SecureeEar

SecureeEar is a clean Android reconstruction focused on local-only operation for UseeEar-compatible Wi-Fi ear hygiene cameras.

Case Study

Problem: The original UseeEar Android app contained privacy-sensitive cloud reporting paths and opaque native libraries while also being needed to operate a local Wi-Fi camera.

Approach: SecureeEar rebuilds the Android app around the minimum local camera workflow, removes Java-side telemetry surfaces, documents the reverse-engineering evidence, and keeps risky inherited native components isolated behind a small controller.

Result: The project demonstrates Android reverse engineering, IoT privacy analysis, and practical reconstruction of a local-first device companion app.

Repository Branches

• main: clean local-only Android reconstruction.
• reveng-v1: imported UseeEar 1.0.062 JADX/decompiled reference.
• analysis: reverse-engineering findings, endpoint review, and risk notes.
• rebuild: imported reconstruction experiment used to validate the clean rebuild path.

Research Narrative

The reverse-engineering summary is documented in docs/security-analysis.md. It covers the original app behavior, suspicious cloud endpoints, permission surface, local camera paths, native-library residual risk, and the hardening decisions that shaped SecureeEar.

Security Model

• No cloud APIs.
• No analytics.
• No WebView.
• No account system.
• No license reporting.
• No cellular fallback request.
• No phone identifier collection.
• No installed-app enumeration.
• No storage/media/audio permissions.

The app keeps the native Wi-Fi camera bridge behind a small Java controller and patches the native callback helper so the previous external-network bind path is refused. The remaining native .so files are opaque inherited components, so runtime network capture is still recommended before trusting any production deployment.

Architecture Snapshot

• A minimal Android Activity handles permissions, Wi-Fi guidance, connection control, and preview status.
• The Java camera controller keeps local host allow-listing close to the native camera bridge.
• Native libraries remain inherited components and are treated as residual risk until fully replaced or dynamically audited.

Status and Roadmap

Current status: local-only Android reconstruction with documented reverse-engineering evidence.

Near-term roadmap:

• Capture and publish repeatable network traces for original and reconstructed builds.
• Continue reducing inherited native-library reliance where protocol behavior can be reimplemented safely.
• Add screenshots or a short demo once device preview behavior is verified on hardware.

Local Device Support

Expected SSID prefixes:

• UseeEar
• i4season
• inskam
• Yanxuan

Allowed local hosts:

• 192.168.1.254
• 10.10.10.254
• 192.168.1.1
• 127.0.0.1

Build

.\gradlew.bat :app:assembleDebug

Debug APK:

app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

Verification Checklist

1. Connect the Android device to the camera Wi-Fi network.
2. Disable cellular data or block it with a firewall.
3. Block *.simicloud.com.
4. Start SecureeEar and verify preview frames arrive.
5. Capture traffic and confirm connections remain local.