News: 0177903017

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North Korean Smartphones Automatically Capture Screenshots Every 5 Minutes For State Surveillance

(Monday June 02, 2025 @05:22PM (msmash) from the smile-you're-monitored dept.)


A smartphone smuggled out of North Korea automatically [1]captures screenshots every five minutes and stores them in a hidden folder inaccessible to users, according to [2]analysis by the BBC . Authorities can later review these images to monitor citizen activity on the device. The phone, obtained by Seoul-based media outlet Daily NK, resembles a Huawei or Honor device but runs state-approved software designed for surveillance and control. The device also automatically censors text, replacing "South Korea" with "puppet state" and Korean terms of endearment with "comrade."



[1] https://www.techspot.com/news/108156-north-korean-smartphone-secretly-takes-screenshot-every-5.html

[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/cewd82p09l0o



Recall? (Score:5, Funny)

by serafean ( 4896143 )

So they had Microsoft Recall before it was a thing?

Re: (Score:3)

by Pimpy ( 143938 )

I guess Microsoft is fortunate that there is a trade embargo, so they don't have to license the IP from NK.

Re: (Score:3)

by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 )

> So they had Microsoft Recall before it was a thing?

Where do you think MS (or the three-letter agencies who asked for it) got the idea? :-) #what-conspiracy-theory?

Re: (Score:1)

by Anonymous Coward

Exceptional claims require exceptional evidence.

Probably more than just exceptional here, as A) that would interfere with the special "true depth" IR emitter required for face ID, and B) your comment history shows plenty of such lies from you before.

Re:iPhones Take a Photo of Your Face Every 5 Secon (Score:4, Informative)

by vux984 ( 928602 )

It doesn't interfere with the "TrueDepth" Face ID stuff because it IS the TrueDepth Face ID stuff.

> The TrueDepth camera captures accurate face data by projecting and analyzing thousands of invisible dots to create a depth map of your face and also captures an infrared image of your face.

[1]https://support.apple.com/en-u... [apple.com]

You called it an "IR emitter"... but its an IR camera .

This camera is also used for "attention awareness features" (and for this, yes it is constantly taking pictures.)

Is it quite the situation the GP suggested... no, of course not.

But yeah, it is pretty constantly taking IR photos of you when those features are on.

It's likely not doing anything with them beyond the functionality apple claims... but it is taking them, and it could be doing something more with them.

[1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/102381

Re:iPhones Take a Photo of Your Face Every 5 Secon (Score:4, Informative)

by ZombieCatInABox ( 5665338 )

> Is it quite the situation the GP suggested... no, of course not

Still, some people will always jump on any opportunity to shit on Apple, always making stuff up even though there are plenty of real reasons to bash the company.

> ...and it could be doing something more with them

Phones, computers, smart TVs, routers, etc, could be doing anything with anything .

Re:NK Propaganda (Score:4, Informative)

by AvitarX ( 172628 )

So the citizens are freely allowed to leave and visit other countries as they see fit?

I've never heard anyone refer to North Koreans as savages though, only that they're oppressed and the government does a poor job of making it a good place to live (evidenced by the difficulty in leaving).

Re:NK Propaganda (Score:4, Interesting)

by smooth wombat ( 796938 )

Nice to know who is off their meds. When you look at those videos, tell us, how many cars do you see driving on the streets? A dozen?

If NK is so great, why can't tourists go into a store and see what's there? Why does every tour group have minders who check what pictures you've taken? Why must every statue of Kim Jong Un be shown in full and not, say, missing his feet? What water park are you talking about? NK people don't go to water parks unless they're part of the elite.

It's not editorializing if it's true.

Re: (Score:3)

by Zocalo ( 252965 )

Somewhat old now (it's from 2008), but his might be one of the more honest exposes of life the DPRK, albeit mostly [1]from a moving train [blogspot.com]. It's a lengthy travelogue by a big fan of rail travel who travels to Pyongyang from Vienna via Russia on a variety of trains over a number of weeks using an "unofficial" tourist crossing, so most of the photos inside the DPRK are not going to be the typical staged locations and setups official tours might take, just someone with no particular axe to grind I can see who got

[1] https://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/

Re: (Score:3)

by RitchCraft ( 6454710 )

Since when are North Korean party officials allowed to reply on Slashdot?

Re: (Score:3)

by awwshit ( 6214476 )

Since they got hired at a tech company in the US, obviously.

[1]https://blog.knowbe4.com/how-a... [knowbe4.com]

[1] https://blog.knowbe4.com/how-a-north-korean-fake-it-worker-tried-to-infiltrate-us

Re: (Score:3)

by ThurstonMoore ( 605470 )

I judge North Korea based on the condition they returned Otto Warmbier in.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Warmbier

Re: NK Propaganda (Score:2)

by Ogive17 ( 691899 )

I didn't know Dennis Rodman visited /.

I have the same thing (Score:4, Funny)

by toxonix ( 1793960 )

I have a device like this but it's a Macbook Pro. It's provided by the corporation I work for. It takes screenshots more frequently than every 5 minutes and sends them to an S3 bucket that only certain people in the org can see. Legal/HR, who knows. Anything that looks like it's not absolutely essential to doing work is filtered out by the firewall. This prevents any access to Gmail, X and other social media sites (except linkedin) and randomly blocks sites I find useful because they look like they're slurping data for AI intake. This is ostensibly for security purposes, and it's not supposed to be used to spy on us or provide data to 3rd parties or used to evaluate performance. I get paid to believe that, so I guess I do believe.

Re: (Score:1)

by Anonymous Coward

Until you're no longer being paid, then I guess you'll know why :)

Re: (Score:2)

by sarren1901 ( 5415506 )

I mean, if it's corporate provided then why would you do anything on it that's not work related? Also, why would you expect privacy on a work device? Wanna goof off at work? Use your own phone.

Will be in the USA soon (Score:1)

by dotslashdot ( 694478 )

Will not be long before the Orange Dear Supreme Leader demands this on all phones for national sekurity and your own safety, komrade!

Re: (Score:3)

by ZombieCatInABox ( 5665338 )

"You people" "our side"

Yeah, people like you are exactly why US politics is going to shit, and taking the whole country with them.

I am sure other governments spy too (Score:2)

by FudRucker ( 866063 )

If you think this sort of thing doesn't happen here I have a bridge I want to sell you

Re: (Score:2)

by TWX ( 665546 )

> If you think this sort of thing doesn't happen here I have a bridge I want to sell you

I'm not going to say that you're wrong, but on the other hand I've never seen penalties for having cameras on personal devices covered up or otherwise disabled. I've also never seen an Orwellian level of doublespeak-autocorrect baked into personal devices either.

Re: I am sure other governments spy too (Score:2)

by Frank Burly ( 4247955 )

Don't waste time airing your paranoia on Slashdot, that's just what They want you to do!

so, what I'm hearing is... (Score:2)

by Tschaine ( 10502969 )

North Koreans can easily flood their government with dick pics, with 100% plausible deniability.

"I had an unusual burning sensation and wanted a closer look."

"How was I to know that someone was going to view the picture? I never sent it to anyone."

Re: (Score:2)

by PPH ( 736903 )

And everyone is better hung than Kim Jung-un.

can't be any worse than spellchecker ... (Score:1)

by Snert32 ( 10404345 )

... which is often your worst enema anyway.

Pfft. I can be subversive in under 5 seconds. (Score:1)

by RightwingNutjob ( 1302813 )

With allowances for rhetorical flourish, of course.

Meanwhile in South Korea & the West... (Score:1)

by mastazi ( 10280392 )

South Korean smart TVs capture screenshots every few milliseconds for corporate surveillance [1]https://www.choose.tv/us/news/... [choose.tv]

[1] https://www.choose.tv/us/news/are-tv-manufacturers-spying-on-us-t-vs-take-screenshots-every-few-milliseconds_AEC

If you write something wrong enough, I'll be glad to make up a new
witticism just for you.
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