Web access / system tasks integration

[6-AND-9]

Hello there,

I really, really like your app(s) and was looking forward to use them, especially with the offline database approach. However, this brought several issues to my mind.

1. Why does the app require access to your website when trying to run it?

Yes, I understand that you use WebView to render the web version, inside an Android app. But, aside from this being inefficient (and probably unavailable while offline, don't know, didn't test), it is a privacy nightmare. Isn't there any way to grab the whole web platform and make it fully offline? I am not comfortable with data going through your website (and this has nothing to do with whether I trust you, of course; I simply assume that when someone says an app/service is offline, it is completely offline).

Don't want to come off as argumentative or aggressive, that's not my intention here. My intention here is to ask whether developing a proper offline app is on your agenda, and when can we expect this. Would love to jump wagon from Gnome To Do and the like to Super Productivity, but I can't because I don't feel comfortable yet. I mean, if I knew programming I'd definitely jump and help you--but unfortunately, I don't.

Which brings me to my second issue...

2. No integration with system tasks

I installed your app on my Linux desktop, and I've noticed that it doesn't integrate with the system tasks (e.g. I can see/create them in Evolution Mail or Gnome To Do, but they don't appear in Super Productivity). Is integration of this kind planned? Or is it a bug of a kind, and the tasks actually should appear?

The idea is to be able to see and work on the tasks both from Evolution Mail, Gnome To Do, Elementary Tasks, Super Productivity .... you get my point. The intercompatibility.

Other than this, great job!!

Thanks,

• A

[johannesjo]

About 1:
There is a single request made at the beginning to check for updates and to display important notifications (which I only needed to use once so far). It can be deactivated by going to the settings to misc and then enable "Disable initial info dialog". Apart from that there should be no requests made, unless you configure the app to do so (by using the issue integrations or online sync).
For android see: johannesjo/super-productivity-android#4

About 2:
I am not aware that there is an api to hook into, so there is no integration planned on my side. But in case someone else wants to tackle this: I am all for it.

[johannesjo]

Allow me to add that there are likely many things going on your system without your knowledge that are way worse than this "privacy nightmare", which is a pretty harmless single request (without any personal data – apart from the request headers – being transmitted).

This choice of words makes a bit angry to be honest, as it reflects on the very black and white picture many people tend to have on the subject.

[6-AND-9]

@johannesjo, I am sorry, I didn't mean to make you angry. OK, my choice of words might have been too strong here. However, keep in mind that we're talking private tasks here. Just like that guy in the link said, it is unnecessary increasing the attack surface, and this especially applies for an app that advertises itself as capable of working fully offline.

But thank you for explaining what it actually does and why it needs the access. I'd suggest to avoid that request in the future somehow (i.e. to make it opt-in), in order to avoid questions such as mine :)

BTW I am well aware that there are thousands of things that go around my systems. I try to control most of them, at the very least their access to the Internet and to admin privileges. And it doesn't mean that it is fine to have an additional one to worry about. We're talking decreasing the attack surface here, I don't know if it is possible to make a perfectly-secure system. The black & white attitude comes from people being tired of this BS, with almost everyone (don't take this personally, not you :)) trying to snoop on what we are doing on our machines without any good reason whatsoever.