The NightOwl application has existed since 2018 and is used to automatically switch between light/dark modes on the operating system. It is an alternative to the built in macOS automatic mode which only switches when the user steps away from the computer.
However, the application has been bought out by “TPE.FYI LLC” in late 2022 that forcibly joins your devices into a botnet for use of market research, without your knowledge (other than the TOS in small text on the download page) or express consent (this feature cannot be turned off, even when the app is quit). This is documented in their terms of service.
FOSS isn’t generally vulnerable to the “buyout” vulnerability. It’s not new that a valuable browser extension is bought out and repurposed, but FOSS is less likely to fall to these bugs. (also fuck WEI. You’ll get more of this with WEI)
