ChatGPT’s much-heralded Mac app was storing conversations as plain text
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Then storing chats on my local machine is a lot less of a concern than what they do with it on their servers.
And for data on their servers, I’m less concerned about hackers than I am about OpenAI’s overall sketchiness.
And for data on their servers, I’m less concerned about hackers than I am about OpenAI’s overall sketchiness.
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OpenAI chose to opt-out of the sandbox and store the conversations in plain text in a non-protected location, disabling all of these built-in defenses.
You know, I think these guys are really on the up-and-up when it comes to caring about data security.
You know, I think these guys are really on the up-and-up when it comes to caring about data security.
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Who wants to be that all your ChatGPT conversations are stored in plaintext somewhere over on OpenAI's servers (or more likely Microsoft's servers on Azure)?
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"But everything you do is stored nonprotected on your computer. That's the default condition!"
Literally the opposite of what MacOS actually does, which is why OpenAI explicitly opted-out of the default user sandbox.
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My company has been exploring how to get into AI slowly and responsibly and this is yet another reason why we don’t trust any arrangement that would be direct with OpenAI. They are immature, unreliable, and not anywhere near enterprise-grade; proven over the long haul. This instance in particular is absolutely shameful. Security by design is apparently for mature companies out of their training diapers.
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The issue is that Apple would require the security OpenAI didn't think was important. Thats why they didn't submit it to the AppStore. Apple wasn't involved in this discussion persay, nor decided to maintain some distance.
I am curious if OpenAI will get attacked as much for this as Microsoft was with Recall.
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It's not directly related to the story, but I Will Fucking Piledrive You If You Mention AI Again
He's a good read and a pretty good podcast guest
He's a good read and a pretty good podcast guest
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To gain access to the rest of the file system. It’s the primary reason apps opt out of translocation.
You can get access to individual files while sandboxed but it requires a fancy little dance with platform specific APIs, and user interaction.
I’d disagree with the decision for a privacy sensitive app, but there are technical reasons it might be desirable.
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They did not implement the sandbox.
So I think the press losing its mind over this is still fully justified.
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My browsers delete all cookies and history when closed, and my computer deletes all temp files when shutting down. And most of my history is never kept anyway because there are only like 5 sites I have javascript enabled on.
Adding features that save all that info without my approval is not okay, because I actually care about security.
You might as well say, "None of these privacy nightmares matter because nobody uses a strong password anyway." You'd be equally wrong, and still a bootlicker.
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I'm more terrified of what they do with the data on their servers and stuff being stored as plain text on my device. I swear ever week a major company with a treasure trove of info just gets breached/hacked. And im talking about trusted institutions.
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How does Apple catch stupid decisions in an app that is not distributed through their app store? How? And why is it Apple‘s job in your mind?
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Folks. Read and think.
Direct loaded Mac apps (what would be called sideloaded on a phone) have full filesystem access and Apple has no involvement in approving. The security responsibility is on the developer — responsibility OpenAI spectacularly failed.
If and only if you go through the Mac App Store does Apple have approval authority, and they require sandboxing. This is part of why a consumer can have a bit more confidence in App Store software from a developer you don’t know.
Many of you are conflating with the phone, where Apple does have approval authority over all apps, and sandboxing is required.
Direct loaded Mac apps (what would be called sideloaded on a phone) have full filesystem access and Apple has no involvement in approving. The security responsibility is on the developer — responsibility OpenAI spectacularly failed.
If and only if you go through the Mac App Store does Apple have approval authority, and they require sandboxing. This is part of why a consumer can have a bit more confidence in App Store software from a developer you don’t know.
Many of you are conflating with the phone, where Apple does have approval authority over all apps, and sandboxing is required.
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The ChatGPT app reads the users screen to provide contextual help. Can apps that do this have the sandbox enabled? Was it even possible to distribute the app via the AppStore?
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Unlike iOS (for now), MacOS Will run apps from anywhere as long as the user approve it. Other than a signature check, there's nothing Apple can do if people just download an app from rando websites. I don't understand why you think Apple is somehow responsible.
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scortiusthecharioteer
Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
But they're shifting the paradigm. Disrupting the status quo. Making the world a better place. Seriously how in 2024 is this kind of shit still going on. Nevermind, I know how....
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Easy. On macOS, the Keychain Services API is perfect for this. Applications can store keys in there easily. Users have to explicitly grant access to any apps that wish to access an item they didn't create.
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Crying Croc
Ars Centurion
Imagine... a Chinese firm also trying to be a world AI champ caught with this... would you still feel the same? Perhaps being a ChatGPT fan has clouded your judgment?
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100%
Desktop implementations have been so half assed I have zero trust that any part of the codebase is done right.
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Now, now, I'm sure their LLM hallucinated to them that it was perfectly safe.
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Apparently “piledrive you” has a different meaning than I’m familiar with?!
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