What's the best way to use Discord on GrapheneOS?

GlytchMeister

Ok, so I need to install discord.

Unfortunately.

I'm involved in some projects that use discord for comms and I can't get vanadium to create actual notifications like a dedicated app would.

What options do I have for minimizing the compromise I need to make? Do y'all have any recommendations?

N1b

GlytchMeister I'm late to the party but now that I replaced Aurora Store with Sandboxed Play Store I'm having a similar challenge (can't install Discord from Play Store without age verification).

I came across Aliucord which might be a solution. It's a Discord fork claiming to have telemetry removed. That's against the Discord ToU but whatever. I don't have enough intel to make the jump yet, would be interested in opinions and experiences of the experts here.

GlytchMeister

I'm currently running the MullvadVPN app, so can't use rethinkDNS to blacklist custom URLs, and MullvadVPN's DNS doesn't have that ability, and I think I'm supposed to use Mullvad’s DNS to keep myself less unique, right?

[deleted]

GlytchMeister You can enable email notifications in Discord. Mullvad itself provides Wireguard configuration files, and you can import them directly. RethinkDNS supports local filtering in "Simple" Proxy mode, although it lacks Lockdown & Always on VPN. I find it frustrating that you can either use a Killswitch but make VPN's essentially useless or use the app as it's intended to be used, but Rethink devs don't want to fix that issue. Just make sure to never, even accidentally, press the stop button in app :)

DeletedUser161

Use a secure DNS server with filtering (I recommend Hagezi BlockLists):
https://www.privacyguides.org/en/dns/
https://www.privacyguides.org/en/advanced/dns-overview/

If you want to configure it yourself try NextDNS (Free plan available), ControlD (Paid, 30 days trial), AdguardDNS (Free plan available).

[deleted]

DeletedUser161 You've completely missed the point, just saying. He wants to use Mullvad VPN & Mullvad DNS servers whilst not leaking DNS, thus making him unique.

mmmm

[deleted] You can enable email notifications in Discord

Yep email notifications plus the PWA is what I would do.

GlytchMeister

Is a PWA a Progressive Web App, and is that just discord on a web browser? I can't join servers with vanadium, the button just doesn't work and there's no indication as to why.

[deleted]

GlytchMeister Re: simple proxy: well, mullvad has lockdown and always on, and its own DNS for broad filtering. If I can use local filtering on top of that to block discord's trackers as detailed on Aurora, then that should be fine, right?

Just to clarify: Lockdown & Always On VPN are Mullvad VPN specific app features, the Wireguard protocol obviously isn't capable of doing so, so you're still giving away such features by using RethinkDNS's Simple Mode.

GlytchMeister If I can use local filtering on top of that to block discord's trackers as detailed on Aurora, then that should be fine, right?

Discord probably uses active fingerprinting, which makes DNS filtering & other passive tracking reduction efforts worthless, but i'm honestly not sure since i'm not using that crap.

GlytchMeister the button just doesn't work and there's no indication as to why.

Try enabling Javascript JIT. You shouldn't, but it can help. https://grapheneos.org/features

GlytchMeister

I was kind of hoping for a 3rd party foss frontend kinda like libretube or Nekogram X, but the only such examples of that for discord are desktop only, as far as I can tell (like Spacebar). Maybe something that uses Unified Push?

Re: simple proxy: well, mullvad has lockdown and always on, and its own DNS for broad filtering. If I can use local filtering on top of that to block discord's trackers as detailed on Aurora, then that should be fine, right?

other8026

[deleted] Lockdown & Always On VPN are Mullvad VPN specific app features

I'm confused. Are you talking about GrapheneOS/Android or on a computer? Because always on and block connections without VPN are both in Android.

GlytchMeister

Maybe I can enable it only when I need to join a server. It doesn't happen often, but it has come up lately because I've been looking up so much info trying to get my phone set up

GlytchMeister

Oh so I can't use local filtering on top of mullvad, I'd have to use local filtering on top of wireguard. Crap.

[deleted]

GlytchMeister Maybe you could run filtering at the router level? and then Mullvad VPN on your device.

[deleted]

GlytchMeister

... You absolutely can, i just told you how that can be achieved with RethinkDNS.

other8026 I'm confused. Are you talking about GrapheneOS/Android or on a computer? Because always on and block connections without VPN are both in Android.

I'm talking about Android, RethinkDNS specific features. In Advanced proxy mode, it's possible to toggle Lockdown & Always-on options. If Rethink routing component is being disabled/crashes for whatever reason, no leaks would occur. However, it's impossible to filter locally (https://github.com/celzero/rethink-app/issues/1510) in Advanced Mode. In Simple mode, you can filter locally & route the traffic through proxy, which is Mullvad VPN's DNS servers in this case, but if you were to press the stop button in Rethink, it'll route all traffic bypassing the proxy since it lacks the Lockdown Mode.

[deleted]

[deleted] I have never tried this yet, also now I realize my initial understanding was incorrect.

I meant that perhaps a good approach would be 1. installing Mullvad VPN on the router? ...and then employing a DNS filtering app on your device for additional filtering capabilities.

GlytchMeister

OK so here are the trackers aurora is reporting:

com.google.android.apps.analytics.
com.google.android.gms.analytics.
com.google.analytics.

com.adjust.sdk.
com.adjust.android.sdk.

io.sentry.
com.joshdholtz.sentry

Do I just plop those into Rethink's Domain Rules and just unblock whichever ones discord absolutely needs just to function?

GlytchMeister

I don't see anything about Advanced vs Simple, so I'm assuming Advanced is the DNS and Simple is the firewall?

GlytchMeister

I really don't know what I'm doing, folks, so I apologize if I'm asking stupid questions and misunderstanding stuff.

GlytchMeister

OK I've been trying to find instructions on what does what in this freaking app and I'm utterly lost, there's a switch in the settings for advanced, but I have it turned off, but when I try to activate rethink, it still asks to take up my VPN slot, which is what I don't want: I want to keep the mullvad app as my VPN and DNS (because I want the lockdown and always on and the less unique DNS), and just locally block my phone from sending data to the specific tracker URLs or domains or whatever that are listed under Discord in Aurora (and do I include the period at the end of these?). Would anyone be willing to give me a step-by-step, or at least point me in the direction of an actual instruction manual or something? All I can find on Rethink's website is an FAQ that doesn't actually tell me what functions are available without it messing up the Mullvad app.

If Rethink can't do this, the only other option I have been able to find is Aliucord. Does anyone have an opinion on that? Or a FOSS 3rd party client that respects privacy? Or... Anything?

GlytchMeister

Or is there a chatroom somewhere for RethinkDNS support? I can't find anything for that, either, just an email for suggestions and a place to lodge complaints, neither of which apply to me. I don't have a suggestion or a complaint, I'm just an idiot.

mmmm

GlytchMeister you need to go and get the details for logging in to a 3rd party wireguard service from Mullvad.

This should set you on the right path: https://mullvad.net/en/help/wireguard-android