channel whether the change would go in the official version, and developer said it would, but I wont hold my breath.

I’ve not tried the new version yet - I have to do some fiddling as it’s installed as a System app on my phone. I’ll probably get round to it tomorrow

[ShadeDad]

How about using Orbot’s VPN feature, come out in the country that has access to the app and attach anonymously that way?

[petefoth]

I think I tried something similar - it didn’t work

@petefoth

I have tried this workaround.

I installed the Windscribe VPN app (from Aurora Store )) , logged in, and connected using a UK access point.
In Settings > Apps and notification > Aurora Store, cleared storage to force a new login

UK Apps still not visible.

When I tried to follow the procedure in the linked page, I could not do step 1

1. Goto to Settings>Developer Options>Mock Location App - Select “Aurora Store”.

Aurora store did not appear in the list of apps. The devs/admins in the Telegram channel did say that the spoofing option would be removed in v4 - presumably to make it “better”. Looks like that has happened already.

Anyway, this “workaround” doesn’t work (for me at least)

The developer has restored the broken functionality - let’s hope the fix stays in the main release

[smu44]

[Forwarded from Aurora OSS]
[ File : AuroraStore_4.0.3.apk ]
Changelog : v4.0.3 (34)
• Add back search filters
• Add back manual downloads
• Fixed installer related issues
• Fixed language spoof issue
• Fixed dispenser timeout issue
• Added support for insecure anonymous sessions
• Fixed ABI mismatch issues on Huawei devices
• Added options to disable ForYouPage & customize default tab
• Bug fixes & improvements
• Updated Translations

#PS: Huawei users are advised to do a clean install
@AuroraSupport

[Tony]

Thanks for sharing this, this worked for me Also I don’t fully understand why Rahul says it is insecure / non-anonymous if we’re using a vpn to location spoof?

[smu44]

It’s not about the VPN, it’s about the token dispenser running on your phone.
I assume that doing this makes you visible from Google …

[smu44]

For the reference, official download source : https://files.auroraoss.com/AuroraStore/Stable/

Khaleesi (Telegram bot) automated reply for #insecure_anonymous :

On public demand an optional Insecure Anonymous Session has been added, disabled by default. This would allow you to get apps & listing from your own country, similar to v3 and also opens up a bridge allowing you to install apps not available in your country using VPN.

Implication: The GSF ID is generated on your own device rather than our dispenser server so your IP address and device info is sent to Google’s server.

This preference is located in Settings > Networking > Insecure Anonymous Session. Please logout and login again for the change to take effect.