Am I crazy not to trust Chinese developed games ?
2026-05-02 04:38 UTC
Replies (32)
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@monovergent@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 05:00
There’s always the risk of spying if a game requires an internet connection, no matter who published it, but unless you plan to be in China later on, there’s not much that Chinese companies (or authorities, if that is of concern) can do with the data collected on you. I suppose some company could sell that data back to a US firm in a roundabout way. Anyway, take what I say with a grain of salt since I’ve hardly played or looked into any games requiring an internet connection.
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@magnue@lemmy.world 2026-05-02 05:13
I remember when tiktok was being advertised as something to fill the vine vacuum and it looked cringe as hell and just obvious spyware and I thought there’s no way anyone would install that. Here we are. Also it’s hilarious that Microsoft were finally on a winner with vine and they just scrapped it.
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@redparadise@lemmygrad.ml 2026-05-02 05:19
Um no, any propreitary game with an internet connection and privileged access to your computer can and will spy on you, your goal should be sandboxing, limiting permissions and information access and using a zero trust policy. What country a proprietary application is from doesn’t matter, any private company can and will spy on you for profits, be it Chinese or American, even better if the courts are corrupt and run on cash. The US can just as easily launch a centralized surveillance campaign, and likely does through the NSA, do not trust any proprietary application just because it’s from a “civilized” or “developed” country, they are but the same as long as they are chasing profits.
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@m532@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 05:32
Paranoid? No. Racist. If you were really paranoid, you’d trust no games, regardless of origin country.
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@Aria@lemmygrad.ml 2026-05-02 05:37
Steam used to upload your whole resolver cache to Valve (So they could sidestep things not showing up in history when you use private-browsing). And they’re mandated to share everything they have on you with the NSA. So if you’re coming at this from a “I’ll trust Steam but not Wukong” angle, then yes, you are unreasonable. If you’re coming at this from a “All these private Chinese companies have insane privacy policies and send me hundreds of cookies, I’m not trusting anyone they work with!” angle then that’s completely reasonable. Closed source software is never safe, and capitalism doesn’t reward treating your customers well.
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@Amnesigenic@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 05:51
Yes you are crazy. China doesn’t give a shit about you, if they really want your data they can just buy it from your government or one of the many corporations that are all verifiably spying on you and selling your data.
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@GasMaskedLunatic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-05-02 06:14
The Chinese government should be no more a concern for privacy than any other government. The only one worse than any other for you specifically is the one in which you reside, which would be able to make the best use of that data. The only exception is if you’re a dissident or target of a foreign country. Security and economic contribution are a different beast.
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@redrumBot@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 07:33
Am I being to paranoid ? No, you are not enough paranoid if you don’t have the same or worse concerns about games developed in western countries. e.g. five eyes alliance.
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@asdasd201@lemmygrad.ml 2026-05-02 07:33
Are you also concerned over the Western states surveilling you from the games?
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@MachineFab812@discuss.tchncs.de 2026-05-02 07:34
Crazy to game on anything you trust with important data in general. Same for internet browsing-in-general though. Good Luck.
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@RisingSwell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-05-02 08:02
China isn’t going to spy on you any more than American games. Not saying they won’t, but like, you have a phone? That’s more of a privacy issue by itself than almost any game you could play.
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@unknownuserunknownlocation@kbin.earth 2026-05-02 08:14
Honestly, this is probably not the best instance to ask this question on. It is well known for downplaying or outright denying anything negative the Chinese government does. If I were you I would ask elsewhere if you want more nuanced answers.
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@Chais@sh.itjust.works 2026-05-02 08:19
It’s crazy to trust any closed source software.
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@chelly__1@lemmychan.org 2026-05-02 09:47
Yes. They’re state-sponsored propaganda, but unless you can identify legitimate security risks, you’re just operating on “feelings.”
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@Marasenna@lemmygrad.ml 2026-05-02 09:53
I hate liberals so much it’s unreal.
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@Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 10:44
China isn’t any more of a surveillance state than the US and Europe already. Why would a Chinese game be any worse than the ways you’re spied on by people that can actually do something with your data? Wherever you live, assuming it isn’t China, your data is already being collected by people far more capable of doing something about it if they found something they didn’t like, and far more interested in doing so. Let’s face it, the CPC almost certainly doesn’t care about you, and it would be better for the PRC to have your data than your local government and corporations, that do care far more about you. I don’t see why fearing a developing socialist state so much makes any sense.
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@_lunar@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 11:29
yes, you are
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@dwt@feddit.org 2026-05-02 11:59
I would say you are not paranoid, but the reasons you have equally apply to non Chinese Games and social networks. So to be consistent, either not play Games and get off of social networks, or do it.
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@Auli@lemmy.ca 2026-05-02 12:23
Do you not trust American made games?
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@BrainInABox@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 12:43
I should not say crazy so much as racist. The idea of a westerner calling China a “well known surveillance state” without irony is farcical. What exactly are you worried will happen?
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@yogthos@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 12:53
yes
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@traingovroom@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 13:41
Incredibly so yes
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@Athena5898@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 14:47
Yes. Might need to dissect some stuff internally
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@64bithero@lemmy.world 2026-05-02 15:07
I have nothing against Chinese people. I have the same fear of Russian owned products. I have the same concern with US companies with seedy backgrounds. It’s purely an issue of government not the color of the skin. And I’m sorry to say “china doesn’t give a shit about you” I don’t buy that. I’ve heard of some borderline ridiculous stuff governments do on citizens of foreign countries. The US included. I got my answer in an albeit odd way. Yes they track. So I’ll keep avoiding.
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@thedeadwalking4242@lemmy.world 2026-05-02 15:33
US is also surveillance state
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@bennieandthez@lemmygrad.ml 2026-05-02 16:35
There is no precedent of China meddling on someone elses business, let alone a random civilian, so not only it is crazy to assume so it’s also inherently racist. The US does have precedent of it for what it’s worth yet you’re not distrustful of them.
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@Rindogang@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 16:40
Ummm if you’re really serious about privacy wouldn’t you have already switched to GrapheneOS and Linux? Like people who actually care about this stuff avoid Google, Microsoft… and proprietary software like the plague If surveillance is the worry shouldn’t that same skepticism apply beyond just China? I dunno it kinda feels less about privacy and more about a specific distrust, you know?
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@electric_nan@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 16:56
Yes.
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@sobchak@programming.dev 2026-05-02 17:55
IDK. I don’t trust Chinese (closed-source) software either. I believe TikTok does gather a ton of data (though it’s not Chinese now). On the other hand, I will likely never go to China, so there’s not much the CCP could do to me (maybe blackmail me if I was a politician or something); while the opposite is true for the US.
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@ATS1312@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-05-02 17:55
As a US resident: If China wants my data while the US treats them as a hostile entity? That’s WORLDS better than US companies having my data, and handing it over to the NSA without a warrant.
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@HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 20:37
I don’t trust games in general. If I wanted tons of people to run my data mining trojan, I’d probably make it a game.
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@ZeroHora@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 17:55
I think you should avoid playing this types of games. Their community is better without you.