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Comment by dakiol

6 days ago

Thanks for the explanation. I was about to install Notion Desktop today. I Won’t install it.

Why? I don't understand the objection to this. If the app was sending off any data to Notion without consent, that would obviously be a privacy issue, but why is it a problem for a desktop app to simply check if your mic is being used and offer to record?

  • The application is almost certainly sending off data to Notion without consent, you just wouldn't be able to tell.

    If a company is willing to do even small privacy violations, I do not trust them at all. Feel free to run OpenSnitch or LittleSnitch - most apps are opening connections to many domains you won't recognize. Your guess is as good as anyone's what data they're exfiltrating. That is, of course, unless you use more privacy-preserving apps that are typically opensource.

    • That's just entirely based on the "almost certainly" doing all the work. You're complaining about a hypothetical situation.

      > you just wouldn't be able to tell.

      You can setup a local web proxy and tell us. Also check the sources since it's an electron app.

      2 replies →

  • This could be a good feature in open source software packaged by Debian and whose build is reproducible.

    People being angry here shows how they distrust software they use and distrusting always online software causes fear and stress.

    The best these people can do is relying on free software distributed in a sane way because that's what can help trust software, and, in a professional setting, to push their companies or their providers towards free software as well, and demand guarantees that their privacy is respected.

    These matters are not theoretical and this discussion is a witness of this.

    If Notion wants to be trusted, they should go open source. I see Notion people are here. Do it! Stop doing closed source software! That doesn't bring anything worth and see what badness it brings. Your value is elsewhere. It's in you expertise, your vision and how well you do things.

    I work for an open source competitor (or at least in the neighborhood) and that works out well for us and has been for 20 years.

    The day you open source your desktop client, you'll be able to show us the code and show that you indeed don't send audio records or related logs to your headquarters. We won't have to reverse engineer, sandbox just to be sure, and hope for the best.

    Knowledge management software shouldn't hide knowledge.