North Koreans Are Jailbreaking Phones to Access Forbidden Media

In another Orwellian measure, Pyongyang phones' government-created operating system takes screenshots of the device at random intervals, the two defectors say—a surveillance feature designed to instill a sense that the user is always being monitored. The images from those screenshots are then kept in an inaccessible portion of the phone's storage, where they can't be viewed or deleted. Jailbreaking the phones also allowed the two defectors to access and wipe those surveillance screenshots, they say.

That part is crazy! We talk a lot about Big Brother watching us over here in the US, but this is another level.

Articles like this really help to put into perspective how good those of us living in the western world have it. I wish more people would read these types of things to better appreciate the lives we are able to live. 

The whole ‘govt created o/s’ stuff is freaky as hell!

My heart goes out to those that are trapped behind the government regime in these parts of the world. Brainwashed and trapped, punished if they try to break away or do something that many of us around the world take for granted.

Wow. Sad for those to be living which such restrictions 

Yep very sad and the vast majorioty of them are anaware of what really goes on around them.

Exactly, if anything im glad they get the opportunity to have their eyes opened past all the propaganda

You guys all say this like we are not being monitored all the time?  
 

While I agree we are lucky not to be monitored and restricted such as described in this article, I find the data tracking and selling of our personal info, and the companies that profit in the billions of dollars on our info to be almost as disgusting. We have traded restrictions on content for the right to be bombarded by nonstop advertisements, pop up ads, banners blocking large portions of the screen, and all the crappy software that does this, often putting our privacy at risk.  And don’t think you are not being tracked, just for very different reasons for most of us, (and similar reasons for some. )
 

I understand that completely and perhaps there is a bit of a case I'm burying my head in the sand a little bit, but in the case of this article I just find it infuriating that people have that freedom of knowledge and exploration taken away from them. Hey, who knows, maybe we are too but it certainly feels a lot more free..

Fair enough James. I can’t disagree with that. I’m sure we are better off. I’m just worried about what we don’t know. 

@MajorHavoc : Oh for sure. I know basically everything I do online is being monitored. That’s it’s own ball of wax. The government isn’t going to throw me in jail for rooting my phone, though.

Good point. I think everyone should assume that anything they put out online is monitored by someone and therefore always think what you put out there

 Very good point!