Since the latest is update, everything I do on the phone, seems to be the subject of a picture or a screenshot every couple of minutes. There is no visible result but its unnerving.
Anyone??
Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/OS the deGoogled mobile OS and online services
that demands more illustration. Screenshot are triggered (with the share widget popping up?) but no files written, or you just see the white “flash” on-screen indication a screenshot?
can you provoke whatever you see by any action?
(on one device I had an overreacting power button that was also mapped to taking screenshots - it would trigger screenshots too easily, so I disabled that function. But I understand you only see the screenshot indicator, but no widget or file)
Yes, just the flash. Immediately after I posted that, a note popped up on my phone mentioning changing settings in “browser” which I did and it stopped. Today its happened maybe three times - no widgets.
Probably should check more settings?
Well, I don’t believe this but apparently somewhere along the way, the G word invaded. I went back to browser settings and there was a browser called wait while…I’ve never heard of it. I carefully checked it out and found four G logins from ME! Deleted all including browser history, restarted phone and Murena browser was back.
I also changed some settings but not enough….flashes are back.
I was trying to follow along and searched; is this something to do with app.waitwhile.com? I have not included a link as it is having an odd and unexpected effect on my Browser, default. It is apparently “queue management software”.
So I went back to double check browser. The bottom line in the screenshot connects to G…com and it triggers a tracking warning. That’s at the bottom of my browser page in settings??? I cleared it all ( I think )
Its late here I will be back tomorrow to check. Thank you for your help.
Gillian Boucher
778-677-8798
Yes that’s the one. It had become the browser that would open when I used the browser shortcut. I have a standard reaction to any kind of app or??? Found in my devices that I have not been consciously involved in adding. I uninstall or delete immediately and then investigate. That’s what I did here a d found a direct connection to G…
My issue that I am chasing right now though is what setting is causing these flashes that are REALLY ANNOYING!
I suppose we don’t know if you somehow created an account or perhaps a third party you were doing business with linked you up ?? I did find this How to delete your Waitwhile account | Waitwhile Help Center but ofc I do not know if this is your situation. On the same page I found
Have additional questions or need assistance? Reach out to us via chat or at support@waitwhile.com.
My only insight is that the reason I hid the url above is because when I first found the link a message said that it could not work on this browser … then it did start to flash different things. I feel sure it is highly Google dependent … I would guess it is starting some full screen message or action which without Google is impossible to finish ??
Well thank you for your research. I looked at the information you found and It was not anywhere near having that kind of grip on my phone. I had a sixth sense about it as soon as I saw it As my browser! and deleted it and the short cut, cleared the cache and browser action for (twice) fifteen minutes.
I have been really wondering for a while about my overall situation. For several years I have been ridding my laptop of the apps that are part of G.
My IP is Telus. They have a close afiliation with G. When I bought my Murena phone, I deliberately signed the phone service with Rogers who has no such affiliation, but what does synchronisation actually mean? When I sign up to sync my devices for contacts, photos, etc which device takes precedent?
Below is a screenshot of what I just found. How do I get totally rid of the sign in shortcut for the G option?
I hesitated to go too far with the amateur sleuthing but does the above fit with Waitwhile succeeding with installing a PWA which accounts for it looking very much like your browser?
[quote=“naillig59, post:9, topic:77533”]
deleted it and the short cut,
[/quote]
Seems to fit.
Now looking at the screenshot, the “hollowed” font looks like Waitwhile. Does Waitwhile appear in Browser history? This would indicate two different assaults on your device, the app (installed by you but without intention?) and secondly annoying presence on your actual Browser.
Perhaps not a setting ?? The full screen flashes of an uncompleted task with very white overall appearance did remind me of a screenshot.
I guess one could look more how you fit the Waitwhile business model … they collected your device fingerprint and they may feel a need to inform you that “what_you_were_waiting_for” is “in place” now. This sort of automatic algorithm might be quite difficult to loose in a bad case where you signed up with Google but have no Google to unsign ??
Contact with their support might resolve this from their end ??
you mean you could reproduce “screen flashes” with the PWA waitwhile? I couldn’t reproduce anything interesting.
Waitwhile is a 250kb wrapper around a webview (where the PWAs history spills into the browsers, but that isn’t at issue) with a totally benign webapp manifest and asking for no permissions, it’s nothing nefarious - naillig59 is imo confused about why that app has an url bar.
@naillig59 are the flashes yellow or white? atm I assume that you see this white flash but without the share popup.
A little difficult to clarify. I definitely didn’t install (intentionally) the PWA, but as I was flitting between pages that fully announced that they could not display on this browser, black background, one page did start to load, then interrupted itself, black background, tried to resume unsuccessfully with a rather bright white transient full page; then a few loops of this before I moved hastily off the page … hence my “reminds me of screenshot”.
Agreed, I did use rather pointed language, but I really meant to say that logic seems like, via or with the help of Google, a “queueing reminder” might be sent. Such queuing reminder might not be well handled “Google free”. Speculation only, as I definitely did not use the service.
Just a quick flash like a camera flash.
Just to make it clear, I was degoogleds best I could be, years before I found Murena, All that time I was trying to find an easier way than on my own- and then in 2023 I found
Murena and immediately bought the phone. So, I would never deliberately sign in to anything connected to G.
backside camera flash, as in originating on the backside as you’d light up a photo scene that you focus on?
if so, it it’s not that intense, it could just be a notification flash as in that linked video?
There is nothing left of wait while left on the phone that I can find. Apparently I caught it quickly.
It looks like every time I enter and the page changes, it takes a very quick picture. Doesn’t make any sense.
Waitwhile is a 250kb wrapper around a webview (where the PWAs history spills into the browsers, but that isn’t at issue) with a totally benign webapp manifest and asking for no permissions, it’s nothing nefarious - naillig59 is imo confused about why that app has an url bar.
By the way, the first case of flashes was solved by Browser settings. Permissions for camera in browser
Now looking at the screenshot, the “hollowed” font looks like Waitwhile. Does Waitwhile appear in Browser history? This would indicate two different assaults on your device,
Now looking at the screenshot, the “hollowed” font looks like Waitwhile. Does Waitwhile appear in Browser history? This would indicate two different assaults on your device,
OK. Although I cannot find any mention of wait while, I do have “hollowed out” text in some places eg settings titles. I changed a lot of permissions for camera. And the flashes are as if someone is taking pictures of what I look at. I just read the whole e/os G… info
And the flashes are as if someone is taking pictures of what I look at.
I think the best thing at this point - if you can accomondate whatever is disclosed - is capturing and showing a screen capture of what you experience.
On what version and device are you exactly as in full version string? I don’t know when they introduced it, but through Settings → Security & Privacy → Privacy Dashboard you can see when what permission was last used by what app. Enable “show system” in the upper right too.
If you can do logcats you’d be better able to tell what’s going on. A screenshot action is logged very detailed, by what instance, what app etc, examples:
D Screenshot: Screenshot request: ScreenshotData(type=1, source=0, userHandle=UserHandle{0}, topComponent=ComponentInfo{com.android.permissioncontroller/com.android.permissioncontroller.permission.ui.ManagePermissionsActivity}, taskId=1603, originalScreenBounds=Rect(0, 0 - 1080, 2160), originalInsets=Insets{left=0, top=0, right=0, bottom=0}, bitmap=android.graphics.Bitmap@62e029f, displayId=0)
D Screenshot: Screenshot request: ScreenshotData(type=1, source=0, userHandle=UserHandle{0}, topComponent=ComponentInfo{foundation.e.mail/com.fsck.k9.activity.MessageList}, taskId=1627, originalScreenBounds=Rect(0, 0 - 1080, 2160), originalInsets=Insets{left=0, top=0, right=0, bottom=0}, bitmap=android.graphics.Bitmap@bf5b521, displayId=0)
If you feel paranoid, a factory reset is the way to go. But it’s hard to tell from outside what is going on.