FAQ

“Safe” is a judgment call we will not make for you. What we can state factually:

• Source is public under GPLv3 in ape-squared/Block-Viewer.
• Release zips and DMGs are produced by the project’s GitHub Actions Release workflow and attached to tagged releases — not emailed binaries, not random Discord DMs.
• We do not ship adware, crypto miners, or credential-stealing “extras” in those builds by design.
• Like any viewer, it is a full network client with login capability. Treat it with the same seriousness you would any TPV.

Practical hygiene: download only from blockviewer.org/download or the official Releases page; enable Second Life MFA; do not paste passwords into “support” chats; keep using the official viewer if you are not comfortable with third-party clients.

No. Login credentials and session traffic go to the grid login URI and regions you choose (normally Linden Lab’s Second Life infrastructure). We do not operate a Block-owned login proxy that sits in the middle to harvest passwords.

Remembered passwords and MFA secrets are stored via the operating system credential store (Windows Credential Manager / macOS Keychain), not uploaded to a Block cloud account. Inventory and L$ live on the grid; the viewer does not “hold” them for us.

Anyone claiming we need your password to “verify,” “whitelist,” or “unlock” something is lying — ignore them.

Prefer links that end on GitHub Releases for ape-squared/Block-Viewer, or the Download buttons on blockviewer.org, which resolve to those same release assets.

• Asset names look like Block-Viewer-v…-windows-x64.zip or …-macos-arm64.dmg.
• Check the release tag (for example v0.2.21) matches what the site shows.
• Do not trust re-uploaded zips on Drive, MediaFire, random mirrors, or “fixed” copies from strangers.

Release assets may include .sha256 sidecars when published — compare hashes if you want extra confidence.

Usually no — it means the binary is relatively new or not widely reputation-scored yet, and/or not Authenticode-signed with a long-lived certificate reputation. Open-source TPVs hit this often.

SmartScreen is a reputation system, not a proof of malice. Still: only proceed if you obtained the file from our Releases page. If Defender quarantines a file, submit it as a false positive if you verified the source, or stay on the official viewer. We will not tell you to disable antivirus entirely.

Common for apps distributed outside the Mac App Store. See the macOS install guide for the current Gatekeeper / right-click Open flow. Again: only do that for a DMG you got from our Releases, not a random attachment.

Yes. Clone the repository, read the networking and login paths, and build from source if you prefer not to trust our CI artifacts. Licence and third-party notices are summarized in Licences and notices. You do not need our permission to review GPLv3 source.

No. There is no Block remote-desktop backdoor. The viewer talks to the grids and services you configure (login, regions, optional update checks against GitHub, media plugins as documented). We cannot “reach into” your machine after you install the zip.

No. Not affiliated with Linden Lab or Second Life. Second Life® is a trademark of Linden Research, Inc. Use of the trademark here is descriptive only.

Not today. Block Viewer is an independent Third Party Viewer. We are contemplating whether to pursue Linden Lab’s TPV verification process. Nothing on this site claims we are verified. See also the note on the roadmap.

We are not Linden Lab and cannot promise enforcement outcomes. Historically, many residents use TPVs within Linden’s published Third Party Viewer policy when those viewers behave as clients — not as cheat tools that break the grid’s rules.

What raises risk in any viewer: bots/automation that violate ToS, copybotting, harassment, payment fraud, or modified clients that attack the service. Block is meant as a client to experience the grid — not a weapon against it. If you need a Linden-backed guarantee, use the official viewer.

No. Caution around unknown viewers is reasonable. We do not pressure, guilt, or FOMO people into switching. The official viewer and other TPVs remain valid choices. Use Block only if you choose to.

The codebase inherits multi-grid login patterns from its open-source lineage. Support quality varies by grid. Second Life is the primary test target for early 0.x. If something breaks on another grid, report it with the grid name and login URI — do not assume parity.

Block Viewer has no project telemetry server of its own. Grid traffic (login, presence, chat, inventory, voice as applicable) goes to the Second Life or other grid you select — under their policies, not ours.

Full write-up: Privacy.

On Windows, settings, cache, and related files live under paths like %LOCALAPPDATA%\ape-squared\BlockViewer\ and %APPDATA%\ape-squared\BlockViewer\ (folder names reflect the publisher id used for LocalAppData — not a claim about branding on the site). Passwords/MFA use the OS credential store. Chat logs only if you enable them.

When “check for updates” is enabled, the viewer asks GitHub for releases of this repository and may download a package you accept. Details: Updates. You can leave updates off and download manually from Releases.

Bug reporting is designed so you control what gets published. Do not paste passwords into issue text. See Reporting bugs for how GitHub issue drafts and credentials work. Prefer scrubbing location/chat before you share logs.

No. Discord is optional community space (discord.gg/GrvBu5V985). Bugs and features can go through Testers / GitHub issues without Discord.

Download page — one click for the latest Windows zip or macOS DMG — or browse all releases. No GitHub account is required to download release assets.

Windows builds are portable zips: unpack and run. Optional uninstall helpers may ship in the package. macOS ships as a DMG. See the download page for current notes.

A Vulkan-capable GPU and current drivers matter more than a marketing checklist. Windows 10/11 x64 and macOS Apple silicon are the shipping desktop targets in early 0.x. Potato-mode and fault paths exist, but “any GPU from 2009” is not a promise.

Docs-first for now — see Installing on Linux. Packaged Linux releases are not the headline path until packaging is honest. Source builds may work for contributors.

The site’s Download buttons are wired to the latest GitHub Release asset on purpose, so people who do not want to navigate GitHub still get the real build. Confirm the browser’s download URL hosts on github.com for this repository’s releases if you want to double-check.

An open-source Second Life client with a Vulkan world view, aimed at friends and testers in early 0.x. Login, inventory, appearance, chat, and related viewer work ship in tagged Releases.

No. Portions of Block are derived from the open-source Aurora Viewer codebase. Required upstream notices stay in About › Licences / NOTICE. Block is maintained as its own product — modifications, branding, roadmap, and many Block contributors — not Aurora under another name. Details: Foundation.

No. Block-GPPI is a separate post-processing injector for other viewers. Different repo, different download, different issues. Do not install GPPI when you meant the viewer (or vice versa).

The viewer is free and open source (GPLv3). There is no paid “premium client” unlock gate on the download. If that changes, it will be stated clearly — not sneaked into a random zip.

The project publishes from the public GitHub repository and Discord community linked on this site. Contributors and testers are credited through normal GitHub history and tester programs — not through a corporate SL corp that pretends to be Linden Lab.

Early 0.x means sharp edges. Friends and testers are the intended audience. Crashes, missing polish, and “works on my machine” bugs happen. If you need maximum stability for work or events, keep a known-good viewer installed in parallel.

Not as a promise. Feature work follows tester need and the roadmap, not a parity spreadsheet. Some RLVa, import, VR, and creator tools exist with documented limits — read the matching docs before assuming coverage.

Grab the previous release zip from GitHub Releases, file a bug from the testers hub or Discord, and include version tags. Auto-update can be turned off while you bisect.

No. This is an independent open-source project, not a hosted SaaS with an SLA. Best-effort community support via Discord and GitHub.

The world view is built on a modern Vulkan rendering path inherited and extended from the Aurora lineage. That is a technical choice for the engine — not a claim that every GPU configuration is equally happy. Update drivers if you hit device-lost / potato fallbacks.

Block Viewer is not marketed as a theft toolkit. Respect content creators’ permissions and Linden’s rules. If you are looking for a pirate client, look elsewhere — and expect no help from us.

Yes. Keep the official viewer or another TPV installed. Portable zips make side-by-side installs easy. Watch for cache/settings confusion if you point multiple clients at overlapping data folders.

Prefer a private channel to maintainers (GitHub Security Advisories on the repository if enabled, or a direct maintainer contact) for exploitable vulnerabilities — not a public issue with a full PoC that harms residents. Non-security bugs go through the normal bug reporting path.

That is a coherent personal policy. We agree verification matters and we have not claimed it. Residents who only use Linden’s viewer or verified TPVs are making a valid risk choice. This FAQ exists so people who are evaluating Block can do it with facts, not vibes.

Fair. 0.x is explicit. We ship SemVer tags when something useful lands; we do not pretend decade-old TPV polish appears overnight. Compare releases, read the roadmap, and leave if it is not ready for you.

Correct. Open source means inspectable, not magically trustworthy. It lowers the cost of review and removes “trust this closed blob.” You still choose whether to run the binary.

Block is a hobby-scale open-source client with a small tester circle. We are not asking anyone to abandon other viewers. Diversity of clients has existed in Second Life for years; another GPL client is not an attack on the community.

It is unofficial — that is accurate labeling. We strip claims that would confuse Block with Linden Lab or with Aurora-as-upstream-product. If something still reads as misleading, file it; we fix copy.

You shouldn’t — by default. Trust the combination of public source, reproducible CI releases, narrow download origins, MFA on your account, and your own threat model. If that bar is not met for you, do not install Block. We would rather you stay safe on the official viewer than install under pressure.

Ask in Discord, open a GitHub issue, or use the testers hub. Good faith critique is welcome; social-engineering requests for passwords are not.