EDIT: It seems this made it to HN. Is this my cue to Soatokify this article?

The NightOwl application has existed since 2018 and is used to automatically switch between light/dark modes on the operating system. It is an alternative to the built in macOS automatic mode which only switches when the user steps away from the computer.

However, the application has been bought out by “TPE.FYI LLC” in late 2022 that forcibly joins your devices into a botnet for use of market research, without your knowledge (other than the TOS in small text on the download page) or express consent (this feature cannot be turned off, even when the app is quit). This is documented in their terms of service.

  • @Graphine
    3•1 year ago

    Jeez. I’ve been using it since 2018 and is one of my favorite applications. Maybe downloading an older functional version would mitigate this?

    • @[email protected]
      1•1 year ago

      I don’t use a Mac but can’t you just block the app from accessing the internet in your firewall? MacOS has a firewall, right?

      • hatter
        4•1 year ago

        The macOS firewall can only block incoming connections. If you want to block outgoing too you need something like LittleSnitch or LuLu.

      • @Graphine
        2•1 year ago

        It does. Didn’t think of that actually.