this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2023
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UPDATE: Crisis Averted.

So...it's both not what I thought it was, and what I thought it was.

Turns out my 5 year old phone has developed some rendering issues. The message I can only assume is the result of an image being turned sideways getting caught in the renderer's cache or buffer and presenting as a 'ghost' similar to burn in. The image in question was a meme right here on lemmy:

https://lemmy.zip/post/4349105

And presented as below but with less than 1% opacity.

====== Original.

I found a device level messaging overlay on my Huawei device that sits above the application layer. It displays a very low contrast transparency with more transparent text. The imagery is not burn in, I thought it was which is how I found it. Moving a mottled grey image around on the screen in a low light environment makes the text more visible. The text in question seems to be an anti-porn message reading along the lines of "THE NUDITY IS FUN UNTIL YOU WAKE UP AND REALISE YOU'RE OVERWEIGHT"

The image is not permanent and is not always visible.

This messaging would seem in-line with Huawei's own anti-porn filtering service. It seems that Huawei have their anti-porn filtering service running for non-Chinese devices sold outside of China. It would seem they've tried to hide the anti-porn system rather than disable it on foreign devices.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else with a Huawei device has noticed anything similar or is able to confirm that the same occurs on their device. For reference mine is an Australian bought Huawei nova 3i model INE-LX2.

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[–] Sabre363@sh.itjust.works 67 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There is no faster way to destroy a company than to interfere with people's porn.

[–] DancingIsForbidden@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

it seemed to work for apple. they don't even allow nsfw apps or games

[–] radix@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think it’s true for dedicated pornography apps but there’s an 18+ rating option that developers can set. So, like a social media app that allows nudity is allowed in the App Store. (I think the NSFW filter has to be on by default.)

[–] magnetosphere@kbin.social 47 points 1 year ago (2 children)

“THE NUDITY IS FUN UNTIL YOU WAKE UP AND REALISE YOU’RE OVERWEIGHT”

Big Brother/subliminal message issues aside, this is pretty funny.

[–] LemmysMum@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

Oh, I laughed out loud. I immediately thought of the messages in the game Only Up.

[–] LiveLM@lemmy.zip 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I know right? Having an anti-porn filter is already weird but having one that actively insults the user is amazing
I wonder if this is a common sentiment in China?

[–] LemmysMum@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Promiscuity is a big topic in Chinese insults. And I've seen some crazy propaganda messages. But unfortunately the cause of the message was not so fantastic. I've updated the post with more details.

[–] shrodes@lemmy.world 38 points 1 year ago (6 children)

This is a bit victim blamey but why the heck would you buy a Huawei device outside of China? Have to assume you can’t be familiar with the many criticisms…

[–] reversebananimals@lemmy.world 30 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I felt bad thinking the same thing but JESUS PEOPLE GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER. There are other great low-budget Android phones out there. WHAT ARE YOU DOING buying a Huawei?

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[–] LemmysMum@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (4 children)
  1. Everything is made in China.

  2. Affordability, there's a reason I'm using a 5 year old sub AU$500 smartphone.

3 Suitability. It works well, has all the functionality I need.

  1. Strong consumer protections and tech watchdogs in Australia generally have our backs with electronics.

  2. China adjacent 5 eyes country under the yoke of the US military industrial complex; my data is balls deep in a dozen intelligence agencies anyway.

Downsides: No tap pay.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 31 points 1 year ago (7 children)
  1. "Made in China" and "Made by China" are different.

  2. Used phones are good and cheap. Profit because other people are greedy.

  3. Most phones "work well". That's not a reason to choose a bad phone.

  4. The consumer protections are the same for all phones. That's not a difference between different companies.

  5. This is just you saying you don't care about these privacy issues. But you made this post???

You're confused about what you want and think Huawei is a good deal. You are being unnecessarily cheap.

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[–] asdfasdfasdf@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago
  1. I hate when people say this. Very untrue. Samsung makes the vast majority of their phones in Vietnam, for example. It's pretty damn easy to find one not Made in China if you do 5 seconds of searching.
[–] LackingC10H12N2O@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My phone is made in Vietnam.

[–] Green_Bay_Guy@midwest.social 1 points 1 year ago (4 children)

My wife, too. If you don't mind me asking, what manufacturer?

[–] trashgirlfriend@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Libertarian guys with asian wives moment

[–] LackingC10H12N2O@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It's a Samsung Galaxy S8. I don't know how to find out who the actual manufacturer is.

[–] Green_Bay_Guy@midwest.social 1 points 1 year ago

We have a Samsung plant in Thai Nguyen in the north. Very cool, I didn't know they'd been putting phones out for that long.

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[–] ripcord@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

At least in the US I bought a pretty nice 18 month old Motorola without a bunch of crap on jt for $150.

[–] afunkysongaday@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Motorola Mobility LLC, marketed as Motorola, is an American consumer electronics manufacturer primarily producing smartphones and other mobile devices running Android. Headquartered at Merchandise Mart in Chicago, Illinois, it is a subsidiary of the Chinese multinational technology company Lenovo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Mobility

[–] redcalcium@lemmy.institute 4 points 1 year ago

Before it got sanctioned a few years ago, Huawei actually made the best phone in the budget class. The camera was way ahead of other budget phones. There are also many random thing which might not sound significant, but actually pretty impressive when you think about it, especially when compared to their competition. For example, you can even plug a PS3 controller using a USB OTG dongle and the phone recognize it as an input device without needing to root your phone. I was really impressed by their budget line back then.

[–] wahming@monyet.cc 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not only victim blaming, but how is it in any way germane to the discussion at hand?

[–] shrodes@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Fair but it’s also easily avoided by buying literally any other manufacturer who doesn’t pull shit like this

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[–] ubermeisters@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Have you run any testing out of curiosity to see what it considers porn and what it doesn't? I'd be curious to know if the images are being processed on the device or if it's sending telemetry.

[–] LemmysMum@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm trying to find triggers, what I can say is that most of what I've viewed is AI gen pornography and either on lemmy or my own device, because I make it.

I've got other considerations as well:

Is it time sensitive, ie night time only. Does it trigger on/off network. Does it trigger on/off WiFi. Is it a permanant once off trigger. Is it only visible due to the age of my device. Is it an issue specific to this model.

At this point I'm mostly trying to get some sort of photographic evidence. It doesn't capture on screenshots because it's above the application layer, confirmed viewable above Voyager, Gallery, Firefox.

[–] Detheroth@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Might be a dumb suggestion but have you tried taking a photo with another device of the issue? Borrow a phone or use a laptop webcam and see if you can get it to appear?

[–] LemmysMum@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Working on it. Need to borrow a housemates phone and have the message at the same time.

[–] Detheroth@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Glad it turned out to be a meme and hardware related issue 🤘

[–] LemmysMum@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Either way I'm going to be buying a new phone sooner than I'd hoped, but she's had a good run.

This is why I use custom ROMs, and buy only phones that are supported. Laptops also get wiped. There are too many OEMs that put garbage on your devices, or this crap.

[–] A_A@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"Huawei anti-porn filter may be active ( on or in ) non-Chinese devices."

[–] LemmysMum@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Auto-correct ate it when I typed non.

[–] ripcord@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Twice, it seems.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)
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[–] MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

I don't see the subliminal message in your example at all, where is it?

That update, lol. I had no idea that was a thing that could happen.

[–] sugarfree@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] LemmysMum@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't have another camera handy unless my housemates are home, and the message is intermittent. But working on it.

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