Muting microphone in a meeting is very different, the point is you don’t want other attendees to hear you, not the meeting software.
Otherwise agreed, the only way this can be 100% trusted is using a hw switch, which we won’t find on any phones and only a handful of laptops.
From my experience (Linux), switching off the microphone from the OS settings also works. You can’t be 100% sure, of course, but why would Linux / Firefox lie for Google?
Only marginally, IMHO - software is vulnerable to remote hacks, but physically breaking the electrical connection is pretty effing hard to overcome remotely.
Muting microphone in a meeting is very different, the point is you don’t want other attendees to hear you, not the meeting software.
Otherwise agreed, the only way this can be 100% trusted is using a hw switch, which we won’t find on any phones and only a handful of laptops.
From my experience (Linux), switching off the microphone from the OS settings also works. You can’t be 100% sure, of course, but why would Linux / Firefox lie for Google?
Didn’t Fairphone or some other Linux phone maker include switches in some relatively recent model?
EDIT: According to (embarrassed for having to mention source) Google’s AI summary, yes:
Murena 2: Features a dedicated physical privacy switch that physically cuts the circuit for the microphone and camera.
Purism Librem 5: Offers physical toggle switches on the side of the phone to mechanically sever power to the microphone, camera, and baseband.
Pine64 PinePhone: Includes built-in hardware DIP switches under the back cover that allow you to completely disconnect the mic, cameras, and modems.
Is that true?
Man at least use some open source or European AI, like Qwen, Deepseek, Mistral.
I have /e/OS on my Fairphone 6 and the switch turns off camera and microphone. Of course this is software, but better than nothing.
Only marginally, IMHO - software is vulnerable to remote hacks, but physically breaking the electrical connection is pretty effing hard to overcome remotely.
Furi Lab’s FLX1 phones (Linux phones) have hardware switches.
Which are no longer for sale.
The FLX1s is, which also has hardware switches I’m pretty sure.